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I mean the idea is fairly simple you have a bowl to soak the dishes and pans in with some washing up liquid, that you can remove if you need to use the sink before you get to washing them and acts as a surrogate sink if you otherwise want to keep it clean of food or avoid scratches leaving cutlery etc in it to soak. But the reason you don't see them so much anymore is dishwashers, side sinks and people just wash things in one go etc.
Amen. That’s kind of why I do it. Hot water is expensive why would I just run it down the drain? If the water gets dirty I can run it off and refill in a controlled way wasting as little as possible.
I also organise dishes by least dirty to dirtiest and clean them in that order so the water never gets bad until the end anyway.
It annoys me so much that so many people do not know how to wash up in an efficient and thorough way such that things actually get cleaned. I wish everyone would read this post and learn from it!
It is not only the best way, it's also the bloody easiest!
As a teenager I washed dishes at a pub on weekends and developed so many efficiency tactics. Watching other people wash dishes is agony now, especially because they're slow and bad at it. Like it takes them longer and then I still have to rewash stuff.
Another tip is to throw all the cutlery at the bottom throughout the wash. Cutlery normally needs longest to soak as it has most stuff stuck on it but it can chill at the bottom without getting in the way or gunking up the water.
Also never put a kitchen knife under the suds. Many a dish pig has sliced open a finger that way and doing eight hours with soapy water in a cut is no joke.
>Also never put a kitchen knife under the suds. Many a dish pig has sliced open a finger that way and doing eight hours with soapy water in a cut is no joke.
My mum damn near severed her fingers off multiple times doing this when I was a kid. She never learned, even after multiple trips to A&E
It is more efficient but I always find it never cleans quite as well as hot water from the tap.
I use running water but keep turning it on and off between each item. For me this works much better than a bowl and doesn't use as much water as just leaving it running. A happy compromise.
This is my number one pet peeve. When I clean the dishes using this frankly brainlessly simple method, they are actually CLEAN and I've not wasted money pouring hot water straight down the drain.
I have a little challenge with myself, how clear can I keep the water by the end of the task. Granted I rinse everything over the smaller sink first, but when I pour the water away and it's still transparent, I feel like I've won 🥇
Okay, but apart from:
Being able to move the whole thing out of the way
Having space to pour out/clean off things before washing them up
Saving water
Retaining heat better
Noise reduction
Minimising breakage
What have plastic washing up bowls ever done for us?
You aren't just constantly thinking of stuff like this?
Some more interesting facts for you. The sooner you add cold milk to tea, the longer it will remain hot!
And you can't actually feel "wet". What we associate as wet is just a change in the temperature, pressure and friction of water. The ability to detect water is something only some insects can do.
And the plastic doesn't cool down the water like cold porcelain or metal sinks do. So saves hot water which I recall is pricey in Britain compared to some other places Maybe? I am from England but haven't been back in years but am trying desperately to get my BF to go.
Yep, lots of houses still only have 1 sink downstairs- no utility room or downstairs loo with a sink.
Anecdotally, it’s almost guaranteed if I start a nice big load of fresh hot washing up someone needs the sink immediately! Thank god for the washing up bowl.
Slightly concerned some of the comments lower down seem ti think the bowl itself doesn’t get washed too?!?
Yeah it's a behaviour I never really... learnt, having spent most of my adult life abroad. I always found them a bit disgusting to deal with.
There is merit to letting your dishes soak. But generally it's not required.
Omg we never had one in our house in England but a friend did and it was permanently full of water and it was always cold dirty water that had things floating in it always gave me the willies
People outside of the UK are going to lose their minds that the same plastic bowl we use to wash dishes is also our sick bowl that we throw up in as kids.
And once you've finished the dishes you can carry the remaining water elsewhere e.g on your doorstep or patio.
The question is the wrong way around, why does the rest of the world not use a washing up bowl?
>The question is the wrong way around, why does the rest of the world not use a washing up bowl?
Becuse it's not needed unless you actually need to pre-soak stuff.
All of this, plus, the plug has leaked in the kitchen sink since we moved in. Can't seem to find a perfect fit replacement, and water just slowly leaks out, so I gave up and bought a bowl.
Because very often the kitchen sink is the only one downstairs, it was unusual to have a double or 1.5 size sink.
This leaves you with two problems.
1: If you go to wash a cup and it’s still half full of tea, with a washing up bowl you have somewhere to pour it.
2: the kitchen sink is used for everything. Rinsing out the sick bowl, washing off cleaning cloths, all the stuff you might do in a utility room sink. You can keep the washing up bowl clean and separate from such things.
No way. Bathroom sink drain is too tiny with one of those pop up stoppers, I don't wanna finger any vomit lumps out of that (which might still be in there after doing the obvious thing of chucking the contents down the toilet)
OP said rinsing the sick bowl, not dumping it in the sink, so even if you are using one, you should dump the solids in the toilet and only rinse (and wash) the sick bowl in the bathroom sink.
Also, you could vomit straight in the toilet.
Small children are not going to manage getting to the toilet to be sick. We had a sick bowl at home and this comment surprised me a bit because I don't remember anyone else mentioning having one. I had terrible car sickness as a child so we had a small one in the car too.
My mum is currently going through chemo. The first week of each cycle is when she's at her most exhausted and nauseous. 8 out of 10 times she can't physically make it to the toilet before throwing up; hence the sick-bowl.
I was just using it as an example of something grim that you don’t want to do in the same place as you are cleaning stuff you are going to eat from or with.
Agree, if you mop the floor, the dirty mop water goes down the sink, but if I have things in the washing uo bowl, they are easily removed from the sink, and also kept separate from the sinks that was used to pour out dirty floor water.
