stainless steel sinks

In plumbing, a sink or basin is a bowl-shaped fixture that is used for washing hands or small objects such as food, dishes, nylons, socks or underwear. In American plumbing parlance, a bathroom sink is known as a lavatory.

Sinks are made of many different materials. These include:

Stainless steel

Enamel over steel

Porcelain over cast iron

Ceramic

Plastic

Glass

Soapstone

Concrete

Terrazzo

Stainless steel is commonly used in kitchens and commercial applications because it represents a good trade-off between cost, usability, durability, and ease of cleaning. Most stainless steel sinks are made by drawing a sheet of stainless steel over a die. Some very deep sinks are fabricated by welding. Stainless steel sinks will not be damaged by hot or cold objects and resist damage from impacts. One disadvantage of stainless steel is that, being made of thin metal, they tend to be noisier than most other sink materials, although better sinks apply a heavy coating of vibration-damping material to the underside of the sink.

Porcelain over cast iron is a popular material for kitchen and bathroom sinks. Heavy and durable, these sinks can also be manufactured in a very wide range of shapes and colors. Like stainless steel, they are very resistant to hot or cold bjects, but because the porcelain is glass, they can be damaged by sharp impacts and once the glass surface is breached, the underlying cast iron will often corrode, spalling off more of the glass. Aggressive cleaning will dull the surface, leading to more dirt accumulation. Enamel over steel is a similar-appearing but far less rugged and less costly alternative.

Solid ceramic sinks have many of the same characteristics as porcelain over cast iron, but without the risk of surface damage leading to corrosion.

Plastic sinks come in two basic forms:

Inexpensive sinks are simply injection-molded thermoplastics. These are often deep, free-standing sinks used in laundry rooms. Subject to damage by hot or sharp objects, the principal virtue of these sinks is their low cost.

Plastic sinks may also be made from the same materials used to form "solid surface" countertops. These sinks are durable, attractive, and can often be molded with an integrated coutntertop or joined to a separate countertop in a seamless fashion, leading to no sink-to-countertop joint or a very smooth sink-to-countertop joint that can not trap dirt or germs. These sinks are subject to damage by hot objects but damaged areas can sometimes be sanded-down to expose undamaged material.

Soapstone sinks were once common, but today tend to be used only in very-high-end applications or applications that must resist caustic chemicals that would damage more-conventional sinks.

Glass, concrete, and terrazo sinks are usually designed for their aesthetic appeal and can be obtained in a wide variety of unusual shapes and colors such as floral shapes. Concrete and terrazo are occasionally also used in very-heavy-duty applications such as janitorial sinks.