If you hand wash dishes, you either need a double or a single big enough to hold a dishpan.

You should stick to a double I suspect.

People with a single sink USE their DW. And you will too if you add one. They use less water and energy than hand washing.

Dishwater grosses me out, so when I hand wash it's in a dry sink. I use my DW for everything possible. I really only wash pans that are so gunked up that I'm sure my DW won't cut it., and they are usually large. So, single bowl works for how I work. If it doesn't fit with how you do things, don't feel like you have to give it a try.

I use the DW for dishes, flatware, and glasses, and I hand wash pots, pans, crystal, knives, most cooking utensils, antique dishes, etc. I hand wash pans and utensils because I cook more than once a day, and I don't run the DW after every meal, or even every day. Anything I might need to use again needs to be hand washed. So I needed a double sink. I got the low divide, and it works for me. You can have the same effect with a dishpan in a single sink, as fori says. As alex9179 indicates, it's really a personal choice.

We recently moved and remodeled and I made the switch from a double to a single. I love how big my single sink is, and how I can stack the dishes in there until I load the DW. I also agree with what Hollysprings says - I use my DW for washing and only hand wash a few things I can't put in. I would really miss my two basin sink if I were mostly handwashing dishes, or didn't have a separate sink I could use for prep.

hmm I didn't think of having a dishpan to put inside the sink for those things that do need handwashing. Sometimes it's the obvious things :)

I do not know if I will make the switch. I really wish I knew someone that had one, so I could use it and see how it worked for me.

And you bet your boots I'm gonna be using that DW!! Growing up, i always said, I'm never gonna handwash dishes in my house!! (dishwashing was my job at home) Well, Mother, look at me now!!

You can get a sink with a big basin that will almost hold a cookie sheet and a smaller bowl for rinsing. It's a good compromise. As long as one bowl is big enough, a double is good. But if there isn't room for a double with decent size bowls, a single is my preference.

A dishpan works well for folks who only hand wash crystal and stuff--less breakage in the plastic tub.

I had a great double (but pink) sink for a while--I was washing a lot of baby stuff at the time and the little side was great for that.

I'm not one of the single bowl backup singers. I like doubles. But I will get a single in my reno anyway, for two reasons. First, I don't have much room on the sink run, so I'd need a small double with cramped bowls. Second, I'm going to have a prep sink, so I won't have to pull the skin off squid over the breakfast dishes, which would probably make me swear off both squid and breakfast.

But if you have only a single sink, and room for a big one, then take a serious look at a double or one of its genetically-modified children (smart divide, 70/30, whatnot).

Also think about where the GD will go. I'm putting one everywhere. But in a double sink you don't want the squid tentacles to pile up before you realize the GD is in the other bowl.

Mmm...squiddy breakfast....

Just to add--not everyone with a single sink uses a dishpan. Some people wash dishes by running water and washing each item one at a time under the running water--no filling a sink or dishpan and soaking the dishes. You wash and rinse in a single step, more or less.

That's what I do. Everything that can go in the dishwasher does. But the good knives need handwashing, and pots and pans, because I run the dishwasher every 2 or 3 days and I need the cooking utensils clean. It doesn't make a lot of sense to fill one sink up just to wash a knife, a vegetable peeler, and a saucepan. Just scrub them clean under running hot water and toss them in the dish drainer.

I'm currently struggling with a tiny double sink that won't fit a cookie sheet. My big Dutch oven barely fits and is very difficult to rinse out. I cannot wait until I can re-do this kitchen and get a sink that functions.

Large single sink no dishwasher.
I run hot water in everything, soap my sponge, and wash and rinse.
I wash immediately after use so nothing sits getting gross- ever.
IF I have a stockpot or other large item to wash I may run hot soapy water in it to soak things but most often I do not.

If I didn't do my dishes immediately after I use them I would not be comfortable with this method as regards germs- as it is I don't feel they have much time to grow.

When washing items that have been in contact with raw eggs or meat etc. I do take pains to do them very quickly- if I have eggs cooking you can bet I am washing the bowl I beat them in even before they finish cooking.
I know this seems weird but I can't not do it.

I keep disinfectant handy and often spritz an item with it as I am washing if I feel it is dicey. I cut raw meat with a pair of scissors, for instance, and the nooks and crannies in them always worry me so I sit them in something else and let them soak in soapy water with a few drops of bleach.

It sounds like a lot of trouble but it is not- I have refined my techniques over the decades and find it much easier to do it this way.

I was inspired by my mother after seeing her kitchen looking like a bomb went off after a Thanksgiving meal. She would normally be so tired that the kitchen didn't get entirely cleaned up until the next day.
That is not for me- this past Thanksgiving I hosted and when food was served all the pots and prep dishes had already been washed and put away.
When dessert was served all the plates and serving pieces from the meal were done as well. And I had plenty of time to relax and visit with guests- plus when they were gone I was done!

