I had the Dish Doctor a few years back. The collected water (there is no drain) gets mildewed and needs to be drained after every use. That requires separating the top from the bottom and lining them up correctly.

I can't believe the Simple Human dish racks didn't make the list! We have the compact one and we love it.

Thanks for the warning. For $70, you'd expect something functional as well as attractive.

Has anyone tried the lawn drainer? Is it strong enough to hold up plates?

They all look cute and stylish but I just can't find that any one of them could hold all the stuff I end up washing. Pots and pans? Too bulky and heavy for most of these. I think the Dry Dock would get manky too quickly and need lots of disinfecting. That leaves me still wanting for the perfect dish rack.

I had the Black & Blum rack for a while, and if we had glasses drying without plates, it tipped over every time. I wouldn't recommend it.

I have the Progressive International Collapsible Over the Sink Dish Drainer. Got it for $15 at bed bath and beyond. It is functional and I rarely use it. I have a dishwasher, so the few things I do have to hand wash, I try to dry and put away as I wash

The dry dock looks intriguing though. Because if I am using the collapsible one, I put in on the counter, fill it up, then move it to the sink and then I have to wipe up all the drips on the counter

For 2+ years I've been looking for a double sink with an integrated dish drainer on the side, like the ones commonly found in Germany. It's such a practical design. It's not that easy to find. There's two I've come across, from Ikea and Blanco. However for they both have a 11/2 sink configuration, with the small sink (rinse) first, followed by the big sink (wash), followed by the dish rack.

Ikea makes an expandable white plastic dish rack that is fantastic! It can collapse to be very small or expand when you have lots of dishes. It angles down so the water drips back into the sink- no skanky moldy water sitting under the dishes. It is about $10 and I have only seen it in store, not online.

Awhile back, my girlfriend and I fought over having a dish rack in our tiny kitchen. I think they are ugly and unnecessary if one has a dishwasher, but she demanded we have one regardless. We ended up getting the dish doctor and have been very happy with it. It doesn't look like yet another bland hunk of stainless steel in our kitchen, it can be stored easily on its side if needed to clear space on the counter, and we found its design very versatile for all sorts of drying needs. Does this make me a convert to dish racks? Not sure, but I wouldn't trade it for any others on the list above. For example, the High & Dry Dish Rack looks neat, but in reality isn't very strong and flexes too much.

As to priscilla's comments, we've never had any problem with drainage or mildew. We always keep the humidity low in my apartment (e.g., A/C in the summer) and our use of the dish doctor is for casual drying needs. So those could be factors that have lead to different experiences.

veslabeachgirl has a good point. You never see photos of pots and pans on dish racks and yet that's the main function they have in most of our kitchens. For those of us with dishwashers, dish racks serve ONLY to dry pots, pans, knives, and delicate things. I'm sorry but I don't think any of these models looks big or sturdy enough to hold my cookware. I'll stick with the chrome rubbermaid rack with slanted draining mat from Target ($11.99) until something both functional and beautiful comes along.

@la grenouille - I use the grass (smaller version of the lawn) for baby bottles. It works great for things like wine glasses or mugs but I dont think it would be able to hold up a plate. The ones I have aren't really big enough for pots or pans either. Granted for baby bottles (especially Dr. Browns with all the parts) it works amazing and it great because you can put both parts in the dishwasher.

@la grenouille:
You can see the smaller version of the Boon Lawn (called Grass) for yourself at Target, they carry it instore in the baby section. I don't know if the Lawn would have sturdier "blades of grass", but I think that it only be strong enough to hold plastic plates, not ceramic.

I've been looking and looking for an in-sink drainer that won't rust! I don't mind getting a plastic one if it looks good, but all the plastic ones I see are ugly and either white or black. Why not some nice green or orange or turquoise ones?

We do not use dish racks at all. After we do the dishes we will dry them immediately. So our kitchen always looks like nothing happen there.

Do any of you use the dish rack pad style, like the Dry Dock in the last photo, with a rack? I like the idea that it absorbs instead of having water sit there and get moldy, and then you can throw it in the washing machine as needed. But I haven't taken the plunge and bought one to try it yet.

That first one (the "lawn") is a neat idea but really impractical if you think about it. Like others have mentioned, it's way, way too small for pots and pans, and on top of that, it must be a devil to keep clean.

I don't have a dishwasher so I do use a dish rack daily. Mine's just a cheap thing from Target that was, like, $3. I've had it for a year.

