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So we need a new washing up bowl.
Ours is ancient and shedding plastic quicker than a moulting mammoth in a heat wave.
Any thoughts on stainless or other hopefully environmentally friendly washing up bowls?
I didn't even know they were a thing until days ago.
I should add this is to go into a ceramic Belfast sink, so it will need some protection
why are they enviromentally friendly? not sure about this one but willing to learn
I think from a lack of shedding plastic, but there is an obvious balance of costs that I have not calculated
Isn’t a sink a stainless steel washing up receptacle? Unless you’ve a fancy or old porcelain one.
ok, not one I've heard of but will look further. No wisdom on stainless though, sorry
Dunno if it's just me, but I have never understood what washing up bowls are for. If you have a sink, why do you need an inner sink?
Put in sink plug
Fill with hot soapy water.
Problem solved.
Though if you really want a SS bowl, theyre about 40 quid.
Ours is a porcelain/ceramic job.
I'd definitely prefer some kind of bowl for when I drop the large le cresuet pan in and hopefully not break the sink.
There is a nordic silicone one, probably no better for the environment and small. Recycled plastic is another option.
The elephant box stainless comes with a 15 year guarrentee, so made to last, but I think it will need some sort of rubber mat under it so sort of defeats the object.. Maybe
People but washing up bowls in thier stainless steel sinks?
Sounds like a lot of needless faff to me.
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Dunno if it’s just me, but I have never understood what washing up bowls are for. If you have a sink, why do you need an inner sink?
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I used to ponder this too. I've since discovered that it's so you can lift out the washing up in order to use the sink for something else.
A washing-up bowl protects a Belfast sink. (Whether it actually needs protecting is another matter.)
A washing-up bowl in a single-bath steel sink gives you a gap to pour between and, as Jambo says, you can lift it out if needs be.
A stainless steel bowl sounds like a great way of smashing plates instead of your sink.
Washing up bowls are the work of the devil regardless of the circumstance. Use this as an opportunity to rid your household of this evil.
you can also get sink protectors if chipping is what you are worried about, basically a bit of fancy rubber matting that sits in the basin
Throw all the washing up in the garden and hose it down, thus adding nutrients to the garden and negating the cost of buying a shiny new bowl.
Nb: probably can’t buy a stainless steel garden hose
Sounds like a lot of needless faff to me.
And they probably come by sea from China. Thousands of tons of fuel oil needed to transport them here. Unloading onto diesel trucks to get them by road to the OP's local shop.
Environmentally friendly ?. Hmmm, perhaps plastic would suit better, and at least you can recycle if you've a mind to.
I did clean the extractor hood bits by spraying with Hope spray stuff and hosing down. Can't think why it wouldn't work with the washing up.
Isn't a dishwasher a stainless steel washing up bowl?
Are people discus-ING thier crockery into the sink from across the road through an open window?
How on earth do you chip crockery when doing the washing up? Heheh!
Just buy a solid plastic one that's decent quality and will last for years. It's a good material for washing up bowls. Plastic isn't bad per se, it's human behaviour which is bad - using single-use products etc, a lot of which are made from plastic because it's cheap and easy to mass produce using it.
Stainless steel manufacture is not a pretty process environmentally.
Anyway, our Joseph Joseph one is great, solid with non-slip feet....and when you lose the drain plug (assumed thrown in the bin) you can buy spares. I've seen cheaper imitations and they feel quite nasty by comparison and will probably need replacing multiple times in a JJ one's lifetime. The JJ ones are solid.
A washing-up bowl protects a Belfast sink. (Whether it actually needs protecting is another matter.)
A washing-up bowl in a single-bath steel sink gives you a gap to pour between and, as Jambo says, you can lift it out if needs be.
A stainless steel bowl sounds like a great way of smashing plates instead of your sink.
This, but even more so with glass items.
Are people discus-ING thier crockery into the sink from across the road through an open window?
How on earth do you chip crockery when doing the washing up? Heheh!
Easy, if the sink is an enamelled steel sink, and there are mugs and glass items as well as plates, it doesn’t take much for something to slip in the soapy water and knock against the side of the sink and chip or shatter.