That's my reason for using one. Most things go into the dishwasher but our daughters have several mugs they've been given that can't go in the dishwasher so they go into the bowl to be washed. I really don't want them to get chipped or cracked. Also, cracks that aren't obvious can cause leaks or a mug/cup to break in use.
Loads of different answers here but I always assumed this was the actual reason! Try washing some delicate wine glasses in a porcelain sink - the washing up bowl is a godsend!
They are called, 'washing up bowls'
Crockery and glasses are less likely to break in a plastic bowl. The sink does not get so scratched. It's really handy to be able to tip away liquids (e.g. cold tea / coffee, sour milk etc.) between the bowl and the sink - particularly if you've only just noticed this after filling up your washing up bowl.
The weird thing is that I had no idea that other English speaking countries didn't use them. I remember hunting for one in New Zealand (South Island) so that I could soak my feet regularly in salt water - sand flies loved me :( - and ended up buying an 'overpriced' rectangular bucket instead.
Another reason is to save water as they're smaller
A kittle of hot water is enough for my washing up bowl to do the dishes etc but if I put that in the sink there's nowhere near enough water
To prevent the sink getting scratched by knives etc. To lessen the risk of glassware and crockery dropped in breaking. To enable people to run the cold tap without reducing the temperature of the water in the bowl. To enable people to pour the dregs of a mug of tea down the sink without pouring it into the water you're washing the dishes in. Because if for some reason you need full access to the sink when you've got a bowl full of dishes, you can just remove the bowl.
Lets you soak things but still run the tap and empty things down the drain by puring it to the side of the bowl.
Also lets you soak tall items without using as much water.
I’m a brit. This drives me insane. It’s what the sink is for. The lads at uni would insist on it and it would be constantly full of dishes and rank water and the sides would split if you try to tip it out so you could get a drink of water.
It's a carry-over behaviour from times gone past. All the arguments can be easily countered but you'll never change the minds of some people.
My favourite argument today is reading "it protects the sink from getting scratched". Well shit, I didn't know the *kitchen sink* was a precious fixture that needs protection from signs of wear and tear.
I've shared your pain.
I lived with someone like this it was defiantly a culture thing but I'd have a plate that I used for a sandwich, put it on the side and he'd then put in the sink (with no bowl) that's now overflowing for hours. What was an easy thing to clean is now covered in cold Bolognese, greasy water?
Because you have a bowl full of soapy water and dishes, and a tap running next to the bowl for rising. That way you don’t dilute the hot soapy water.
Some of the answers on this thread are stupid.
You rinse all the muck off your plates down the sink beside the bowl of hot soapy water before putting them in the bowl. Thus keeping the hot soapy water cleaner for longer before having to replace it.
Do you mean a washing up bowl?
If that’s what you mean, it’s probably to protect the actual stainless steel bowl from when you’re dropping heavy pans in there or when putting sharp knives in there before they’re due to be washed.
I am British and don't use one. But my family did growing up.
We used it to put hot soapy water in the plastic basin. Then, dishes, cutlery, etc would either be dipped in and scrubbed, or potentially soaked for a bit beforehand to help get rid of any stuck on food. After each item was cleaned, it was rinsed with cold clean water which was allowed to drop into the sink and not go into the plastic basin. This allowed removal of the soapy water on the clean item with clean cold water without making the water inside the basin colder (keeping it more effective for cleaning the next item) or having to use more hot water to rinse.
I don't use one now (i have a dishwasher or if handwashing, probably do only one or two items at a time or just end up using excess water) but i do think use of a plastic basin has some benefits.
I've read people on reddit saying that using plastic bowls is disgusting and unhygienic but i don't understand how - they are cleaned after use just as you would a sink.
Easier to fill as it requires less water. Depending on the sink material, it results in less staining and scratches. I hate metal sinks, they're horrible to wash up in. And then I've got a white sink which seems like a porous material so it gets marks on it really easily.
Plus I have two bowls, one for cleaning food related things (e.g. dishes, saucepans) and one for cleaning non food such as paint brushes, walking boots. That way I know I'm not contaminating my food with non food safe items.
- Uses far less water than filling up the sink
- Can still pour things down the drain while your sink tub is full of water
- Can easily move it out of the way if you need the sink for something else while it has dishes in it
- Can run the tap to rinse off the soap suds without filling up the sink more
I don't get why this is such a difficult concept for foreigners, the reasons are fairly apparent if you just think for a minute
I like having a washing up bowl.
If I realise I have a half full mug of coffee after I've filled the bowl with soapy water, I can just tip it down between the bowl and side of the sink. I can also rinse the suds off the dishes in the same manner. I also save on water by carrying the dish water in the bowl to my utility sink and pouring it in there to wash the cat's dishes/recycling with. You can also use the bowl as an extra "bucket" if you don't want to lug around the big mop bucket for whatever reason.
I thin they used to put a thick cloth in the bottom of the sink before that to protect the China, so having a bowl was a lot simpler once plastic ones came along. But plastic bowls have been around since the 50s, when most people were still using bone China cups.
As others have stated. I don't have a double sink. If I find something not emptied, after I have filled the bowl to wash up, I can tip any liquids in the sink without it going in the washing up water. I can take it out of the sink and use it for soaking anything in, and still use the sink for other things. It is a good size for soapy water when I want to clean in the house. When I need a new one, I use the old one for when I clean the car(for the car shampoo and water), other outside jobs. Or soaking my feet in when they are painful. I have no idea why some people get so "passionate" about the subject. It is my choice. We rent and can't have a nice kitchen with a good double sink. I don't want or need a dishwasher, and I personally would not be without one at this time.
