How to deal with water pooling between the sink and the backsplash?
August 17, 2015 6:48 PM Subscribe
The ledge between my sink and the backsplash is forever filling up with water... gross black gunkiness develops if I am not very very diligent about removing all the dish soap/scrubbers/sponges every night and wiping it down.
What habits/products/modifications can I use to keep it from getting gross with a minimum of effort?
Stop keeping your sponges and things there. Hang a hook (a suction hook if renting) nearby instead. Then it's easy and quick to just wipe the ledge after you finish washing up.
posted by lollusc at 7:16 PM on August 17, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by lollusc at 7:16 PM on August 17, 2015 [2 favorites]
I have this problem also. I'm considering getting a new countertop and an under-counter-mounted sink to solve it. I hope it will solve it, anyway -- I'm not 100% sure it will work.
posted by amtho at 7:49 PM on August 17, 2015
posted by amtho at 7:49 PM on August 17, 2015
Is the water just from splashing or is water leaking around the base of the faucet? When my faucet finally got bad enough that the leaking was starting to make its way under the counter I finally went to the internet and discovered that it's not actually a terribly difficult job (especially with youtube to help) to replace the cartridge inside the faucet handle that regulates flow and hot/cold mix. This hugely reduced cleanup needs around the sink.
Beyond this really for me it is just a matter of cleaning up as the consistent last step of washing dishes. Even if theres a bunch of crap around the sink honestly it takes all of about half a minute.
posted by nanojath at 8:37 PM on August 17, 2015
Beyond this really for me it is just a matter of cleaning up as the consistent last step of washing dishes. Even if theres a bunch of crap around the sink honestly it takes all of about half a minute.
posted by nanojath at 8:37 PM on August 17, 2015
Use a wire basket stuck with suction cups inside the sink for your scrubbits and sponges. If you keep stuff there it's going to be gross, period. Bonus will be that your sponges will dry more often and be less gross overall.
posted by charmedimsure at 8:37 PM on August 17, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by charmedimsure at 8:37 PM on August 17, 2015 [2 favorites]
My neighbors gave me a glass cutting board with Texas themes. This is not necessarily my cup of tea, but sitting tilted behind my sink faucet, it keeps the splash water running back to the sink and it looks better than the blank space. I have other art above but it works well. Another item I recently purchased is a round pot or dish brush that holds dish soap in the handle. It is a one item does many jobs piece, and keeps the clutter down.
posted by Oyéah at 9:22 PM on August 17, 2015
posted by Oyéah at 9:22 PM on August 17, 2015
Best answer: If it's just splashes and not leaks, roll up a tea towel and lay it down on the ledge. That will wick up the splashes, keeping the surface dry. Switching and laundering the tea towel each week should be enough to stop it growing anything nasty.
posted by flabdablet at 11:26 PM on August 17, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by flabdablet at 11:26 PM on August 17, 2015 [1 favorite]
To charmedimsure's points, I have this, works great for us.
posted by like_neon at 1:19 AM on August 18, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by like_neon at 1:19 AM on August 18, 2015 [1 favorite]
Our solution to this was to put a mirror behind the sink, which seems to be kind of a trend now anyways.
The difference between most photos i've seen is that i got a fairly large mirror and let it sit right down on the counter just leaning, with the front lip of it right against the sink basin edge.
It gets filthy fairly fast from sink splatter, but basically reflects all the water and such right back onto the sink edge, inside its lip.
I never even thought about how elegantly it solved this problem until i saw this thread. It was mostly done as a style thing, and no water behind the sink was just a positive side effect.
posted by emptythought at 2:03 AM on August 18, 2015
The difference between most photos i've seen is that i got a fairly large mirror and let it sit right down on the counter just leaning, with the front lip of it right against the sink basin edge.
It gets filthy fairly fast from sink splatter, but basically reflects all the water and such right back onto the sink edge, inside its lip.
I never even thought about how elegantly it solved this problem until i saw this thread. It was mostly done as a style thing, and no water behind the sink was just a positive side effect.
posted by emptythought at 2:03 AM on August 18, 2015
Umbra has some sink accessories that can help you store sponges in a relatively dry place, like this and this. Also, microfiber towels like these are really handy for quickly wiping up splashes (they work better than a sponge).
posted by neushoorn at 12:55 PM on August 18, 2015
posted by neushoorn at 12:55 PM on August 18, 2015
Response by poster: Photo of sink.
I actually have very little on the ledge itself... the water comes from splashes while washing dishes, not from sponges or faucet leakage. The ledge is perfectly flat... or rather, it actually tilts ever-so-slightly to the left, so pooled water creeps its way down the countertop, getting everything down there all wet. The ick forms where the counter meets the backsplash.
I have done the tea-towel thing, although I used paper, and my wife was displeased with the aesthetics, so that had to stop.
Re: sponges, as you can see, they do get air-dried, as they are elevated in repurposed strawberry baskets.
Maybe I need to make my own little slanted ledge out of plexi?
actually this problem is decreasing now that I bought a non-crappy dishwasher, and therefore use the sink less, but still...
posted by joshwa at 9:14 PM on August 19, 2015
I actually have very little on the ledge itself... the water comes from splashes while washing dishes, not from sponges or faucet leakage. The ledge is perfectly flat... or rather, it actually tilts ever-so-slightly to the left, so pooled water creeps its way down the countertop, getting everything down there all wet. The ick forms where the counter meets the backsplash.
I have done the tea-towel thing, although I used paper, and my wife was displeased with the aesthetics, so that had to stop.
Re: sponges, as you can see, they do get air-dried, as they are elevated in repurposed strawberry baskets.
Maybe I need to make my own little slanted ledge out of plexi?
actually this problem is decreasing now that I bought a non-crappy dishwasher, and therefore use the sink less, but still...
posted by joshwa at 9:14 PM on August 19, 2015
Best answer: the water comes from splashes while washing dishes, not from sponges or faucet leakage
I think the best option is to keep around a super absorbent towel, like this kind of thing, give the ledge a wipedown after you use it, give it a good squeeze and hang it over the sink divider to dry. This adds 10 seconds to your sink usage routine.
I still recommend the sponge holder. Because your strawberry basket has holes underneath, the sponges are probably still leaking water as they dry and also creating a cozy little home for mold.
Edit: just saw what you marked as best answer - you can use this method with the chamois which will soak up more water and dry faster than a cotton tea towel.
posted by like_neon at 2:24 AM on August 20, 2015
I think the best option is to keep around a super absorbent towel, like this kind of thing, give the ledge a wipedown after you use it, give it a good squeeze and hang it over the sink divider to dry. This adds 10 seconds to your sink usage routine.
I still recommend the sponge holder. Because your strawberry basket has holes underneath, the sponges are probably still leaking water as they dry and also creating a cozy little home for mold.
Edit: just saw what you marked as best answer - you can use this method with the chamois which will soak up more water and dry faster than a cotton tea towel.
posted by like_neon at 2:24 AM on August 20, 2015
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by hydra77 at 7:01 PM on August 17, 2015