The easy-to-clean Boon Grass has developed a strong following online, not only for its unique look, but for its ability to help dry items faster.
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We found that this drying rack was large and inefficient, though its prongs fit lots of different bottle parts, and it offers faster drying times.
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When bottles, accessories, pacifiers, and other random pieces of baby gear start piling up, the question quickly becomes: Where do you put everything while it dries? Inevitably there won't be a pre-existing place in your kitchen specifically designed to easily hold items upright, and you'll find yourself in the market for a bottle drying rack. Thankfully, bottle drying racks are generally pretty inexpensive and utilitarian, but you'll still want one that fits both your kitchen's design and counter space.
We browsed the best of the best to find the number one drying rack out there—one that will allow your bottles to air dry faster, is efficient with space, and is easy to clean. Our pick for best overall, the Boon Grass
(available at Amazon for $17.99)
is a tried-and-true member of even the most modern kitchens, and will be right at home on your countertop, thanks to its efficient and effective design. We also liked the Dr. Brown’s Universal Drying Rack(available at Amazon) as a great alternative should you want to get something that can be folded up and put away when not in use.
Editor's Note:
The recommendations in this guide are based on thorough product and market research by our team of expert product reviewers. The picks are based on examining user reviews, product specifications, and, in some limited cases, our experience with the specific products named.
Best Overall
Boon Grass Countertop Drying Rack
The easy-to-clean Boon drying rack has developed a strong following online, not only for its unique look, but for its ability to help dry items faster. There are currently more than 3,000 reviews on Amazon, with over 92% of reviewers giving it 4 or 5 stars. While it doesn’t have quite as much capacity as other models, the Boon Lawn is a larger option—2 inches longer and 4 inches wider—if you find you need more space.
Both models have the same design features: an easy-to-clean, low profile design; and high-quality plastic parts that won’t break easily. There are also a host of other baby accessories, namely the Boon Twig which adds some efficiency to the equation by holding some extra parts at a higher elevation than the bottles.
One drawback of the Boon Grass (and Lawn) is that the bottom of the "grass" tends to grow a slimy film and can form mildew. The only way around this is to take it apart and wash it daily, which some exhausted, new parents may find annoying.
When your bottles, pacifiers, and parts need a good place to dry out, look no further than the Boon Grass. Our pick is functional, space-efficient, and easy to clean, and if you need more room you can always upgrade to the bigger Boon Lawn.
The Dr. Brown's bottle drying rack can be folded flat for easy storage.
Best for small spaces
Dr. Brown’s Folding Drying Rack
The Dr. Brown's Universal Drying Rack is perfect for drying your items. We like that this one folds up when not in use, and that there are different sized prongs based on what you need to dry. Some of the aspects we didn't like were that it's hard to clean, and that certain bottles may be too wide to fit next to one another on the prongs. While this model isn't quite as versatile as the Boon Grass, it does have a large capacity and doesn't take up too much room on your countertop.
Pros
Large capacity
Foldable
Different sized prongs for different items
Cons
Difficult to clean every crevice
Bottles may be too wide to fit next to each other
Shorter racks aren’t as effective at drying items quickly
Even though we generally love OXO brand products, this one disappointed in how it took longer than normal to dry a bottle. The rack’s shorter prongs actually limit the amount of airflow, and subsequently increase the length of time to dry, given that the bottles sit so close to the base. However, we did like the OXO Tot's solid construction and materials, and we found the attached cup to be great for drying utensils.
While an interesting concept, we found that this drying rack was large and inefficient, which is not the combination that you’re going for. Even though the double-decker approach is designed to give you extra room, testers noted that this was too high to fit underneath kitchen cabinets, leaving it front and center on your counter. We found that the other models offered higher capacity, and they took up less real estate. Plus, due to all of the different prongs and crevices, the Munchkin was somewhat difficult to thoroughly clean.
On the positive side, the Munchkin High Capacity rack allows for more airflow—and faster drying time—because the bottles are lifted so high off the counter. It also spins around, to make reaching all the prongs a cinch, and the uniquely-shaped prongs fit lots of different bottle parts.
The elevated prongs of the Philips Avent drying rack allow for a nice amount of airflow, and this rack is super easy to clean. We also liked that this model was compact, and rather space efficient, but it lacked an area to put your larger extra parts like bottle nipples or handles. When you end up using the prongs for parts, you lose out on capacity, meaning that you’ll likely need two of these to satisfy your drying rack needs.
We found that Prince Lionheart’s offering was unique, in that it was both compact and space efficient, but we found that with more capacity came more problems. The upper rack offers a good amount of airflow, and was a nice addition for drying bottle parts, but we ended up having to remove all of the pieces in order to get to the bottles. Cleaning is also a challenge given the paper-clip design, so prepare to scrub deep down in the crevices to keep this one clean.
What to Consider When Selecting a Bottle Drying Rack
Efficiency
We know that space is at a premium, so finding racks that managed to hold lots of bottles and parts in a space-efficient manner was chief among our concerns. While there are a lot of crazy designs, generally speaking, the ones that allow enough space for bottles to not touch, while still giving a minimal amount of room for odds and ends were rated the highest.
Capacity
Obviously, you want something that will hold as much as you can throw at it. While you need to be efficient, you also need to get the job done with one rack and not six. We made sure that each rack could hold enough bottles and parts to aid a family of one or two kids in their bottle drying quest.
Does It Help Bottles Dry Faster?
You would be surprised to find that some models, given their materials and design, actually take significantly longer to dry a bottle than others. Whether it’s the tip of the prong, or the amount of air that can get in the bottle, certain models performed better than others due to their design and structure.
Prices were accurate at the time this article was published but may change over time.
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Meet the writer
Matthew DeLauder
Contributor
Matthew DeLauder is a certified Child Passenger Safety Technician and baby gear expert with a decade of experience in the specialty product space.
Our team is here for one purpose: to help you buy the best stuff and love what you own. Our writers, editors, and lab technicians obsess over the products we cover to make sure you're confident and satisfied. Have a different opinion about something we recommend? Email us and we'll compare notes.