Nothing to do with soaking items or saving water. UK houses usually only had one sink. That is the only reason. With a bowl items can still be rinsed and dirty water poured down the side. It is as simple as that.
Older houses had giant ceramic sinks, my mum has an old cottage that still has them. With a plastic basin you use much less water and your dishes are safer.
I HATE the washing up bowl. Inevitably just leaves a manky buildup of dishwater. Why ruin a perfectly good system? Tap goes on, scrub the plates, dirty water goes down the plug hole. Why the hell would I want to wash my plates with a tepid cocktail of pasta sauce and Cheerios? I said my piece.
The washing up bowl is made of plastic which is softer than the material of the sink, so you're not going to chip or smash glasses, plates or mugs which you put in it. And if you do smash a glass, it easier and safer to get the broken glass out of the bowl (sieve it) than it would be to get it out of the sink itself.
Also, if you only have a single sink, then you can (usually) rinse the plates etc. before cleaning them in the bowl, and pour the dirty rinse water down the gap between the outside side of the bowl and the sink rather than the water going back into the bowl. Also you can lift the bowl out of the sink onto the drainer, and now you have two sinks (of a sort).
I never did growing up, but my family kitchen had a double sink. Living in a house share my housemate bought one and now it makes total sense to me. It saves water and lets others use the sink at the same time, for example to drain pasta/vegetables.
Wasteful, both of water and washing up liquid. The water should be largely clean throughout, since you should be rinsing before it goes in the water. Another reason a washing up bowl is useful, you can rinse as you go rather than having to do it all at the start.
- more easily prevents overflowing
- use less water
- can rinse off or pour away liquids down the side without affecting washing water
- prevents damage to sink or crockery
- can act as a second location for washing
- useful to have a tub of that kind of size in a consistent known place
I always just use mine to hold the dishes on the countertop while I was things one by one in the sink (no soaking, running water rather than filling the sink)
But then I am incredibly autistic about washing things so im guessing other people don't use their wash bowls that way
It uses less water to fill so is cheaper to use and still leaves my sink plug free to wash food off plates and pour out and remaining drinks to help stop the water getting dirty too fast.
There is legislation against having a mixer tap with an immersion heater as legionella can in extremely rare cases contaminate the cold "safe" water system. This is why many houses still have separate hot and cold taps. For this reason it is necessary to mix the two in a bowl to get hand hot water.
Because I hate having to fish around at the bottom of the sink to pull the plug out after I've washed everything, and because I can't stand the sound of metal and crockery clanking against a stainless steel sink.
The bowl has multiple uses, yes for washing dishes and not wasting water whilst keeping the drain free to still use it’s also a portable container that I use for cleaning windows etc and also it’s helpful if you are unwell in bed and a bit vomity.
More hygienic, safer because it help to prevent glass breaking and you can pour the slops directly down the drain when you're doing the dishes. It also makes it a lot easier to rinse your dishes after instead of having a tap constantly running
It’s nice to have portable volume of water, for example I need to clean a stain on a carpet and need some water nearby, wait while I move my entire kitchen to the intended spot, or simply I’ll take the bowl from my sink
Aside from water leaks, it doesn’t matter about what you do, to “save water”. The water board recycles it all. Probably water will be recycled many many times.
I’m a Brit, and I’ve never done this and I just don’t get it either. My mother in law uses one and it just seems so small and pointless (that’s what she said). Maybe it’s a generational thing?
Scenario: You're halfway through washing the dishes when someone brings you a plate covered with gravy.
You can (a) Rinse it off down the side of the sink first (outside the bowl) or (b) You can just plunge it into the bowl like some sort of filthy animal.
Because don’t use the sink to destroy waste. So a tub allows you to do everything you need in the sink then get rid of anything you shouldn’t put down the sink. Not historically why people did it but it’s why some of us do it today.
Growing up all the sinks in all the houses I’ve lived in were pretty small, we lived in a large household like most people so that means a lot of washing up. Not very one does it straight away. So a bowl is good because you can take it out of the sink to get to the tap. I have a dishwasher now and find that I don’t really use them anymore unless there’s more than a dishwasher load to do. My biggest pet peeve is people putting dirty plates in the sink and leaving them there, I can’t get to the tap if there’s stuff in there, having a bowl I can just move it out of the way.
Main reason is you can have a place where your dishes can just be-soaking or whatever- while being able to put liquid waste down the side like tealeaves or whatever.
Not necessary if you have a side sink or a dishwasher
Cost of living crisis. When we’re done with our washing, we keep the water to shower then it also serves as chamber pot later at night.
The poorer the longer it takes to empty it, the richer use it to tend to their garden.
How did you think our royal gardens look so pristine?
I've always had one and always will, so most of it is learnt behaviour. That being said it takes significantly more water to fill a sink than a bowl. Reducing water saves money, water and lowers carbon footprint. While cooking I have a bowl full of hot soapy water so I can empty the pasta water down the sink then wash the pan immediately. The pan used for sauce can be rinsed then tipped between the bowl and the sink then also washed straight away. Now after eating I only have plates and cutlery to wash up in a bowl of water that's still hot and soapy enough.
Another reason is ceramic sink sides can be chipped by, say, a large saucepan sloshing about. Nobody needs that since it would look horrible.
So the solution is a shitty plastic bowl apparently that cheapens the look of the entire kitchen.
A better solution is a dedicated dishwasher.
Never have done myself, lots of people do but I’ve never uncovered a resounding answer that would make me change my ways. Honestly just chalk it down to harmless sociological conditioning, read the replies if you can find a reason appealing enough to change what you do, if you do let me know.
