Hi, I think the sink covers just make the kitchen area look cleaner or less cluttered. We usually only had the sink covers on while in storage and put them away when camping. On our last trip, basically boon docking, I bought two white plastic tubs that almost fit inside of the sinks perfectly. The idea behind useing the plastic tubs was to dump the dish water down the toilet, thus saveing space in the grey tank. They also protect the stainless steel sinks from getting all marked up.