Continued from last week…
I told the home owner it was not her cleaning company’s fault that the sink could not be brought back to its’ original luster. I explained that top quality sinks were constructed of 304 grade steel which is the strongest steel that can be pressed into a sink. Steel needs to have 11% chromium to be classified stainless steel. I told the customer she likely had a stainless steel tool in the house would not rust but it was not shiny. To make stainless shine you need to have higher chromium content and need to have added nickel; 18% chromium and 8% to 10% nickel is optimum.
Many less expensive sinks were originally produced for plastic laminate tops like Formica. These sinks were designed for limited life span often as little as three to five years. These sinks were never intended to last a generation like granite, marble, quartz and solid surface tops. They are often made of softer steel and lower chromium and nickel content.
I pointed out the pads on the bottom of the sink and the fact that there were no identification or certification marks. These applied pads are made or rubber. Many manufacturers use the multiple pads to compensate for thinner and lower quality steel. Quality sinks have a minimum of sound pads. The more pads on a sink usually the cheaper the sink.
Quality sinks are certified to meet US Plumbing standards, – ASME A119.19.3 – by a nationally recognized certification agency such as UPC or CSA. Her sink had no certification stamp so it was likely not certified.
The customer stood up from staring at the bottom of her sink and said, “So sell me one of your sinks and I will change it.”
I shrugged and said, “The bad news is that it is unlikely that you will be able to replace your sink. Replacing under mount sinks can often involve removing the entire top. Even if you can get to the sink or remove the top every stainless steel sink manufacturer makes their sinks to their own unique dimension. Finding a sink to fit into another manufacturers sink opening is nearly impossible. The only thing you can do is replace the sink with a sink by the same manufacturer so you will shortly have the same problem.”
When I left the customer was grumbling under her breath. My acquaintance called me about a week later. She said when she went to clean the customers house her customer told my acquaintance that she was on a mission to tell all her friend not to use the countertop fabricator who did her top because he gave her such a bad sink.
The End
Let us know if YOU have had a bad sink experience like this poor woman!