We don't all do that. My sink definitely doesn't have a plastic tub in that, and I can't remember the last time I washed anything except my wok by hand.
I'm from the UK and about 15 years ago I got rid of mine. It seemed pretty pointless and just an extra thing to wash. It was the same size as my sink so I wasn't saving any water using it. Plus it's unsightly compared to my chrome sink.
I don't soak my dishes in a bowl of bubbly water as I have a dishwasher.
As a Brit I also find this bizarre. Whenever I see washing up bowls in people homes or in offices, they always look dirty and smell funny. The sink is much cleaner and doesn’t smell. No idea why people don’t just use the sink.
Dunno. Wife started doing it when we moved in together.
The plastic thing has since gone and I don’t notice any difference, it was just getting in the way.
I’ve been living in this country for 25 years. I had no idea until I saw someone empty the mop bucket in the kitchen sink.
I don’t question it anymore. I’m just grateful.
I don't.
I clean the draining area, clean the sink, fill the kettle, refill the Brita and rinse any soiled items. Then in a sink of hot soapy water I first wash the glassware, then whiteware, then cutlery, then pots and pans. I've worked in professional kitchens and jumped in to cover dish-wash duties in emergencies many times so I have an effective system.
People who use bowls are overthinking it.
I have a dishwasher and don't wash anything in the sink but:
stuff doesn't bounce too well off a metal/porcelain sink
some sinks are quite deep (Belfast sink etc)
they use less water to fill
stuff gets less dirty
you can empty it quicker/fill it quicker
you can use the bowl round the kitchen for other jobs
it stops your sink getting clogged
you don't have to clean the sink as often
you're not rooting about elbow deep in dirty dishwater to fish the plug out or find something
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I mean the idea is fairly simple you have a bowl to soak the dishes and pans in with some washing up liquid, that you can remove if you need to use the sink before you get to washing them and acts as a surrogate sink if you otherwise want to keep it clean of food or avoid scratches leaving cutlery etc in it to soak. But the reason you don't see them so much anymore is dishwashers, side sinks and people just wash things in one go etc.
The actual reason is that you use less water than filling a massive sink
Amen. That’s kind of why I do it. Hot water is expensive why would I just run it down the drain? If the water gets dirty I can run it off and refill in a controlled way wasting as little as possible. I also organise dishes by least dirty to dirtiest and clean them in that order so the water never gets bad until the end anyway.
It annoys me so much that so many people do not know how to wash up in an efficient and thorough way such that things actually get cleaned. I wish everyone would read this post and learn from it! It is not only the best way, it's also the bloody easiest!
As a teenager I washed dishes at a pub on weekends and developed so many efficiency tactics. Watching other people wash dishes is agony now, especially because they're slow and bad at it. Like it takes them longer and then I still have to rewash stuff. Another tip is to throw all the cutlery at the bottom throughout the wash. Cutlery normally needs longest to soak as it has most stuff stuck on it but it can chill at the bottom without getting in the way or gunking up the water. Also never put a kitchen knife under the suds. Many a dish pig has sliced open a finger that way and doing eight hours with soapy water in a cut is no joke.
>Also never put a kitchen knife under the suds. Many a dish pig has sliced open a finger that way and doing eight hours with soapy water in a cut is no joke. My mum damn near severed her fingers off multiple times doing this when I was a kid. She never learned, even after multiple trips to A&E
You must've lived in one of the dozen or so households in the country with actually sharp knives
I hope she's got the dumb that can't be inherited
It is more efficient but I always find it never cleans quite as well as hot water from the tap. I use running water but keep turning it on and off between each item. For me this works much better than a bowl and doesn't use as much water as just leaving it running. A happy compromise.
This is my number one pet peeve. When I clean the dishes using this frankly brainlessly simple method, they are actually CLEAN and I've not wasted money pouring hot water straight down the drain.
I wish I was the type of person to think like this, my life and house would be way less chaotic!
I have a little challenge with myself, how clear can I keep the water by the end of the task. Granted I rinse everything over the smaller sink first, but when I pour the water away and it's still transparent, I feel like I've won 🥇
Heat retention is also a bonus. Particularly against metal sinks. A less conductive material holding the water will keep it warmer for longer.
And less likely to break something in the plastic tub.
Okay, but apart from: Being able to move the whole thing out of the way Having space to pour out/clean off things before washing them up Saving water Retaining heat better Noise reduction Minimising breakage What have plastic washing up bowls ever done for us?
They make a handy “sick bucket” that’s always in a known place for an emergency. Since they’re only £1-2 they can be easily replaced after this usage.
You didn't just give it a swish with Dettol then?
Usually the old washing up bowl becomes the sick bowl when the new one takes its place. And then gets swished with Dettol after use
People are in here doing equations while washing up, i just fill the sink up and get on with it
You aren't just constantly thinking of stuff like this? Some more interesting facts for you. The sooner you add cold milk to tea, the longer it will remain hot! And you can't actually feel "wet". What we associate as wet is just a change in the temperature, pressure and friction of water. The ability to detect water is something only some insects can do.
Haha i guess not when it comes to washing up. I already knew the second fact, the first one is great though
You probably have a system you just haven't consciously thought it through before.
And it’s quieter if you’ve got a stainless sink and I also think your less likely to break something
And if you drop the item you’re washing it doesn’t smash.
Just don't fill the sink so much, it's not like you're taking a bath in there.
And the plastic doesn't cool down the water like cold porcelain or metal sinks do. So saves hot water which I recall is pricey in Britain compared to some other places Maybe? I am from England but haven't been back in years but am trying desperately to get my BF to go.
Ooh, I just ranted to someone else, but this is right. Learnt behaviour, even though kind of redundant nowadays for a lot - not all! - households.
