Your Dishes Aren't Really Clean If You Never Do This

People really hate doing dishes, and there's no shortage of silly news articles about it, like how allegedly 20% of Americans would rather give up sex for about a year than do dishes again. There's also no shortage of articles telling you how bad you are at everything, particularly dishes, though at least people aren't doing dishes like the British. Ironically enough, there really is one thing you should do often, and it's clean your dish drying rack. Yes, if you're a sad sack like me and didn't rent an apartment with a dishwasher, it means you're doing all your dishes by hand, which is also a catastrophic waste of water. This also means you probably have a little drying rack parked next to the sink.

It's easy to assume that because you're putting clean dishes in the dish rack, magically, it's always clean too. Wrong! That's not how germs or bacteria work. Drying racks typically have a lot of standing water in them, and not all have handy little drainage spouts. Standing water is typically the fastest way to grow mildew, mold, and bacteria— yes, even if it's water from your clean dishes. Putting clean dishes into a dirty drying rack basically undoes all the hard work you've just done. Also, while you're at it, don't forget to replace your sponge about once a week.

The simplest solution is to just never do dishes again. The end. Unfortunately, we will probably be stuck doing dishes for a long time. The second simplest solution is to wash your drying rack once a week. The mental hurdle on this one is staggering, because now we have an extra sub-chore within the horrific chore of doing dishes. Luckily, drying racks are relatively easy to clean — they're like one giant dish in a way. Use warm water, plenty of soap, and if you really, truly want to, you can bleach and air-dry them. Don't forget to clean under the drying rack as well. It's easy to not notice how much water and gunk can get under the drying rack, which really is the perfect laboratory for viruses, germs, and bacteria.

One neat little device can also help you avoid the entire drying rack experience. Get an in-sink drying rack, particularly if you have a double sink or room to store it. It gets rid of the unsightly rack on your counter, freeing up counter space. It is also one less thing to wash, as now you'll only need to keep the drying rack clean and not the drying tray as well. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some dishes to do — just after I get upset about it.