Soaker Basket for a Dishwasher's Silverware Basket

Abstract

Dirty eating utensils and other forms of silverware are placed into a dishwasher basket that is at least partially submerged in water that is kept in a soaker basket. The soaker basket is characterized by a water holder portion and a hanger portion such that the hanger portion positions and supports the water holder portion inside a sink basin. Preferably, the hanger portion hangs over a sink divider of a double sink such that it is easy to fill the soaker basket with water from a sink's faucet.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0001]Dishwashers have become a common household appliance, and numerous improvements to the design of silverware baskets for holding silverware (flatware) and other utensils have been developed over the years. A common problem with silverware, particularly forks, is that dried-in food does not adequately hydrate and soften during dishwasher cycles. Food that is not removed during the wash and rinse cycles of a dishwasher becomes baked onto the eating utensils during the drying cycle and must then be soaked, and sometimes even scrubbed, to remove food particles.[0002]Silverware basket designs have changed over the years to improve water flow to utensils and to improve separation of utensils during operation of a dishwasher, but the problem that has not been addressed is that people place dirty utensils into a silverware basket hours, sometimes days, before running a load. Because dirty utensils placed in a silverware basket sit in a relatively dry environm...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The invention is a sooker basket that is placed in the center of a double kitchen sink. It is filled with water, and a silverware basket is placed inside it. This allows dirty utensils to be dropped into the silverware basket. The utensils should be placed side down so that food particles are submerged in the water. There is no need to change the orientation of the utensils before running a dishwasher. The purpose of the sooker basket is to help remove any food particles that may be stuck to the utensils, and it is best to remove it from the center of the sink and place it on a dishwasher rack before starting the dishwasher. This invention makes the dishwasher cleaning process easier and more efficient.

Problems solved by technology

A common problem with silverware, particularly forks, is that dried-in food does not adequately hydrate and soften during dishwasher cycles.

Silverware basket designs have changed over the years to improve water flow to utensils and to improve separation of utensils during operation of a dishwasher, but the problem that has not been addressed is that people place dirty utensils into a silverware basket hours, sometimes days, before running a load.

Because dirty utensils placed in a silverware basket sit in a relatively dry environment for a long time, food particles thoroughly dry to the utensils before they are washed.

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