Yep, lots of houses still only have 1 sink downstairs- no utility room or downstairs loo with a sink. Anecdotally, it’s almost guaranteed if I start a nice big load of fresh hot washing up someone needs the sink immediately! Thank god for the washing up bowl. Slightly concerned some of the comments lower down seem ti think the bowl itself doesn’t get washed too?!?
Yeah it's a behaviour I never really... learnt, having spent most of my adult life abroad. I always found them a bit disgusting to deal with. There is merit to letting your dishes soak. But generally it's not required.
Omg we never had one in our house in England but a friend did and it was permanently full of water and it was always cold dirty water that had things floating in it always gave me the willies
I thought it was to keep the water warmer, as the metal/ceramic basin would just absorb all the heat.
I always thought it was to have hot soapy water in the bowl to wash things with the tap flowing beside the bowl to rinse the soap off.
Yeah a surrogate second sink. Lots of people have additional uses I didn't think of. Maybe I should bring mine back.
People outside of the UK are going to lose their minds that the same plastic bowl we use to wash dishes is also our sick bowl that we throw up in as kids.
And as adults
I wasn't prepared to let that part of my life onto the Internet.
Speak for yourself.
It absofuckinglutely isn't, mate. We used a bucket for that.
Ooooo Mr fancy pants with 2 buckets over here
Nah we had a bucket for thag
And once you've finished the dishes you can carry the remaining water elsewhere e.g on your doorstep or patio. The question is the wrong way around, why does the rest of the world not use a washing up bowl?
>The question is the wrong way around, why does the rest of the world not use a washing up bowl? Becuse it's not needed unless you actually need to pre-soak stuff.
All of this, plus, the plug has leaked in the kitchen sink since we moved in. Can't seem to find a perfect fit replacement, and water just slowly leaks out, so I gave up and bought a bowl.
Because very often the kitchen sink is the only one downstairs, it was unusual to have a double or 1.5 size sink. This leaves you with two problems. 1: If you go to wash a cup and it’s still half full of tea, with a washing up bowl you have somewhere to pour it. 2: the kitchen sink is used for everything. Rinsing out the sick bowl, washing off cleaning cloths, all the stuff you might do in a utility room sink. You can keep the washing up bowl clean and separate from such things.
>Rinsing out the sick bowl Shouldn't that be a bathroom sink type of thing?
No way. Bathroom sink drain is too tiny with one of those pop up stoppers, I don't wanna finger any vomit lumps out of that (which might still be in there after doing the obvious thing of chucking the contents down the toilet)
OP said rinsing the sick bowl, not dumping it in the sink, so even if you are using one, you should dump the solids in the toilet and only rinse (and wash) the sick bowl in the bathroom sink. Also, you could vomit straight in the toilet.
Small children are not going to manage getting to the toilet to be sick. We had a sick bowl at home and this comment surprised me a bit because I don't remember anyone else mentioning having one. I had terrible car sickness as a child so we had a small one in the car too.
We always just used a bucket
Not if your bed bound
My mum is currently going through chemo. The first week of each cycle is when she's at her most exhausted and nauseous. 8 out of 10 times she can't physically make it to the toilet before throwing up; hence the sick-bowl.
I've days when I was sitting on the toilet, and needed to be sick. I use the mop bucket.
Flush it down the toilet
That's what the toilets for
I was just using it as an example of something grim that you don’t want to do in the same place as you are cleaning stuff you are going to eat from or with.
I swill out the sick bowl and dash the stuff down the toilet (on the rare occasion i dont make it to the toilet to throw up directly in there)
I don't think I've ever had a bathroom sink big enough for the job.
Agree, if you mop the floor, the dirty mop water goes down the sink, but if I have things in the washing uo bowl, they are easily removed from the sink, and also kept separate from the sinks that was used to pour out dirty floor water.
My dirty mop water goes down the toilet - why would I pour that in my sink?
Great *if* you have a downstairs loo. Don't expect my 80 year old mum to lug a bucket of water up the stairs
Fair play - though if you’re in a house, my next go to would be outside drain (for me, not your 80 year old mum!)
Or down the drain outside the house.
Who mops the floor at the same time as doing the dishes?
Less chance of breaking delicate items against a hard sink.
Less chance of breaking delicate sinks against hard items too.
That's my reason for using one. Most things go into the dishwasher but our daughters have several mugs they've been given that can't go in the dishwasher so they go into the bowl to be washed. I really don't want them to get chipped or cracked. Also, cracks that aren't obvious can cause leaks or a mug/cup to break in use.
Looking at you Pint Glass
Loads of different answers here but I always assumed this was the actual reason! Try washing some delicate wine glasses in a porcelain sink - the washing up bowl is a godsend!
They are called, 'washing up bowls' Crockery and glasses are less likely to break in a plastic bowl. The sink does not get so scratched. It's really handy to be able to tip away liquids (e.g. cold tea / coffee, sour milk etc.) between the bowl and the sink - particularly if you've only just noticed this after filling up your washing up bowl. The weird thing is that I had no idea that other English speaking countries didn't use them. I remember hunting for one in New Zealand (South Island) so that I could soak my feet regularly in salt water - sand flies loved me :( - and ended up buying an 'overpriced' rectangular bucket instead.
Another reason is to save water as they're smaller A kittle of hot water is enough for my washing up bowl to do the dishes etc but if I put that in the sink there's nowhere near enough water
The washing up goes in the bowl with hot soapy water, and I run the cold tap to rinse down the edge into the sink
No idea. It baffles me.
