How to stop water from dripping on the sink counter and bathroom floor when washing hands?

Question

I turn on the water, dispense some soap, rub my hands together, rub my hands together a lot more under the running water.

Sometimes though, I didn't dispense enough soap the first time so have to go back and push down on the dispenser again, which will usually cause water to drop off my hand and onto the sink counter leaving some unwanted puddles of water.

Most every time when I'm finished rinsing my hands I reach for the towel to dry them, which causes water to drip on the sink and on the bathroom floor.

This is especially irritating after you've just recently cleaned the bathroom. Also, other people might think you sprayed pee on the floor of the bathroom.

I have tried cleaning up the water before with toilet paper, but the toilet paper can dissolve pretty fast and cause more of a mess. Paper towels are expensive.

I've also tried removing my hands from the running water but keeping them above the sink for a while to hopefully let the water fall off there before reaching to dry my hands. I never really have enough patience for this method though.

So how can I stop making my sink counter and bathroom floor water oases in the first place?

Answer 1

I have an arrangement which looks similar to yours. Unfortunately, our counter is made of a type of granite which stains if we don't dry it immediately. I solve the problem by keeping smaller towels, sometimes called "hand towels," right up against the edge of the sink on both sides, leaving no exposed counter. Soap stains our counter too, so I place the dispenser on a small square towel, which we call a "wash cloth," and it covers the area between the dispenser and the sink.

There are a few benefits to my system:

• Having a towel at my fingertips eliminates the need to turn away from the sink to reach for a towel, which alleviates the problem of dripping water on the floor.

• The smaller towels can be used multiple times, after which they go into the washer, where they take up less space than a large towel that only has a small wet section caused by drying our hands. (If I don't like the look or feel of the wet hand towel, I fold it in on itself, so it's still flat and pretty, making sure of course that no wet parts end up resting on the counter!)

• Small towels often come in a set with larger towels, so you may already have them around the house. If not, they are inexpensive at a number of stores. Kitchen sink towels work too, and many people already have those.

Answer 2

To avoid dripping water from your hands outside of the sink basin,

1. shake water off your hands (with your palms facing you and fingers spread, flick your fingers downward several times), then
2. move your hands quickly to the towel (or use the dispenser quickly) before the remaining water can gather into a drip.

It is also possible to extend the time for which you can avoid drips by turning your hands to force the water to run across your skin rather than accumulating at a single low point into a drip. Pay attention to the feeling of the water on your skin, and keep it moving.

Answer 3

My simple, simple, simple solution was to buy a thick multi-layer sponge with a soft side for wiping my granite sink down when I finish. The other side of the sponge is a mesh like scrub surface. But I keep the sponge wherever I drip water the most which is usually next to the hot water handle. The water dries before it soaks through the thick layered sponge. I've never had water go all the way through to get the sink damp.Once a week or so I clean the sponge with a spritz of alcohol or I soak it in very mild bleach and water then dry. When not using the sponge I sit it above the faucet so it dries quickly and until I need it again. Sounds like a lot, but it really isn't once you try it. I got the sponge at Walmart in the household kitchen sponges area. It's similar to an oval shape with slight indentations in the middle and is about 6" long, about 1/2" to 3/4" thick, lightweight and gray. It's convenient since I can move it anywhere I need it, then wipe my granite sink down so it dries quickly.

Answer 4

The small towel solution absorbs the puddle only until the towel is full, and then it's no better than no towel. Someone has to service the towel, making room for more absorption either by wringing it out or by replacing it with a dry one.

I recommend adding a siphon that continually drains the towel. Take a paper towel and fold it into a pointy triangle, using the same pattern by which you would make a paper airplane, but make 3 folds toward the center line instead of 2. Place the wide end under the towel on your counter and the other end down into the sink. Wet the siphon to get the flow started. The siphon will slowly drain the towel, lifting the water over the lip of the sink, and pulling it down to the siphon tip where it will fall off and proceed to the drain.