It's all in getting the kitchen set up with function as the priority IMO- I have an assembly line approach. It runs from prep to cook to sink to drying area to being put away. I should make a video of me cooking a meal- not to toot my own horn for too much longer :) but I am quite proud of my kitchen, it's efficiency, and the meals I produce in it.
And my large single sink is my favorite item in my kitchen.

I have a large double. The small side with the gd is for rinsing and hand washing. I use the individual approach, without filling the sink. Then after dishes are clean, they dry in the big side with no gd. In my next kitchen I will have the gd on the big side, and keep that open for washing. We do have a dishwasher, but there's always something that needs to be washed by hand and I'm too lazy to dry and put away after washing, so the double is important to me.

I'm not interested in having a plastic bin in my sink to hold clean dishes, nor leaving them on the counter. - a single sink is not for me. Also, I'm set in my ways at this point, so glad there are great double sink options.

Single sink convert here, no separate prep sink. I find a 30" sink is large enough to have dirty dishes and a prep zone going on at the same time, due in great part to the grid that elevates everything off the floor of the sink.

Living alone, I generally wait till my DW is full (and/or I run out of dishes to use), so I run it every 5 or 6 days. I rinse everything because I don't want an eggy plate sitting and incubating in the DW. I usually wash pots and pans by hand under running (or on/off) water. So many meals involve a larger pot or bowl so you have an instant, handy wash bowl. About the only time I fill the entire sink is to soak the grid, and I only need a couple of inches of water.

A single bowl is not perfect 100% of the time, but you can fake a double sink temporarily with a plastic container. A divided sink can't be changed.

Best of both worlds plus!

I always had a double but when I saw my new sink I couldn't resist. It's made by American Standard. It's a single bowl stainless sink and comes WITH a separate single bowl, custom cutting board that is designed to drain into the sink and a colander. Colander fits into the single basin and can be stored under the sink or wherever. You can use all or one at a time. Leave all out for the large single bowl use
etc, etc, etc. So far I think if you prefer. I love it. I've only had it for a few days so am learning all different ways I could use it.
Got it at Lowe's. Take a look on their site.

Take into account that the new sinks are deeper. We fill the sink to barely cover the dishes, soak till the water cools, wash, and then let the rinse water run right into the sink. There's no chance of it overflowing. We let them airdry on the counter overnight.

Gypsywanab, did you undermount your sink?

No, it's a top mount / drop-in.

The basin, etc slide along a ridge molded on the sink.
If you click on the site and view the demo you can see how it looks in use.

Kailuamom, I do the same thing, though my double sinks are the same size. I wash each thing individually with running water, then lay them to dry in the other bowl. I usually don't have the time (or desire) to towel dry everything after washing, nor do I want to have a drying rack on the counter. I don't ever have the need to soak something that is too long to fit in the sink. Cookie sheets get washed right away, either by hand or in my dishwasher. If by hand, I don't have a problem tilting the sheet, leaning one side against the divider while scrubbing. My mother has a large single bowl and hates my sink - but she likes to leave things soaking like large cookie sheets. I hate her sink - it's too big, soaking things get in the way when trying to wash other items, food goop gets stuck around the outer edges of her sink, etc.

The only thing I don't like about my sink is that because it's not deep, it's hard to fill a large pot like a lobster pot, but I rarely do that. I can just barely manage to fit the faucet over the top of the pot.

The only way I would ever even possibly consider a single bowl is if I had a prep sink elsewhere. When we remodel, unless I can find room for a prep sink, I'll opt again for a double bowl, though I want it a bit deeper.

It truly is a personal choice.

I had a shallow 6in double bowl. Horrible, but I liked it in that I could have dirty dishes waiting to be washed on one side and do my work on the other side.

We ordered a low divide double 60/40 and a single bowl. I didn't like the way the low divide part looked. And also didn't think it would be low enough to wash pans and large pots.

Now (in hopefully one more week!!) I will have an 8in single bowl which will be undermounted, so 9in. And I am hopeful that I will now wash my dishes after being used instead of leaving pots and pans and such until the next morning, because I'm just about passed out cold after eating and relaxing at the table! Well, maybe I'll do that....

Gypsywannab, yes, but if you watch the video and read the reviews it can be undermounted. I imagine you'd need a positive reveal.

This post was edited by writersblock on Tue, Jan 22, 13 at 13:38

I fill large pots on the counter using the pulldown faucet. I prop the head of the faucet inside the edge of the pot and just leave it.