And as above, as you’re putting stuff into the bowl, any remaining foodstuffs left in an item can be quickly rinsed off into the sink and down the plug.
I have tried putting the washing-up into the sink, and I was paranoid that I was going to smash something against the sink, not a problem in the bowl, ‘cos it’s a lot more forgiving.
And I can carry on putting stuff into the bowl, while using the sink for something else, like draining off water from thinks I’m cooking.
Put everything into the sink, then you have to wash it immediately, ‘cos you can’t use the sink for anything else.
I have tried putting the washing-up into the sink, and I was paranoid that I was going to smash something against the sink, not a problem in the bowl, ‘cos it’s a lot more forgiving.
Have you tried a therapist? I've washed up in a metal sink for decades and I can't say this is a concern.
Hang on... maybe i have the problem. Am I a psychopath???
How on earth do you chip crockery when doing the washing up?
Ask my partner. I'm sure she washes up with a hammer. I'm sure she does it intentionally to wake me up of a morning, but our crockery has taken a beating.
Have you tried a therapist? I’ve washed up in a metal sink for decades and I can’t say this is a concern.
Where do your drain the pasta/rice/veg when there's washing up in the sink?
Where do your drain the pasta/rice/veg when there’s washing up in the sink?
This.
We have a stainless sink and always use a washing up bowl as it means you can wash up and use the sink (as a sink) at the time. Our washing up bowl is under sized, so there is a gap on one side for pouring stuff away or rinsing out messy pans before putting them in the washing up bowl.
Generally get about 10 years out of a decent plastic washing up bowl, so consider that pretty good value.
The bigger question is why are people putting all their dirty dishes in the sink/basin? Surely you then need to empty it out so you can wash things in the right order?
Surely you then need to empty it out so you can wash things in the right order?
Pans and cooking stuff in the sink, everything else in the dishwasher.
I've always used a washing up bowl. Makes sense to me, but can understand not using them too.
What is an abomination though is people who don't rinse off the washing up water/suds prior to putting items to dry. I'm sure everyone here does that though right?
Washing up? Isn't this why people have dogs?
Our Jack Russell leaves our crockery spotless! 🙂
Mumstrackworld
I n r a t s ... but ...
Won't anyone think of the children? Your stainless steel sink acts as a lovely heatsink, cooling your hot water down effectively.
A bowl slows this down and encourages you to use less water, along with other benefits above.
I find bowl washing up bowl a faff and somethiong else that gets pretty grim if not regualrly washed.. and washing up a washing up bowl sucks. Just buy a dishwasher 😉 or sink protector mat.
Where do your drain the pasta/rice/veg when there’s washing up in the sink?
&
What is an abomination though is people who don’t rinse off the washing up water/suds prior to putting items to dry
The secondary sink?
The secondary sink?
What's one of those?
Washing up? Isn’t this why people have dogs?
Our Jack Russell leaves our crockery spotless! 🙂
Sure, but then you need to wash the food off the dog.
Really? REALLY? It's where ones man rinces the washing up, before placing it on the drier, or drains stuff that needs draining...
Some interesting points raised here. I think we're going to get a lot more companies trying to sell us things we didn't know we needed - like SS washing up bowls! - under the pretence of being green. But is it? The mining of raw materials & manufacture of SS has quite a large environmental impact, plus specifically in the OP's case these bowls are made in India/China then packaged & shipped over. I don't think we should be so quick to leap on the bandwagon that [I]all[/I] plastic is bad - it's a very versatile material that's pretty economical to manufacture. For example a quality yet inexpensive plastic bowl made in the UK by Whitefurze for example (doesn't have to be designer e.g. JJ to be good!) should last many years. Which is better for the planet??
IMO it's the single-use/unnecessary plastic items that we need to reduce/eliminate use of, not useful ones! (of course you might argue that a washing-up bowl is useless, but I was more thinking of disposable drink bottles etc 😃)
Indian cooking shops have stainless steel bowls in every size you can imagine, ours are decades old and still fine. Or try the catering suppliers, something like this with a silicone base would prevent any damage to the sink underneath. https://www.smartuk.net/mixing-bowls/vogue-stainless-steel-bowl-with-silicone-base-8ltr-gg023
IMO it’s the single-use/unnecessary plastic items that we need to reduce/eliminate use of, not useful ones!