In my other house we used a drying matt like the drying dock. I was very happy with it, once dishes dry, roll it up and put it in the cabinet. Wash it every so often (not as often as you might think because its clean water dripping on it and it dries FAST).

I just moved a couple of weeks ago and have a plastic rack from IKEA which I like but it is not angled and has no drop tray so I keep a towel under it. I have no dishwasher so it sits out all the time :( and I just change the towel under it every so often.

A more decorative one would be nice but the IKEA one that I have holds a LOT, so for now its function over form.

I just let everything dry on a dish towel. Then after a couple uses, toss the towel in the wash with the rest of my laundry. One less thing to buy and store!

As a renter who has been washing dishes by hand for years, I have not found a dish drainer more functional and still minimalist and clean looking than the Michael Graves for Target Dish Drainer

http://www.target.com/Michael-Graves-Target-Small-Drainer/dp/B002YXJQUG

It allows you to stack stack stack if you need to and not be constrained by what the designer thought you 'should' be drying. Plus all mugs, pint glasses, etc can be slotted over the side hangers to free up more space in the center. Some review on target's site talk about rust but i have had mine for 2+ yrs and never even seen the first indication of any. Plus it's cheap!

I have a dishwasher so I have the same issues as many commenters - I mainly only wash bulky pots and pans or bulky Tupperware.

My dish-rack of choice at the moment is a dishtowel on the counter and things stacked and angled on top of each other. Works.

Oooh, I wish this had been posted a couple weeks ago when my wooden Ikea dish rack bit the dust. I am really digging the C&B bamboo dish rack!

I ended up ordering the Black+Blum rack. I have only used it a few days, and am satisfied so far. What sold me on it was that it folds flat, fits on the 10"x24" patch of counter top next to my sink, the tray can drain into the sink, and it comes in green. I haven't had trouble with glasses yet, but anything that it can't hold, I would dry right away anyway (i.e. large plates, large pots & pans, pug, etc.).

I'm really glad to see this thread. I've been searching for a good dish rack and have as yet not found anything to beat the old Rubbermaid one for function. The ones I've tried do not have a drip tray that is angled enough to allow water to run back into the sink or are not wide enough to catch the water from glasses and mugs that hook over the outside rim of the rack. Others have some strange slot system for the dishes that do not allow you to stand bowls at all and dinner plates are often toppling over. You can also forget trying to fit pots, pans, coffee carafes, muffin tins and cutting boards in. I don't have a dishwasher, so handwashing has gone from a simple chore to a daily frustration. Since when does form have to win over function?

First, when you click on the image of the C&B rack, it has the link to the Polder rack.

I actually bought the C&B one thinking it would be very easy to turn on its side and out of the way when I wasn't using it. That was true, but hardly any of my plates actually fit in the slots. I have some vintage/traditional china that I don't want to wash in my dishwasher, and since the edges of the plates and such are slightly curved, they didn't fit in the very narrow straight slots on the rack. Just an FYI.

I agree with omoriala. I have the Simplehuman slim dishrack. I don't have a dishwasher, so I use it all the time. It works great & it looks good - in all ways a lot better than my old Rubbermaid, but then it did come at extra cost. ;)

We have a dishwasher so we just use a towel for our pots, pans, knives. Simple, and doesn't take up space when we aren't using it.

There's something a little gross and unhygienic about a dish rack that inserts bits of itself into your glassware, like the Lawn or the Dish Doctor.

Hooray for dishwashers is all I can say!

For the people interested in the dry dock just to let you know Bed Bath and Beyond has drying mats for only 4.99. It comes in many different colors and washes and wears great. I am already on my third one because i have found so many uses other than just doing dishes.

I'm intrigued by these small options as I have just a small space to dry the few pieces that don't go in the dishwasher.

I'm most intrigued with the dry dock...but then I realized that it's not that much different from my current solution: a folded dish towel on the counter.

We have the Boon Lawn- we like it, but its a little small (originally purchased to use when washing baby bottles etc.) and the 'grass' needs to be separated from the tray after each use to dry to prevent mildew.

The only dish rack that works for me on the tiny counter next to my sink is a Closet Maid rack that is 8 in deep that I bought 15 years ago. I've been looking for another, but it only seems to be available at Home Depot in the suburbs. http://www.homedepot.com/buy/kitchen-storage-organization-pot-racks/closetmaid-8-in-width-x-20-in-depth-kitchen-sink-dish-drainer-176851.html

For $2.99 this isn't the most hideous thing ever. And it holds A LOT, including pots, pans, silverware and such.

