I have to be honest. I just don't get dishwashers. You have to wash your dishes before you put them in the dishwasher. Sooooooo, you wash them twice? Once by hand and once in the machine? Nobody does that with their clothes, right? It's like taking a shower and then taking a bath. I guess I'm just a neo-Luddite at heart.

I actually have a dishwasher but with just two people in an apartment its usually not worth it to even use it. So, I have a SimpleHuman one that works great. I would recommend them to anyone.

I'll swop my dishwasher for your SF apartment any day!

Nccata -- If you have a good dishwasher you absolutely *do* not have to wash your dishes twice!

...why would you rinse your dishes if you're going to put them in a dishwasher? You scrape the leftovers into the trash and stick it in the dishwasher so IT can wash the dishes.

Not a big fan of dishwashers - there are two of us, and I can't stand the idea of - a) having dirty dishes sitting in the dishwasher till it gets full, b) I cook and REALLY hate having to fish something I need to use and wash it, c) I can't load it properly (or so says the husband) and finally d) I HATE unloading it. So.. everything in my kitchen is 'dishwasher safe'! Don't care to have one either..

I have both a dishwasher and a drainer and find them both useful.

And that grass drainer is available at Target for 14 bucks.

@nccata; if you're in japan, you take a shower first, and then the bath is for soaking/relaxation, because who wants to marinate in their own filth? ... which has nothing to do with dishwashers. Anyway, I don't have a dishwasher but have pretty much always wasted a lot of water washing by hand even when I had access to one. (Logistically, we didn't use enough dishes to fill it up in a reasonable amount of time.)

I currently don't have counter space near my sink to spare for a drying rack, so I tend to put my washed dishes on a drying mat. You could just use a towel to do the same thing, but these have a sort of memory foam-ish feel to them, so I trust them a bit more.

nccata: if people are washing their dishes before loading them into the dishwasher, then they have the wrong dishwasher.

The bamboo folding rack is available at Ikea for about $5.

Ikea has a one (MAGASIN) almost exactly like the Container Store one for $4.99. It also looks a bit bigger.

SIGH.
My new apartment will not have a dishwasher, and this makes me sad. These dish racks ease my pain.

Also, I don't get the whole "You have to wash the dishes before you put them in the dishwasher!" thing. I scrape the majority of leftover food into the trash can and then put the dish into the machine. Easy peasy! Maybe others aren't using enough/the right kind of DW cleanser?

I think the usefulness of a dishwasher depends on the situation. When I lived in an apartment with two roommates we had a dishwasher that hardly ever got used. We just did them by hand as we used them. Simple. Now that I live with my family again the dishwasher is used at least once a day- five people plus any friends that are around...which is often. So, it really depends.

I love the Grass dish rack- too cute!

We're a family of five, I like dishwashers. I don't have to wash the dishes before using it either.

I've had dish racks. They're a waste of counter space. A towel is far more efficient.

We have a dishwasher (and I don't clean the dishes before I put them in and they are fine), but clean pots and other odd and ends by hand.
To save space we hang our dishrack (a simple metal one) from the wall (above where the tile ends) and this is great as you can put pots on the side of the sink and other things on the rack.
The ones shown here in general seem a bit small to me and not have enough space if you'd have to wash dishes of a dinner for 4 or 5 people.

I agree with Nina79 about these tiny racks.

These look perfect for someone living alone or as a supplement to the dishwasher or for a non-cook. But except for weekday breakfasts, many of these racks don't look like they'd handle the dishes from cooking and eating a full meal, even for two, let alone more.

Maybe I'm just sore because my FIL's new wife replaced the large dish rack at the family cabin with this tiny thing. She reheats more than she cooks so I figure she's oblivious to the dilemma it poses when anyone prepares anything bigger than a snack or there are more than 2 people.

Oh, and thanks, lepidoptery! I had no idea those mats even existed!

@Nina79, what's your method for hanging your dishrack on the wall? Do you just use hooks a la the Ikea Grundtal system? I ask because I'd like to hang a single wall drainer that's larger than the ones Ikea offers, but I'm not sure how the extra width and weight would work balance-wise.

P.S. Kudos to Jess for writing this in the first person! Mwah!

For those who do not have dishwashers, be glad to know that handwashing dishes is a great way to prevent arthitis. I'm happy to wash my dishes every day knowing that. Especially because I do many hands on arts & crafts, plus I have a job where I use a computer all day.

