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lisaa007

SS, cast iron or Silgranite laundry sink?

lisa_a
12 years ago

We're redoing our laundry room, which includes replacing the old, very stained utility sink. It's cheap (not sure what it's made up) and too stained to clean up and reuse so I'm on the hunt for a new sink.

I could do another cheap sink in here and when it's too stained again, replace it with a new cheap sink. That's what neighbors have done. They've replaced the original sink twice in 17 years. But I'd rather not go this route. In other words, I'd rather buy a decent, durable sink once, not a cheap sink 2 or 3 times over.

We use this sink to clean painting supplies: interior latex for me (although I'm close to done with painting projects, at least for several years), craft paints for hubby's RC airplane hobby, giving the cat's litter box a diluted bleach soak periodically and typical laundry room stuff. Don't use it often for soaking clothes (can't even remember the last time I needed to do that). It does not need to be super deep - 10"-12" is plenty deep for our needs.

I've looked at SS sinks, Silgranite and cast iron sinks but I'm not sure which way to go. This will be a drop in sink in a laminate counter (Wilsonart Oiled Soapstone). For that reason, I like the SS and Silgranite better because of the lower profile sink edge but I'm not as familiar with those materials as I am with cast iron.

Any advice? I've searched old threads here but didn't see an answer for my situation.

TIA!

Comments (11)

  • chloe203
    12 years ago

    I've had a very deep SS laundry room sink for 18 years.
    I use it for paint clean up and lots of messy projects.
    It's held up well. SS is rather expensive these days isn't it?
    In comparing it with a kitchen cast iron sink I had in my last house, I'd say it's held up much better.
    With those cast iron sinks if you have to do a lot of heavy duty clean up, it's going to be hard on the enamel.
    I know nothing about the silgranite. People seem to love them.
    Lots of talk about them over on the kitchen forum.

  • shannonaz
    12 years ago

    I'll weigh in: I would go with SS. I chose white Silgranite and it just doesn't clean up well and has some stains/discolorations. Mine is an undermount in some left-over granite from our kitchen so not easy to replace. I do love that it is very deep even though it isn't very big around. A really tall faucet comes in handy too. I can wash tall vases and fit tall buckets when I need to. Good luck!

  • sshrivastava
    12 years ago

    I have a black Silgranit sink in my kitchen and I absolutely love it! Low maintenance, doesn't show scratches or stains... it's basically the perfect product. Stainless is difficult to keep clean, and porcelain chips easily. Silgranit all the way!

  • lisa_a
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    shannonaz and sshrivastava, thanks for posting.

    sshrivastava, I know Silgranite is a great sink. I have friends who chose it for their kitchens and love it (and it's high on my list for my kitchen remodel). But this is for a laundry room - think paint clean-up, bleach, etc. I wouldn't dream of using my kitchen sink that way and I can't find any info about how well a Silgranite holds up to the kind of treatment it will get in our laundry room. Now if you've done paint clean-up and poured bleach into your Silgranite with no issues, then please tell me because - YAY! - you'd make me very happy!

  • chloe203
    12 years ago

    Stainless steel will get light scratches, however it does not affect the wear of it . Commercial kitchens always have stainless sinks because they do wear so well.

    Bon ami powdered cleanser or Bar keepers friend are really good for cleaning them.
    I would not go with anything cheaper than an 18 gauge.The lower the gauge number, the better the sink.
    The really cheap higher gauge sinks are more difficult to clean.

  • Goldens1
    12 years ago

    Stainless...

  • gr8daygw
    11 years ago

    Stainless. I use my LR sink to wash out paint brushes and other grody stuff. I wouldn't want to have to worry about it!

  • lisa_a
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Oops, I should have checked in sooner, sorry. Thanks for the additional advice, especially for the cleaning tips, chloe and the real life experience, gr8day.

    We have chosen to go with SS, the Blanco essential laundry sink to be exact. It's a bit above our budget but well worth it, IMO, and I can make up for it with less expensive tile for the backsplash.

  • wildchild
    11 years ago

    For a sink used for general utility I would go with stainless but for a sink dedicated to laundry use nothing beats good quality porcelain on cast iron.

    For the OP's needs stainless wins.

    Sure wish they still made the old 50's concrete utility sinks every garage had when I was growing up. We used those sinks for everything from washing the dog,our hair,clean-up and filling with ice and soda for parties.

  • athomesewing
    11 years ago

    We just bought the Blanco Essentials laundry sink. It's 304 surgical stainless steel, so it should be just be just as serviceable as a good stainless kitchen sink (all stainless is not created equal). It comes in either 1 or 3 hole versions.

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