Do I need to use a dishpan?

[cheenya]

It seems like this should be an easy question to answer. But I'm second guessing myself.

I've never had a dishwasher, we've always done all of our dishes by hand, and I've always had one of those plastic dishpans to set in the sink to wash dishes and take out when I'm done. I can tell my current plastic pan is wearing out, and I was thinking how much I would love to not have to replace it, when it occurred to me that I probably don't need to. I could just wash dishes in the sink. But if its that easy, than why have I (and my mother, and grandmother, and MIL, and pretty much everyone I know) always used a dishpan?

So tell me, if I just start washing dishes in the sink, am I courting some horrible, unknown danger, or just making a smart move not to purchase another piece of over marketed unnecessary stuff? :

[nathansmum]

I think its more about preference. My and my family have always just used the sink to wash in. But, one of my grandmothers on the other side has always used a dishpan, but I think it more goes back to saving a bit of water and being able to reuse the water after being washed in perhaps and now it's just habit?

[alexisyael]

I do have a dishwasher now, but when I didn't, I didn't use a dishpan. Here's what I do: wet the dishcloth, put dishsoap on it. Wash dishes. (Sometimes the cloth needs a little rewetting). Rinse dishes. The only part the water is turned on for is the beginning and the end. If I really have a LOT of dishes, I use a bowl to hold some soapy water (and the silverwear) while I wash everything else.

HTH!

[bellabear]

Our dishwasher broke and we went back to hand washing which I actually like better, weird I know. I've never used a pan, it would be like an extra thing for me to keep clean, kwim?

[Ruthla]

I use dishpans for Kosher reasons- one for meat and one for dairy (that almost never gets used because my dishwasher is dairy). I wouldn't want to soak dishes directly in my sink because I can't kasher a porcelain sink, so I use a plastic dishpan. But if you don't keep kosher, I don't see why you couldn't soak dishes in the sink directly.

[cheenya]

Thanks for the responses. I wash too many dishes at a time to do it without a sink-full of water (I need to rinse the rag in something), but a dish pan is starting to seem like maybe it is just something else to keep clean. That makes sense about keeping kosher, but we don't, so I don't need to worry about that. We have a stainless steel sink, which often is not super clean, but I'm thinking that getting rid of the dishpan may also help with that issue, because if I'm washing dishes in the sink, I'll be cleaning it at least daily. Right now I don't always remember to lift up the dish pan after I drain the water, so it can get kind of funny under there.
Thanks for encouraging me to give it a try

[sphinxie]

Technically one idea behind the dishpan is that it protects delicate stuff like glasses and plates from the hard metal sink.

I just got a dishpan actually--for us it's to save water, and because we don't have a double sink.

[LaughingHyena]

I always use a bowl in the sink. How do you pour away left over bit's of drinks or whatever if you have the sink full of water?

I guess if you have a double sink it's not a problem.

[gmvh]

I prefer a dishpan when there is no double sink. In a double sink? Nah. When we didn't have a dishwasher I felt more comfortable using one to help protect things from being dropped/bumped around in the metal or porcelain sink. I think my father used to just put a tiny bit of water in the bottom of the single sink and start washing. As he'd rinse, the sink would gradually fill with water and soak some of the yuckier things.

[cheenya]

Originally Posted by sphinxie

Technically one idea behind the dishpan is that it protects delicate stuff like glasses and plates from the hard metal sink.

Hmm, that makes sense, however, I think having a toddler throwing the dishes into the water has already weeded out most of our delicate dishes
I'll keep that in mind when washing up less often used/more fragile things though.

I just got a dishpan actually--for us it's to save water, and because we don't have a double sink.

So, how does having a dishpan save water? We do have a double sink, I can see how a dishpan or bowl would be more important if we didn't.

[bellabear]

:

[Ruthla]

Originally Posted by cheenya

Hmm, that makes sense, however, I think having a toddler throwing the dishes into the water has already weeded out most of our delicate dishes
I'll keep that in mind when washing up less often used/more fragile things though.


So, how does having a dishpan save water? We do have a double sink, I can see how a dishpan or bowl would be more important if we didn't.

If you keep soapy water in the dishpan, you don't need to use MORE water and soap for each dish- the soapy water gets reused.

This also lets you use less soap which also means less water needed for rinsing.

[cheenya]

Originally Posted by Ruthla

If you keep soapy water in the dishpan, you don't need to use MORE water and soap for each dish- the soapy water gets reused.

But how is this different than soapy water in the sink? If I stop using my dishpan I would just plug the drain on one side of the sink and use it just like a dishpan. Or is this another case of a dishpan makes sense if you have a single bowl sink?

[DBZ]

I don't use a dishpan, but I have a double sink. When I have lived in apartments with just a single sink I used a dish pan to keep soapy water in and then rinsed them next to it. I much prefer the double sink. I put the clean dishes on a clean towel until I am ready to dry them or I just let them sit long enough to air dry. I really miss having a dishwasher though. I have a really hard time getting the grime off of some stuff.

[texaspeach]

the only time we've ever used a dish pan is when we didn't have a double sink.

[Rhiannon Feimorgan]

The only time I use a dish pan is when I'm camping.

[sphinxie]

Originally Posted by cheenya

So, how does having a dishpan save water? We do have a double sink, I can see how a dishpan or bowl would be more important if we didn't.

Originally Posted by Ruthla

If you keep soapy water in the dishpan, you don't need to use MORE water and soap for each dish- the soapy water gets reused.

Yeah, exactly. It only saves water if you have a single sink. Because if you have a single sink, you have to keep the water running the whole time while you're doing dishes and rinsing--which adds up to a lot of water.

Basically, besides the delicates-protection issue, a dishpan can function as the equivalent of a double sink if you have a single sink.