The importance of sinks and taps in the kitchen

Ask women in the house the most important items in the kitchen and they will reply kitchen sinks, faucets draining boards and mixer grinders, in that order. Why is this so? It is because without these items, the cleanliness (and hygiene) of kitchens, food, dishes, and utensils is simply not possible. Let us see how kitchen sinks faucets and draining boards contribute to cleanliness and hygiene of kitchens, food, dishes, and utensils.

Sinks are used in kitchens for three purposes. The first of these is to wash hands in before preparing food and to wash raw vegetables before cooking. The second of these is to wash dishes and utensils used for cooking food. The third is to drain away the used and dirty water.

Now it is easy to see why kitchen sinks are important from the point of view of maintaining cleanliness and hygiene. An important design consideration in the choice of kitchen sinks is that of the undermount design. The chief feature of this design is that it does not allow dirt, crumbs, and grime to collect around it. Therefore it contributes to cleanliness.

Another important design consideration in sinks or basins that offer cleanliness is through easily removable and cleanable mesh filters fitted at their bottom. What happens is that during cleaning and washing of cooking utensils and dishes in sinks, crumbs, dirt, and solid food particles collect over the mesh and can easily clog it. The mesh filter assembly can be screwed off the sink from the bottom, cleaned, and refitted again.

Some materials used for making kitchen sinks are eminently suitable from the point of maintaining cleanliness and hygiene. Stainless steel and granite stand out in this respect. Stainless steel is easily cleaned and is stain free. Granite is scratch proof and provides a smooth finish. These characteristics do not allow dirt, grime, and food particles to collect in the sink. Sinks made of these materials therefore pave the way for cleanliness and hygiene.

A well functioning faucet installed over a kitchen sink helps maintain the flow of water when required for washing hands, dishes, or utensils. Thereby it aids in cleaning and maintaining hygiene. The flow of water through it also helps keep the sink itself clean. Some of these faucets are equipped with temperature control valves that can even provide hot water. Hot water kills all germs in the sink and this helps maintain hygiene.

Properly inclined draining boards are important to keep the kitchen counter clean and dry. The slopes in the grooves on draining boards aid in the flow of water into the sink. Some sinks are equipped with built-in draining boards. The draining boards are important for keeping the area around the sink on the kitchen counter dry. Wet areas around kitchen sinks faucets and draining boards are prone to the sustenance of bacteria and other unwanted visitos like mosquitoes.