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how tough are modern Corian sinks?

11 years ago

I had Corian before and it was tough. The sink would stain and I'd bleach it. I'd pour boiling water down it. I'd stand on the counter to change light bulbs. I wasn't careful about hot pans or knives. I treated it like garbage because we were planning on replacing it and it performed flawlessly. It dated from the early 1980s. It was pink and the ugliest thing ever.

Is new Corian as good as the old? Can you dump boiling water down the sink without fear? I know it will scorch, but will it crack if a hot pan is set on it?

We are hard on things but like the ease of cleaning Corian provides. We will most likely go with stainless steel again because it's really hard to damage, but I am drawn to the white expanse of plastic conferred by a Corian countertop.

So, is the new stuff holding up as well as the old stuff? Thanks.

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Comments (2)

User
11 years ago
You are in the minority if you found a Corian sink easy to deal with. Most people hate them for the very reason you said you loved it. They require that bit of softscrub with bleach on a regular basis. No other sink needs that. That's why Silgranite has become so hugely popular. You can do all of your torture tests to it and it's fine.

As far as "making them like they used to", no, they are slightly thinner than the old days, and they handle thermal shock less well. You can pour boiling water down the sink, IF you run cold water at the same time to mix it. Corian only cracks if a hot pan is set on it at a seam join. And it's not a sure thing. You could do that 500 times and be fine. But #501 might get you if it were a particularly cold day in the house, or if that was a particularly big bit of thermal mass in that pot (full of soup for instance) or even if the moon's gravity added just the right pull to add that scintillion of extra pull.

If you treat it like any other counter top and are just a bit careful with it, it'll be fine. No countertop recommends setting hot pots directly on it's surface. Or cutting on it. Or dropping heavy objects on it. But, the really great thing about Corian is that if it does be become damaged, it's repairable.
Fori
Original Author
11 years ago
Thanks Holly. I guess I'd better pass on it then. The spouse did want to do stainless steel again (see the integrated sink theme?) which we've been unable to damage in the past. I particularly liked the recessed faucet deck in the Corian. Guess I can recreate it in metal...but not pink:

The remote drain plug stopper thing was positively awesome too, for a double sink...
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