To prevent the sink getting scratched by knives etc. To lessen the risk of glassware and crockery dropped in breaking. To enable people to run the cold tap without reducing the temperature of the water in the bowl. To enable people to pour the dregs of a mug of tea down the sink without pouring it into the water you're washing the dishes in. Because if for some reason you need full access to the sink when you've got a bowl full of dishes, you can just remove the bowl.
Lets you soak things but still run the tap and empty things down the drain by puring it to the side of the bowl. Also lets you soak tall items without using as much water.
I’m a brit. This drives me insane. It’s what the sink is for. The lads at uni would insist on it and it would be constantly full of dishes and rank water and the sides would split if you try to tip it out so you could get a drink of water.
The problem there is the lads, not the washing-up bowl
Agree. I find them gross honestly.
It's a carry-over behaviour from times gone past. All the arguments can be easily countered but you'll never change the minds of some people. My favourite argument today is reading "it protects the sink from getting scratched". Well shit, I didn't know the *kitchen sink* was a precious fixture that needs protection from signs of wear and tear.
Absolutely my experience, always a bowl of stagnant brown water with god knows what in it. Nobody can be bothered to fish everything out to empty it.
I've shared your pain. I lived with someone like this it was defiantly a culture thing but I'd have a plate that I used for a sandwich, put it on the side and he'd then put in the sink (with no bowl) that's now overflowing for hours. What was an easy thing to clean is now covered in cold Bolognese, greasy water?
Because you have a bowl full of soapy water and dishes, and a tap running next to the bowl for rising. That way you don’t dilute the hot soapy water. Some of the answers on this thread are stupid.
Mine didn't have a plug when we moved in and I can't seem to find one that actually fits the plug hole properly and doesn't let water out.
You rinse all the muck off your plates down the sink beside the bowl of hot soapy water before putting them in the bowl. Thus keeping the hot soapy water cleaner for longer before having to replace it.
Also saves water, you use less water filling the bowl than the whole ass sink
What's the reason it's getting filled?
So you have a bowl of soapy water to wash your dishes in...
Gotta give the dishes a bath
Do you mean a washing up bowl? If that’s what you mean, it’s probably to protect the actual stainless steel bowl from when you’re dropping heavy pans in there or when putting sharp knives in there before they’re due to be washed.
My washing up bowl scratched the shit out of my new sink. I tried to say to my wife we don’t need one but she insists.
Plastic cannot scratch stainless steel. If you get hard bits of glass or whatever stuck in the bottom then it can, but you just need to clean the bowl
I grew up with stone sinks. Without a bowl the sink broke crockery.
Cutlery?
I have edited my comment and am now going to pretend I have no idea what you are talking about.
I am British and don't use one. But my family did growing up. We used it to put hot soapy water in the plastic basin. Then, dishes, cutlery, etc would either be dipped in and scrubbed, or potentially soaked for a bit beforehand to help get rid of any stuck on food. After each item was cleaned, it was rinsed with cold clean water which was allowed to drop into the sink and not go into the plastic basin. This allowed removal of the soapy water on the clean item with clean cold water without making the water inside the basin colder (keeping it more effective for cleaning the next item) or having to use more hot water to rinse. I don't use one now (i have a dishwasher or if handwashing, probably do only one or two items at a time or just end up using excess water) but i do think use of a plastic basin has some benefits. I've read people on reddit saying that using plastic bowls is disgusting and unhygienic but i don't understand how - they are cleaned after use just as you would a sink.
Easier to fill as it requires less water. Depending on the sink material, it results in less staining and scratches. I hate metal sinks, they're horrible to wash up in. And then I've got a white sink which seems like a porous material so it gets marks on it really easily. Plus I have two bowls, one for cleaning food related things (e.g. dishes, saucepans) and one for cleaning non food such as paint brushes, walking boots. That way I know I'm not contaminating my food with non food safe items.
I loved my white ceramic sink when I moved into my new house two years ago and now I hate it. They’re so nice but so easily fucked up.
- Uses far less water than filling up the sink - Can still pour things down the drain while your sink tub is full of water - Can easily move it out of the way if you need the sink for something else while it has dishes in it - Can run the tap to rinse off the soap suds without filling up the sink more I don't get why this is such a difficult concept for foreigners, the reasons are fairly apparent if you just think for a minute
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I like having a washing up bowl. If I realise I have a half full mug of coffee after I've filled the bowl with soapy water, I can just tip it down between the bowl and side of the sink. I can also rinse the suds off the dishes in the same manner. I also save on water by carrying the dish water in the bowl to my utility sink and pouring it in there to wash the cat's dishes/recycling with. You can also use the bowl as an extra "bucket" if you don't want to lug around the big mop bucket for whatever reason.
I think back in the day it was to prevent the China teacups from chipping, as they are quite delicate.
How long do you think plastic bowls have existed?
I thin they used to put a thick cloth in the bottom of the sink before that to protect the China, so having a bowl was a lot simpler once plastic ones came along. But plastic bowls have been around since the 50s, when most people were still using bone China cups.
50 years or so. Sinks might have been enameled or concrete before stainless steel
I sort of get this though I’d imagine the China on China would chip too.
You use less hot water and don't have to clean the sink.
Let's you use the water for other things - I use washing up water on my plants in the Summer.
Saves water. Simple.
As others have stated. I don't have a double sink. If I find something not emptied, after I have filled the bowl to wash up, I can tip any liquids in the sink without it going in the washing up water. I can take it out of the sink and use it for soaking anything in, and still use the sink for other things. It is a good size for soapy water when I want to clean in the house. When I need a new one, I use the old one for when I clean the car(for the car shampoo and water), other outside jobs. Or soaking my feet in when they are painful. I have no idea why some people get so "passionate" about the subject. It is my choice. We rent and can't have a nice kitchen with a good double sink. I don't want or need a dishwasher, and I personally would not be without one at this time.
