Dish drainers seem to always seem to be a topic of interest. Basically, everyone wants one that takes a minimum of room to store and will work with their sink/counter configuration.
I’ve written about using a chamois on the countertop, which works well as long as you’re not underway. And I’ve written about using a rack in the bottom of one half of a double sink — a great idea, but when I wrote the article, the only racks I could find were chrome-covered steel which can rust in a salt-air environment.
Using a rack in the sink works well underway or in a rolly anchorage, as dishes won’t fall out. Air-drying is now touted as being far more sanitary than towel-drying, so a solution where you can just leave the dishes until they’re dry is great.
And a rack that fits in the sink solves the storage problem as you just leave it in the sink full time.
This past week I’ve found two new solutions that won’t rust. Both are marketed as “sink protectors” — a rack designed to keep dishes from scratching the bottom of the sink as you’re stacking or washing dishes. I didn’t know such a thing existed until I saw it in a store.
They work every bit as well as a dish drainer, letting water drain under the rack and cost in the $8 to $14 range. You’ll have to check the dimensions of your galley sink — they are not standard so these may or may not fit yours. The two new options that I’ve found are (links are to Amazon):
- Rubbermaid Small Sink Protector (no metal, mat is somewhat flexible, choice of colors, you can find them at Walmart and many other stores)
- Stainless Sink Protector (made of 18/8 stainless which is rust-resistent, small legs keep it off the bottom so water drains better)
In general, the stainless ones get better reviews than the Rubbermaid ones as dishes stack better on them and water flow better under them. But you can get the Rubbermaid ones in almost any housewares department and I’ve only found the stainless ones online (if you’re in a big city, you might find the stainless ones in a specialty store).
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Bruce Boyce on Facebook says
Have any for round sinks??
The Boat Galley on Facebook says
Hmmm, let me look. Give me a couple days . . .
The Boat Galley on Facebook says
Ended up having some time, so here are two possibilities. Technically, they’re both steaming racks — one silicone and one stainless. (Most of the other racks I could find — generally cooling racks — were chromed steel and would rust.) Here’s the first: https://amzn.to/2nThctB
The Boat Galley on Facebook says
And this one is stainless — https://amzn.to/3gjff4x
Helen bell says
I have a retractable one that I got from ikea…it drains into the sink..quite good