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/40176950

We use the Boon grass for sippys and cups for the little one, but unless you're single it would be difficult to use as your primary dishdrainer.

Another vote for Simple Human! Maybe AT feels they get too much attention? I love our compact rack, especially since it allows me to make sure my butcher block countertops (not my choice) are free of standing water.

As Ashmeyer I have bought the dish mat from Bed,B&b and is excellent. I also gave it as a gift and my friends really loved it.

The Conran and the Polder are both cute, but need to be about 3x bigger - I cook a lot and have no dishwasher so there are always a lot of big pots, bowls, etc.
It's not so attractive but I use a big size black Rubbermaid with mat and it holds most of it pretty well, but I do wish they'd make some cool colors.

I'm with veslabeachgirl. I need volume and the ability to put lots of odd shaped pots and pans in my rack. None of these would do the trick. This is one item where functionality is much more important than style. If only a designer could deliver on both...

Dry Dock is out of stock everywhere. Bad timing after being featured on AT.

I've had the Progressive International Collapsible Drainer for over a year and have been pretty happy with it - it's strong enough to hold a load of pots and pans even on top of a row of plates/bowls - but I only have one (large) sink and it takes up a lot of real estate, plus all that plastic tends to pick up a lot of hard-water spots. I switched to a wall-mounted IKEA model (Bygel, not Grundtal) which I haven't trusted to any large pots/pans, but the Progressive Intl is nicely stowed away under the sink for any major washes.

We bought one of these:

http://www.umbra.com/ustore/product/330475-505.store

Since we have a double sink, it sits virtually permanently on one side of the sink and we pile our dishes in there. It keeps them (mostly) out of sight and is good for everyday use for our family of 4.

The Dry Dock stinks after just a few uses. I ahd thought since it was antimicrobial it wouldn't have a mildew smell but ti does - then you pick up the glass that dried on it and the rim smells mildewy - ick

I have the bed bath and beyond drying mat which was a lot cheaper than the dry dock above. I really love it. I keep it out on the counter most days but it doesn't look unsightly and I can always roll it up if I need to. I just make sure to remember to wash it every so often. I haven't had any troubles with smells, though (as mentioned above).

For everything else (pots, vintage pieces, delicate china), I use the dishwasher racks as a drying rack. I take out the silverware caddy, put that on my drying mat for silverware/cups etc, and everything else gets put into the dishwasher until drip-dried. Of course, I've had to set up a rotation so the dishwasher is empty or almost empty (usually the top is the most empty which I'll use for quick washes), but now that I've got a routine figured out, it's been working really great. Plus I can just close the door until they're dried and I don't have to look at a huge stack of dishes taking up sink or counter space. I'll never buy a dish rack again!

I have used Marc Newson's Dish Doctor for 8 years and have had no problems. I often separate it and pour out any water that has collected and once in a while put it in the dishwasher to give it a good clean. They cost AU$150 so it's a pretty big investment for the kitchen bench!

The Ikea Grundtal wall mount one lasted less than a year. Several of the metal bars came off. Love the idea of it, but wish it was better constructed.

My favorite is from bed, bath and beyond - a folding chrome rack that is easier to keep clean than the rubbermaid ones, which get gross eventually. It is decently sized, so holds a lot, but has a slim looking profile, is sturdy not tippy, and folds flat to stash away when you want to.

Comes with a black plastic tray for underneath that I like better than the soft rubbery ones. Is not open at one end to drain into sink (I like it the way it is, but you could always use the rack on a stanted draining tray if you prefer.)

Will never go back to rubbery plastic coated wire, or to the ubiquitous wood ikea one that deteriorates over time. (Though the bamboo one around shaped like the softer wood ikea one probably holds up to water better.) Still, I like the chrome one better - it holds more because the rails are thinner, looks sharp, hasn't rusted yet either after years os use.

All of these are nice but they are not big enough to hold small/middle size pots.

I've been using my Dry Dock for several years now and have never had any bad smells coming from the dry dock or the glasses dried on it - and my fiancee has the olfactories of a hound dog. Maybe some reviewers are not using it correctly? It is waaaay better than a stinky wet towel - it has a thick layer of open holed foam under a layer of open mesh so air can circulate up into the glasses. The water wicks away from wet spots so it dries itself really fast. For me it's perfect to catch whatever won't fit in the dishwasher.