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How To Wash Dishes In A Double Bowl Sink (Step-By-Step GUIDE)

How to Wash Dishes in a Double Bowl Sink

Need to know how to wash dishes in a double bowl sink to make the most of your kitchen? Here’s our guide on how to best do it.

Washing dishes in a double bowl sink is a quick and easy way to avoid waiting for the single kitchen sink to fill up with dirty dishes.

This can be a frugal way to cut down on the water usage in the kitchen and an excellent way to keep from mixing soapy water with your clean dishes.

If you’ve ever had to wash dishes in a double bowl kitchen sink while another person is using another one, you may know the benefits of dishwashing in a double bowl sink.

Many of us have a double or triple bowl sink set up in our kitchen. Do you know that there’s a much more efficient way to wash dishes in a double bowl sink?

In a double sink setup, dishwashing is an easier, less stressful job. With 2 bowl sinks, you don’t have to worry about cluttering up one before you’re done with the other.

How to Wash Dishes In A Double Bowl Kitchen Sink

When cleaning dishes in a double bowl sink, you need dish soap, hot water, and sponges. Suppose you have ever been unsure how to manage your dishwashing needs best when using a double sink. Here are some helpful steps to follow:

Step 1: Clean the Double Bowl Sink

Before you start washing dishes, you should clean the sinks. Then there will be no water left to drip on the tableware and no dirt stuck to them. Start by cleaning the spray nozzle of the faucet.

It’s probably covered with a hard buildup of limescale. Would you mind removing all of it using a small brush and a little vinegar or other acidic liquid cleansers?

Now, if your sink has a spray nozzle for both sinks, make sure it is turned off. Clean the drain holes in both sinks with a small brush and liquid cleanser if necessary.

There is probably a screen at the bottom of the sink that keeps large particles from getting into either drain. Clean it out if it needs it. Now wipe down both sinks with a wet sponge and some liquid cleanser.

Step 2: Assemble and Separate Them

Assemble all the dishes you intend to wash in a single pile. Before you even begin washing the dishes, separate them into piles based on their dish type.

Some examples include cutlery, stemware, and platter. If there isn’t enough room for all of the types of plates or glasses you have, wash them in three or more piles of dishes that are similar.

If you don’t do this, you will forget where each plate goes after dry, and you will have to rewash them.

Step 3: Prewash

Before washing dishes is to get the food debris off before putting them in the sink. This is easiest to do if you have a two-bowl sink, one for washing and one for rinsing.

The dishes can go right from the table or counter into the sink where you will wash them. If you don’t, you will put small food particles into the water to clog your drain.

Step 4: Wash

It is essential to wash dishes with hot water because cleaning with cold water is challenging. However, if the temperature of the water is too high, it might damage the dishes.

Therefore, you need to select the appropriate temperature for washing dishes. Use enough soap to remove grease from the dishware.

If there is no grease, then do not waste money on soap. Change water frequently. If you change it less, you will wash away more dirt and all germs on the plate.

The more often you change the water, the less work you will do to get rid of dirt and germs.

Step 5: Rinse

Rinse the dishes on the other sink. This will keep the suds in that sink down to a manageable level. Also, it will prevent suds from moving into that sink.

This will remove any food residue that might otherwise dry onto your dishes and take days to remove after they’re put away. It takes longer than washing or wiping off food, but it works better.

The first rinse should be with plain hot water: anything else interferes with getting rid of stains and doesn’t help as much as you’d think.

Step 6: Sanitize

Sanitizing is a separate step from washing. If you want to sanitize something, you need to use a different product at a higher concentration than when you’re just washing.

You can’t just add a little bleach or another sanitizer to the same soapy water you use for washing.

Step 7: Dry

If you plumb a double sink in kitchen, you can maximize your dishwashing efficiency by cleaning and drying your dishes as you go. Move the clean dishes over to the second sink, and dry them one by one as you go along.

Care and Maintenance of Double Bowl Sink after Dishwashing

In a kitchen with a double bowl sink, one of the sinks will inevitably get used more. If you’re like most people, the sink that gets used more is matched to your dominant hand. Proper use of a double sink will extend its useful life.

  • Sinks can be used for a variety of tasks and tend to be dirty. It’s essential to clean the sink bowls.
  • Use warm water to remove food scraps and grease. You can also use liquid detergent or dish soap for this purpose.
  • Additionally, mix vinegar and baking soda in the bowl to remove stubborn stains. Leave this mixture overnight to let tints dissolve completely. Scrub it with a brush in the morning.
  • Use lemon juice and salt to clean copper sinks. Scrub it with a sponge, rinse off and wipe dry.
  • Remove rust from the double bowl sink by rubbing it with a paste of baking powder and salt.
  • Use oil-based paint remover to remove paint from porcelain double bowl sinks.
  • Rub mineral spirits with steel wool to remove stubborn paint and grime from your double bowl sink.
  • Rub vinegar on porcelain sinks; it will make them shine like new ones.
  • Rub toothpaste onto stainless steel sinks; they will look like new again.
  • Make a paste of baking soda and water, scrub that into the surface of your double bowl sink, then rinse it off thoroughly.
  • Remove limescale by scrubbing it with a paste of salt.

Wrap Up

There is no magic solution to this problem, but following a set routine of washing dishes will lead to a decent outcome. A double bowl sink is a kitchen sink with two basins. It allows you to clean dishes without worrying about getting water on the countertops or floor.

A double bowl sink also saves water because it lets your dishwashing in one basin while rinsing in the other. Among other things you have to worry about when working with a double sink is who needs to do what at which sink.

All you need to do is position the dishes correctly, use the appropriate amount of soap, and most importantly, start washing efficiently. It might take a few extra minutes to wash dishes in a double sink. But the outcome will be impressive.

The trade trick is finding the best way of dividing up how dishes are washed to be cleaned quickly and effectively. As you see, washing dishes in a double bowl sink is quite simple.