Rice, peels and coffee grounds in the drain again, and you're the one who has to fish them out? The drain isn't the problem. Where you catch the scraps is.

If you've ever pulled a slimy basket out of the drain with a paper towel and held your breath, here's why it keeps happening, why the usual fixes don't last, and the simple change that ends it.

Dinner's done. You rinse the plates, and the bits go where they always go: rice, onion skins, a few coffee grounds, all sliding toward the drain.

The little basket in the drain catches some of it. By the end of the dishes it's a soggy clump, and the water is pooling because the holes are blocked. You grab a paper towel, pinch the edge, and pull it out at arm's length.

If you're the one who does the dishes in your house, some of this will sound familiar:

Thanksgiving. Twelve people, three hours of cooking and a sink that's been running since noon. You're halfway through the pots when the water stops draining.

Your sister-in-law is standing right next to you with a stack of plates. You plunge your hand into grey water, feel for the drain basket and pull out a fist-sized clump of potato peel and stuffing. She says nothing. She doesn't have to.

Every one of these either catches the scraps at the bottom of the sink or holds them in standing water.

Drain baskets get slimy because they sit in the worst spot in the sink

The drain is the lowest, wettest point in the sink. Anything that catches food there catches it under the water, under the next plate's scraps, where it sits wet until you deal with it.

That's why it clogs, and why it's so unpleasant to empty. The basket isn't badly made. It's badly placed.

The problem isn't your drain. It's catching scraps after they've already landed.

Hang a basket up off the bottom of the sink and rinse your plates over it. Water runs straight through, and the scraps stay in the basket instead of landing in the wet.

When the dishes are done, you lift the basket off and tip it into the bin. Nothing sat in standing water, and your hand never goes near the drain.

So a better sink strainer has to do three things

That's exactly what the Swan Sink Strainer Basket does.

Meet the Swan Sink Strainer Basket

Here's how it works

A stainless steel swan that hooks on the faucet or sink edge and catches scraps while you rinse.

First use: hook the swan over your faucet or the divider between two sinks, rinse a plate over it and watch where the scraps go. Then lift it off and tip it in the bin.

See the Buy 1, Get 1 Free offer

What changes this week

Next Thanksgiving, your sister-in-law asks about the swan instead of watching you dig in the drain.

One online store sells a similar swan strainer for close to $57.

Two swans for $30

Every order is Buy 1, Get 1 Free: two strainers for $30, $15 each. One for your sink, one for a housewarming or hostess gift.

Stocking up for gifts? 4 strainers are $60 and 6 are $90.

Claim my free one

Try it for 30 days, risk-free

Here's what to do next

Get mine: 2 strainers for $30

It’s your call

Or you can keep fishing gunk out of the drain

Tonight's dishes can end like last night's: a clogged basket, grey water and a paper towel.

Or you can rinse over a swan, lift it off and tip it in the bin.

Questions people ask

P.S. The short version: drain baskets catch scraps at the lowest, wettest spot in the sink, so they clog and get slimy. This stainless swan hangs off the faucet and catches them up high, so you just tip it out. Buy 1, Get 1 Free: two strainers for $30, with a 30-day money-back guarantee. Get yours here.