new kitchen, white sinks

What is it made of?
Surely they are all different?

Ceramic fine. Ive used my utility room ceramic sink for all sorts of stuff - dyeing, peeling beetroot.

A composite material -no. Or if you love the look of it be prepared to fill it with a bleach solution overnight to shift the day’s stains.

My kitchen firm recommended a grey sink for the kitchen and I think they were right.

Yes, I’d second avoiding a composite sink - ours is a cream one and stains so easily and looks unclean despite daily scrubbing.
I wish I’d gone for either another stainless steel one (but decided against this as they scratch easily), or a ceramic, Belfast style sink.

We bought our park home 2 years ago, it was brand new and has a white sink in the kitchen. Not what I'd have chosen because I was worried about staining but it's as white as the day we moved in.

Ours is composite and I use a spray cleaner that contains bleach once a week which I rinse off almost immediately and always make sure that if anything like tea or red wine is poured down the plug hole, it's rinsed off straight away.

PS I've never used neat bleach or a bleach solution left for any length of time for fear of that marking the sink.

I know stainless steel scratch. But after a while you don’t notice mine was in when we moved in and I guess was about twelve years old. We moved in 2014 and the trusty sink was subject to builders sand cement and goodness knows what else. It now has a satin finish but still looks good. I think it was a good heavy duty one to start with

I had a white kitchen sink put in about ten years ago. It is the same sort of ceramic as a wash basin and it still looks fine. I never bleach it but I regularly give it a good clean with bicarbonate of soda.

We have a white ceramic in the kitchen & composite in the utility.
Told my husband to wash his paint brushes in the kitchen sink as it’s easier for me to clean.
I do use bleach but rinse off straight away because I have a chrome plug hole & overflow.
If it’s a white composite sink dilute your bleach & rinse straight away.
Ciff did a cleaner with bleach but I haven’t seen it for sometime in the shops.

I had a white sink, it looked really nice but it stained so badly that I wrote to the manufacturer to complain and they agreed to replace it with the same model but in black. I’ve had it now for many years with no issues at all.

I have a white sink, assume it’s ceramic.

Never worried about staining, more concerned about chips or scratches, hence the rubber sink mat in the bottom and a draining rack on the draining board.

Much prefer it to my old stainless steel sink.

Thank you all. I dont know if its composite but will make sure to ask, and thank you Calendargirl, will make sure to put a mat in.

MT62

We have a white ceramic in the kitchen & composite in the utility.
Told my husband to wash his paint brushes in the kitchen sink as it’s easier for me to clean.
I do use bleach but rinse off straight away because I have a chrome plug hole & overflow.
If it’s a white composite sink dilute your bleach & rinse straight away.
Ciff did a cleaner with bleach but I haven’t seen it for sometime in the shops.

I’d be telling my husband to clean the sink himself after washing his paintbrushes!

I have had white ceramic sinks in the past including Belfast ones and they were always fine and cleaned easily.
I have a stainless steel one now for years and that’s fine too.

Ha FHLH (love the name). TBF he does but you know what fellas are like 🙄

I remember back in the 60's council houses had white sinks and they chipped very easily, nothing you could do about it

Years ago friends of mine had an expensive kitchen fitted, and a white sink was fitted. It chipped quickly and easily. I have no idea what it was made of. I have always had stainless steel and never a problem and so easy to clean.

I am not keen on ceramic. It looks great but you only have to put a glass down a little bit clumsily and it smashes. I like the more forgiving bounce of stainless steel.

I'm with Gwyllt and other GNs here. Stainless steel all the way!

I've had sinks made of all materials over the years, and the worst by far were the composites which scratched, wore down, stained and even melted on one occasion.
Ceramic sinks such as Belfast do look lovely but you have to take great care of them, I had one in a holiday home and always used a mat in the bottom which didn't look great and actually eventually didn't stop damage either.
Even stainless steel can be difficult, my latest one has an unattractive finish which is slightly matte and always looks grimy. Draining boards tend to look grubby over time too.
I'd suggest a stainless sink, with a slighly burnished brushed finish, ideally undermounted with draining grooves cut into a quartz worktop.

Love my white sink, it needs cleaning often but I just didn't notice how dirty my previous stainless sink was. Top tip, half fill with very hot water (boilled or from the tap) sling in a couple of dishwasher tabs, leave to cool and rinse.

I had a ceramic white sink in my last place. I loved the look of it, but it did need regular cleaning to keep it looking nice. It wasn't composite but still needed bleaching every now and then. I chose to have a stainless steel one in my current house, and have not regretted the decision. It is much more forgiving in terms of looks when it's in use. 'Scratches' have never bothered me - ours had a satin surface when new, and that's how it's stayed. If it ever gets stubborn marks round the taps (we are in a hard water area) I just have a go with some Barkeepers Friend or Viakal. Job done! There is a reason why professional kitchens always have stainless steel sinks.

I have installed a white ceramic sink and drainer at the last three properties I have renovated and I find them much easier to keep clean than stainless steel. I use Bar Keepers Friend white powder, I'm sure other powders can do the same job, even bicarbonate of soda but nothing too abrasive. I know it shows stains but at least you can see where you need to clean!

Grew up with white sinks and first house in the 60s had white sinks. What I don't like about them nowadays is that they are inserted into the worktop and usually have a "lip" type edge underneath. To me it's a forgotten trap and seal may be problematic. Also, some people I know who have them place a tea towel on the worktop as the grooves draining are generally too shallow to cope with water. I'll stick with good quality stainless steel.

Over the years I've had a couple of stainless steel, a beige composite one, a ceramic white Belfast type sink. I currently have one which is Belfast type ceramic but has a drainer too. This is great I've had it ten years it still looks almost new. I occasionaly use a kitchen cleaner with bleach if it gets stained. It always looks good after a quick wipe. I do used a silicone mat in the bottom to stop anything landing a bit heavy breaking or scratching. I hated stainless steel always scratched and water marks.