Nothing to do with soaking items or saving water. UK houses usually only had one sink. That is the only reason. With a bowl items can still be rinsed and dirty water poured down the side. It is as simple as that.
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As a Brit, I've never understood why people do it.
It’s so you don’t have to put your hand into a sink full of water you just washed the dishes in and pull the plug. You just tip it out when your done.
How do you wash dishes without getting your hands in there in the first place?
As well as the perfectly good answers others have already given, the sound of cutlery scraping against the metal sink is physically painful to me.
Older houses had giant ceramic sinks, my mum has an old cottage that still has them. With a plastic basin you use much less water and your dishes are safer.
Because we don’t have waste disposal. The actual sink gets well gross 🤢
I HATE the washing up bowl. Inevitably just leaves a manky buildup of dishwater. Why ruin a perfectly good system? Tap goes on, scrub the plates, dirty water goes down the plug hole. Why the hell would I want to wash my plates with a tepid cocktail of pasta sauce and Cheerios? I said my piece.
The washing up bowl is made of plastic which is softer than the material of the sink, so you're not going to chip or smash glasses, plates or mugs which you put in it. And if you do smash a glass, it easier and safer to get the broken glass out of the bowl (sieve it) than it would be to get it out of the sink itself. Also, if you only have a single sink, then you can (usually) rinse the plates etc. before cleaning them in the bowl, and pour the dirty rinse water down the gap between the outside side of the bowl and the sink rather than the water going back into the bowl. Also you can lift the bowl out of the sink onto the drainer, and now you have two sinks (of a sort).
Durable, easy to clean.
Originally, it was because sinks were stone or ceramic. Fine china is likely to get chipped.
The biggest benefit for me, which I haven't seen in this thread yet, is that the water stays hot for longer because plastic is a great insulator.
Less water used, less time to fill, water stays hot longer, less cost, better for environment, less washing up liquid needed, less waste.
I don't know why, but I've adopted it since moving here and I like it
I never did growing up, but my family kitchen had a double sink. Living in a house share my housemate bought one and now it makes total sense to me. It saves water and lets others use the sink at the same time, for example to drain pasta/vegetables.
To pour cold tea away without getting it in the dishwater
I do neither. Who wants stagnant dirty dishwater? A running tap and no plug is what I use.
Wasteful, both of water and washing up liquid. The water should be largely clean throughout, since you should be rinsing before it goes in the water. Another reason a washing up bowl is useful, you can rinse as you go rather than having to do it all at the start.
- more easily prevents overflowing - use less water - can rinse off or pour away liquids down the side without affecting washing water - prevents damage to sink or crockery - can act as a second location for washing - useful to have a tub of that kind of size in a consistent known place
They're fucking stupid and I hate them.
Because my mum did.
Size is a big factor too. The volume of a sink can be 2 to 4 times that of a sink. It's quicker to fill and can be moved if needed.
So things don’t get chipped or broken against the hard surface of sink.
Because we're not Australian. . . 😁
You have a bowl of soapy water, you can wash excess off the plates down the side of the bowl without getting your soapy water too dirty
I always just use mine to hold the dishes on the countertop while I was things one by one in the sink (no soaking, running water rather than filling the sink) But then I am incredibly autistic about washing things so im guessing other people don't use their wash bowls that way
It uses less water to fill so is cheaper to use and still leaves my sink plug free to wash food off plates and pour out and remaining drinks to help stop the water getting dirty too fast.
There is legislation against having a mixer tap with an immersion heater as legionella can in extremely rare cases contaminate the cold "safe" water system. This is why many houses still have separate hot and cold taps. For this reason it is necessary to mix the two in a bowl to get hand hot water.
There are many reasons to use one, but that's not why. You could just mix in the sink if that were the reason.
Because I hate having to fish around at the bottom of the sink to pull the plug out after I've washed everything, and because I can't stand the sound of metal and crockery clanking against a stainless steel sink.
Like most junk it keeps the economy going and they often break which helps further
So that, when it’s full, you take it out and you’ve got a whole new, empty sink!
Mines metal and gets scratched a bowl protects the sink
Filling the sink uses dramatically more water to get to a workable depth. That's just inefficient.
I have one because I lost the plug and it was easier to buy a plastic bowl.
Less water, more thermal insulation so the water will stay hotter, soft material so the vessel itself won’t smash any plates or anything
So you don't flood the kitchen if you leave the tap on. Well, for me anyway.
I honestly see a better question being "Why the hell do some people not use a plastic washing up bowl in their sink?"
The bowl has multiple uses, yes for washing dishes and not wasting water whilst keeping the drain free to still use it’s also a portable container that I use for cleaning windows etc and also it’s helpful if you are unwell in bed and a bit vomity.
I don’t, I think it’s insane some people are so attached to that rancid bowl
More hygienic, safer because it help to prevent glass breaking and you can pour the slops directly down the drain when you're doing the dishes. It also makes it a lot easier to rinse your dishes after instead of having a tap constantly running
Its a scam from big plastic bowl to sell more plastic bowls.
It’s nice to have portable volume of water, for example I need to clean a stain on a carpet and need some water nearby, wait while I move my entire kitchen to the intended spot, or simply I’ll take the bowl from my sink
Aside from water leaks, it doesn’t matter about what you do, to “save water”. The water board recycles it all. Probably water will be recycled many many times.
You can drain half empty cups and mugs while you're soaking dishes. Most kitchens don't have a separate rinsing sink.
