Four Compartment Sinks

Health codes require that a sink be available for manual dishwashing, should the machine cease to work. There needs to be one bowl for each of the three manual washing steps (wash, rinse and sanitize). Four compartment sinks can satisfy this necessity, the extra bowl can be used to soak kitchen implements with dried- or baked-on food.

Most health departments also have specific requirements regarding the size of the sink bowls and the length of the drain board. You will want to check with your local health department before selecting a sink, so you can get one that is compliant the first time around.