P.s the Dish Doctor is cute!

I have a dishwasher AND a drying rack. I have to agree, those are all too small for what I would need. I use the drying rack for large pots, non stick skillets, knives, and various other things I don't want to put in the dishwasher.

Right now, my dishrack is full of vintage plates that I want to hang on the wall; wouldn't dare put them in the DW for fear of losing color, gilt, etc.

Was opposed to the DW for the same reasons, 2 people, waste of energy, takes forever to get the dishes clean, and then found out it uses much less water (our average water use went from 119 gal/day to 103, important in drought prone CA), we can leave dirty not prewashed dishes in there for 3-4 days before running it and they come out completely clean, no longer have the clutter of dirty dishes in sink and or dishrack (no matter how cute they are, they take up counter space) and most importantly, my husband and I no longer argue over how full the sink has to get before it constitutes a turn to wash the dishes....

We have a nice little collapsible one that sits in our double sink. It's from Bed Bath & Beyond and you can get it here:
http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?order_num=-1&SKU=15019980&RN=976

I cook so much that the dish rack is rarely empty, so it always stays in our extra sink, but this would be a great option for someone who doesn't cook all that much (or someone who's more on top of their dishes than I am!!). It's small enough to be unobtrusive and not take up any real space, but large enough to fit lots and lots of dishes and silverware. Highly recommended!

http://www.abbeycatchat.com

I agree with patia that dish racks are a waste of counter space. That's why I love the folding bamboo option. When it's not in use, it folds up easily and I stash it under the sink.

No matter how tiny the plastic racks, you're always stuck with them on the countertop.

@rosenatti- I also use the largest Grundtal shelf (which folds up) and have hung it from the bottom of the cabinet above my sink using a couple of L brackets to ensure than it's sturdy enough. It's plenty large for a sink full of dishes and easily folds out of the way.

nccata -- If you're dishwasher is worth its place - meaning it works - you simply need to remove food from the plate, maybe rinse if it is something sticky, and then into the dishwasher it goes.

Honestly, I don't even know how to use a dishwasher. Someday...

I have both dishwasher and drying rack (and now I want that grass rack for my wine glasses). I scrape and do a light rinse of dishes before they go into the dishwasher, but there are just somethings (Tiffin, Mr Bento, knives, wine glasses, certain pots) that are just not dishwasher items.

I am also lazy and hate to dry dishes, so I will wash them and put them on the rack to dry. Is it messy? Yep, but it's my house and it gives me peace.

My husband and I just finally found a system that works for us regarding dishes - he handles the dishwasher, and I handle the specialty items by hand. I gave up on a dish rack though because it took up visual space on the counter and just became something else to clean when the thing itself got a lot of use. So now I just use a drain rack bottom that tilts slightly, and I can scrub it easily between uses, which is great because I use it for everything - a place to hold my freshly scrubbed veggies, a place to dry my daughter's highchair tray. The thing is great because there are no limits.

Whoa! who deleted all the comments?

I have the bamboo folding dish rack, but I got mine for $5 from Ikea. Very handy! Fits a ton of stuff. For when we have too many dishes for the dishwasher!
We are moving from our rental (with a great dishwasher) to a house we bought, with no space for a dishwasher. I bought one of these:http://www.google.com/aclk?sa=L&ai=Cvl0PoLnkS8i_GozCNN-uqO8DoP3pfIaOpcIMkum7xTAIAhADqgQFT9Bia1E&sig=AGiWqtxD25KbGx2IKLCu86bOlLwDXD1B4g&q=http://clickserve.cc-dt.com/link/tplclick%3Flid%3D41000000000553798%26pid%3DB001615WSM%26adurl%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.target.com%252Fgp%252Fredirect.html%252Fref%253Dtgt_adv_XASD0001%253FURL%253D%252Fgp%252Fdetail.html%253Fasin%253DB001615WSM%2526ci_src%253D15781033%2526ci_sku%253DB001615WSM%26usg%3DAFHzDLsNdzVzRNhjjrGPePOj6-6enwXjmw%26pubid%3D21000000000216835%26mid%3DChMIyI_Bi63BoQIVDCENCh1fF-o9EAIYAyAA

I heard great things about them, so here goes nothing. I mean, I work full time, have 2 kids, pets, hubby works full time and volunteers... ANYTHING to make life somewhat simpler is handy for me.