A plastic bowl will contribute small amounts of plastic into the waste water. This can be effectively removed from the water at the sewage works. However, this carefully removed plastic is then spread across farmland in fertiliser created from the sewage.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/may/26/microplastics-sewage-poison-land-britain-waterways-chemicals
This steel vs plastic discussion highlights that need a grown up discussion about plastic is long overdue. We shouldn't be lead by producers' and manufacturers' self interested efforts, e.g. Sainsbury's mince packaging.
Reduce / reuse/ recyle
The most important is reduce - so do not buy an unneeded extra bowl - one that holds bacteria at that
SS washing up bowls! – under the pretence of being green. But is it?
Nope. Plastic bowls are green. Steel ones are silver.
Great. Glad we've got this all cleared up now. 😂Nope. Plastic bowls are green. Steel ones are silver.
The most important is reduce
Reduce as in not use at all, definitely. Reduce as in use less of it in a product, I'm not convinced. Lots of the manufacturer driven reductions in plastic use seem counterproductive, e.g. using less plastic but this creates a product that's harder to recycle, e.g. Sainsbury's mince packaging again.
OP here.
Good responses people's.
The balance is very hard to make. It is the micro plastic that we were primarily thinking of. But the arguments against steel of manufacturing, shipping and also glass breakage lead us back to Dunhelm I think.
But I like the idea of popping in to the local Asian store. As a bonus it is mango season.
Really? REALLY? It’s where ones man rinces the washing up, before placing it on the drier, or drains stuff that needs draining…
Yes, really!
I'm 59 years old, have owned multiple houses and not once have I had a "secondary sink"!
You haven’t lived!!!
As a bonus it is mango season.
Think of the food miles!
Reduce / reuse/ recyle
The most important is reduce – so do not buy an unneeded extra bowl – one that holds bacteria at that
but that argument gets on shaky ground once you realise that the OP has a Belfast sink. So his washing up bowl is an effort to reduce the volume of hot water used, and the amount of energy wasted in heating a giant lump of porcelain rather than the items he is washing. He could obviously rip out his whole kitchen but I’m not sure a few tons of landfill is the best fix either…
im sceptical that there’s much microplastic coming from a decent quality washing up bowl. You aren’t scrubbing or abrading it and usually they last for decades of use so they aren’t getting weaker from erosion. There will be some, I have no idea how you would quantify the pro/con of 1 micoplastic particle v 1 J of heat v the cost of making steel v the energy spent on STWs servers (and all their users phone/laptop charging) to debate the point…
I’d be amazed if your washing up bowl was on the top ten worst things your household does for the planet, so whilst it’s nice to fix the small stuff, it’s probably greenwashing.
Great thread - people wanting to be 'eco' but then buying a sink that isnt fit for purpose so they then buy something to put in the sink !?!
He has a Belfast sink. Nowhere does it say that he chose to buy one.
TBH, my butlers double sink is perfectly fit for all the purposes it gets put to.
I can soak the grill tray or large cooking pots in there with ease. Or rinse and trim 10 kilos of carrots from the garden.
I can also pop a bowl in there so i can wash the glasses and general bits and pieces that i generate during a normal day.
All about flexibility innit
Our Jack Russell leaves our crockery spotless! 🙂
Lola's eyes light up when we own the dishwasher to put something in. A quick prewash and they always come out shiny. Her favourite is the cutlery basket, so a rich selection to choose from.
im sceptical that there’s much microplastic coming from a decent quality washing up bowl
Yes, I don't think there is either but the point is that's currently left for us to try to determine. We (as in the general public) don't know what's good plastic use and what's bad. We get things like the Sainsbury's mince packaging*, which is probably cost driven over any actual environmental impact reduction. Less plastic so cheaper but we'll market it as eco friendly.
*I think I've used this example enough now
pointing fingers about buying things that aren’t “fit for purpose” 🤔 😉 🚙💦but then buying a sink that isnt fit for purpose