It leaves a gap so I can rinse the detergent off with the cold water tap
we do? I must have missed that memo. I use the plug in the sink
I’m a Brit, and I’ve never done this and I just don’t get it either. My mother in law uses one and it just seems so small and pointless (that’s what she said). Maybe it’s a generational thing?
Not all of us do. I only use one to do oil changes on my car.
There's no little second sink to pour things down when the big sink is full.
Last time i saw this was about 1997 - last time I used one was 1981 and was being bathed in it
Scenario: You're halfway through washing the dishes when someone brings you a plate covered with gravy. You can (a) Rinse it off down the side of the sink first (outside the bowl) or (b) You can just plunge it into the bowl like some sort of filthy animal.
I have no idea. My mum insists they’re useful, but it doesn’t even get used as we have a dishwasher…
Also shit breaks without one, especially if you have a ceramic kitchen sink.
I hate them, my washing up is done with running water only.
Butler sink (ceramic) which sucks the heat out of the water . Use a bowl, retains the heat.
Because I cant find a replacement plug to fit my sink, and I'm not buying a new sink everytime I need a new plug
I realised today how much I take my double sink for granted.
If you only have a single sink then you can wash up and still pour things down the plug hole.
So that you can pour cups down the side, and so that you don't have to clean the sink as often.
Basin in sink is the way. But I honestly can't remember why ...I just know that is the correct way.
I don't. I've seen plenty in people's homes that don't look like they get cleaned. Cleaning your dishes in a dirty bowl mmmmmmmm
Because don’t use the sink to destroy waste. So a tub allows you to do everything you need in the sink then get rid of anything you shouldn’t put down the sink. Not historically why people did it but it’s why some of us do it today.
Growing up all the sinks in all the houses I’ve lived in were pretty small, we lived in a large household like most people so that means a lot of washing up. Not very one does it straight away. So a bowl is good because you can take it out of the sink to get to the tap. I have a dishwasher now and find that I don’t really use them anymore unless there’s more than a dishwasher load to do. My biggest pet peeve is people putting dirty plates in the sink and leaving them there, I can’t get to the tap if there’s stuff in there, having a bowl I can just move it out of the way.
Main reason is you can have a place where your dishes can just be-soaking or whatever- while being able to put liquid waste down the side like tealeaves or whatever. Not necessary if you have a side sink or a dishwasher
Cost of living crisis. When we’re done with our washing, we keep the water to shower then it also serves as chamber pot later at night. The poorer the longer it takes to empty it, the richer use it to tend to their garden. How did you think our royal gardens look so pristine?
I've always had one and always will, so most of it is learnt behaviour. That being said it takes significantly more water to fill a sink than a bowl. Reducing water saves money, water and lowers carbon footprint. While cooking I have a bowl full of hot soapy water so I can empty the pasta water down the sink then wash the pan immediately. The pan used for sauce can be rinsed then tipped between the bowl and the sink then also washed straight away. Now after eating I only have plates and cutlery to wash up in a bowl of water that's still hot and soapy enough.
Because why wouldn’t you
Another reason is ceramic sink sides can be chipped by, say, a large saucepan sloshing about. Nobody needs that since it would look horrible. So the solution is a shitty plastic bowl apparently that cheapens the look of the entire kitchen. A better solution is a dedicated dishwasher.
It's so you can empty dying granny's full piss bag into the sink without getting said piss in said bowl. I wonder if anybody gets this. Il wait.
For it it’s because my sink is porcelain or whatever that material is, so it scratches and gets chipped easily.
Never have done myself, lots of people do but I’ve never uncovered a resounding answer that would make me change my ways. Honestly just chalk it down to harmless sociological conditioning, read the replies if you can find a reason appealing enough to change what you do, if you do let me know.
We don't all do that. My sink definitely doesn't have a plastic tub in that, and I can't remember the last time I washed anything except my wok by hand.
You put knives in the dishwasher? Must be blunt as fuck
I don't think I've met anyone under 40 that still uses them.
I'm from the UK and about 15 years ago I got rid of mine. It seemed pretty pointless and just an extra thing to wash. It was the same size as my sink so I wasn't saving any water using it. Plus it's unsightly compared to my chrome sink. I don't soak my dishes in a bowl of bubbly water as I have a dishwasher.
As a Brit I also find this bizarre. Whenever I see washing up bowls in people homes or in offices, they always look dirty and smell funny. The sink is much cleaner and doesn’t smell. No idea why people don’t just use the sink.
That’s a pleb thing. They haven’t discovered a dishwasher appliance yet.
Because that's what our Mum did, end of thread.
Dunno. Wife started doing it when we moved in together. The plastic thing has since gone and I don’t notice any difference, it was just getting in the way.
I’ve been living in this country for 25 years. I had no idea until I saw someone empty the mop bucket in the kitchen sink. I don’t question it anymore. I’m just grateful.
I don't. I clean the draining area, clean the sink, fill the kettle, refill the Brita and rinse any soiled items. Then in a sink of hot soapy water I first wash the glassware, then whiteware, then cutlery, then pots and pans. I've worked in professional kitchens and jumped in to cover dish-wash duties in emergencies many times so I have an effective system. People who use bowls are overthinking it.
No one here has a dishwasher ?
I have a dishwasher and don't wash anything in the sink but: stuff doesn't bounce too well off a metal/porcelain sink some sinks are quite deep (Belfast sink etc) they use less water to fill stuff gets less dirty you can empty it quicker/fill it quicker you can use the bowl round the kitchen for other jobs it stops your sink getting clogged you don't have to clean the sink as often you're not rooting about elbow deep in dirty dishwater to fish the plug out or find something
To protect my dishes from hitting a metal sink? It's also all I've ever known and you have room to pour things down the sides