Amazon Basics 26-Inch Over The Sink Dish Rack

It’s a bit wobbly, dont sit flat but its great for holding small dishes

I got this thinking it would be a perfect way to add storage and clear up counter space in my small gallery kitchen.

The idea is great and I loved all the options for more storage and hooks to hang things. However it is pretty large and clunky. If your kitchen is small, this just makes it feel smaller.

It didn’t fit under my cabinets – totally my fault for not double checking the sizes – but it generally made my entire kitchen feel smaller and much more cluttered because of its size.

I love this concept and I’m going to keep looking for something similar but in a much smaller scale.

I bought the Amazon Basics Over the Sink rack for more counter space, more dish space, and easier rack cleaning.

Assembly was simply a matter of screwing the feet into the end pieces, then using ten screws to fasten the five cross pipes between the end pieces. When I tightened the screws, I tried to hold the four feet down against the flat concrete floor, but tightening twisted the ends out of alignment, leaving me with a wobble.

Slightly unscrewing one foot would have fixed it, but I wanted the ends aligned. I loosened the ten screws, put a board across two cross pipes as a shelf, put three bricks on the shelf, and tightened. I removed the shelf, and there was no more wobble.

The four shelf racks lift off for easy cleaning. The lower shelf has only enough clearance to move 10” plates in and out of the plate rack. My plates are 10.5” in diameter. The plate rack must go on the top level, where the plates need 40 inches of clearance above counter level, not 35 inches as the Amazon description says.

The other three racks can be used as flat shelves, but two have wavy wires allowing other placement of bowls and cups. On the left, the lower shelf holds two bowls up. It can hold seven this way, with space beside the bowls for other items. Above, a coffee mug and a measuring cup sit slanted for faster draining. To save space, they could be placed with rims flat on the rack.

The kit includes six big C hooks which could be positioned along any of the five cross pipes. In the photo, I have used four, for two serving implements on the left and two brushes on the right.

Each end has three cross wires to hang the three attachments. On the left is what the description calls the silver bin. Actually, the silver bin is the smaller part at the front, 1.5 x 3”. The larger part, behind it, is for large knives. It has three slots on top, through which blades can be suspended safely in a wire cage. The attachment incudes a white plastic pan to catch drips.

I see two problems with the silver bin. I don’t like to cram my flatware into such a small compartment, and it’s a bit tall for teaspoons. I hung the three-compartment wire bin from my old rack, on the wire below. You can see the glint of a teaspoon.

The Amazon description says the four little hooks on the knife cage are for cutting boards and sponges. I prefer to hang color-coded measuring spoons.

The attachment that holds my white cutting board hangs from the middle wire on the right. I hung it back-to-back with the 3 x 8” basket, which is inboard, over the sink. It holds a metal scrub pad and a little squeeze bottle of dilute dish liquid for washing single items.

My yellow dish cloth hangs over the top wire. My gray towel is at the back, hanging over the lowest cross pipe. With all that room, I may switch to a bigger towel.

I usually prepare food to the left, and the rack keeps several tools close to my right hand. It also helps me keep the counter clear. If I move to the sink, six washing items are close to my right hand.

To see if the rack would work for somebody shorter, I marked the rack 5’4” from floor level, which is approximately eye level for somebody 5’9” tall. Crouching to that level, I could use the upper shelf but thought it might be difficult if I were shorter. I think I’d want this rack even if I needed a stool to use the top shelf.

This has lasted for quite a while of tough use, so I feel comfortable in saying that this is a durable rack. It’s well-constructed and quite sturdy and stable. After months of use, this is still basically functioning like new. I have to clean it off now and again, because chrome always shows water spots, but that’s a universal issue with all dish-racks. It’s easy to wipe clean and it still looks good.

Pros:
We found no flaws on the one we tested.
This works as advertised, with no issues.

Cons:
None that I’ve found.

Overall, based on our testing, this is a good option and worthy of your consideration. Good luck finding what will work for your needs.