Swanstone and Silgranit are two completely, totally, different things, so you should not pair them together in your discussion as if they are both just composite sinks. Swanstone is a solid surface created by a compression of plastic compounds into molds. Silgranit is 80% granite. That is why Silgranit doesn't stain, doesn't chip, feels solid, doesn't look dull, withstands heat up to 500 degrees, and doesn't scratch.

So when you say you've read "they clean the sink daily", you don't say whether you are talking about reviews on Swanstone or Silgranit, but I'd guess Swanstone. In any case, how much you need to clean a sink, any sink, depends what you've done with it that day. I.e. rinsed a few things, or made barbecue ribs for a crowd? I can tell you that the darker Silgranit colors in particular, like Anthracite and Cafe Brown, show nothing, and it's difficult even to tell when they are dirty.

Here is a link that might be useful: Blanco's information about Silgranit

Shannonplus2- Swanstone also makes a granite composite sink. That being said, I have a truffle Blanco sink and do not wipe it down daily. I spray the debris and suds and off I go.

Here is a link that might be useful: Swanstone granite sinks

My Anthracite Silgrant doesn't show any waterspots, and I most certainly don't wipe it down multiple times per day! That would be way too much fussing for me. My sinks work hard, I cook from scratch multiple times per day, and I just rinse them off with the sprayer and let them dry on their own. Depending on what's been in them (ie raw meat, eggs, batter, etc.) I might wipe them down with a soapy washcloth or spray them with an antibacterial cleaner. They are low maintenance and I like them very much. I highly recommend the Silranite.

Cj

Thanks Corgimum. But to put a fine point on it, the Swan Corporation makes granite composite sinks, but they do not call them Swanstone sinks. The company has a sink category which are granite composite sinks, and another sink category which are "Swanstone Solid Surface sinks". You bring up a good point though - the OP may be talking about Swan Corporation's granite composite sinks, not its Swanstone sinks.

There are a few threads I recall where people asked whether it was important, when buying a granite composite sink, to buy Silgranit, or another brand's granite composite sink. I don't think the price difference is significant, especially in the scheme of a kitchen renovation, and I would prefer to go with the market leader which has all the research and patents on its product. Also, Blanco has been shown to have excellent customer service according to the Kitchen Forum's anecdotes of Blanco standing behind its products offering free replacements and the like.

This post was edited by shannonplus2 on Sun, Feb 17, 13 at 20:40

Count me as another one who has the silgranite sink in Anthracite and does not have any issues with water spots- hence no need to wipe it dry daily.
We do have a water softer for the whole house so that may factor into the water spot equation..

Thank you all for your comments. I was referring to Swanstone composite granite sinks, not the quartz/solid surface ones. It seems like the consensus here is that Blanco's Silgranit is the preferred surface. People seem to like the lowered center divider in some of Swanstone's sinks.

happs, addressing your last question, look into sinksetter for undermount sink removal.

Here is a link that might be useful: link:

We do seem to have some staining on the fairly new Truffle color. My question is what can we use on it? Soft Scrub? Blanco says any non-abrasive - what are some of those products?

I have used both Soft Scrub and Barkeeper's Friend with no problems. Do you know what the stains are?

I think the issue is the water, not the sink. If your water has a high calcium content, any sink will show spots. I recently moved from a house that had a well, even though there was a softening system, EVERYTHING had water spots. Our new house has city water, and we don't have to dry anything, water left to dry has no minerals in it and doesn't spot.

"That is why Silgranit doesn't stain, doesn't chip, feels solid, doesn't look dull, withstands heat up to 500 degrees, and doesn't scratch."

We've had pictures posted here of chipped Silgranit sinks and while it's very difficult to scratch, it can be done. Neither are viably repairable at this time to my knowledge.

Treb, Silgranite sinks chip in use? Gee, I have read this forum daily for almost three years and I haven't seen the pictures of the chipped Silgranite sinks. Or maybe I vaguely recall an edge damage once. Post a link if you have it.

When you make statements like this, people come here from a search, find your post, and then think Silgranite will chip. If they decide not to buy one based on that, they are missing out on a great sink.

I have a Silgranit sink in Cafe Brown and I admit to washing and drying it several times a day when it was first installed, I just loved the way it looked so much, I became slightly obsessed. Fast forward 5 months and I never dry my sink, no staining, and I have never have seen water spots. I do clean it every day with hot water and dish washing soap and disinfect after processing meat and chicken once or twice a week, but no other special treatment. I absolutely love my sink, will never have a SS or solid surface sink again if I can help it!

may_flowers:

shannonplus2 said that "That is why Silgranit doesn't stain, doesn't chip, feels solid, doesn't look dull, withstands heat up to 500 degrees, and doesn't scratch."

This is contradicted by the manufacturer:

"SILGRANITî II's patented 80% rock-hard granite material resists hot pans, plus stains from acidic foods like spaghetti sauce, lemon juice and wine. From heavy pots to sharp knives, nothing gets by ultra-durable SILGRANIT II , which is scratch, dent and stain-resistant."

"Resists" is not "doesn't".

These are fine sinks, but are not repairable as are others. I want folks perusing this board to have as accurate information as possible for making their evaluations of products.

Here is a link that might be useful: Silegranit

Not sure if this goes with this post, but I am interested in the swanstone granite sinks because they have a shallower bowl than blanco and elkay. Anyone have swanstone granite?

You can scratch and dent anything if you work hard enough at it. However, this is not a true statement:

"We've had pictures posted here of chipped Silgranit sinks..."

Sinks, plural. You made it sound like chips were a common enough occurrence that photos have been posted here. No one to my knowledge has ever posted about their sink chipping. I do remember a photo of a scratch.

i have to say that thanks to all of you on gw, i bought a silgranite in anthracite and love it!
i can't say that i ever dry it and most of the time it is filled with dishes so not much cleaning happening:) on the rare occasion that is it empty, it is so pretty without any effort. never again will i have ss!
you all are such a fantastic source of kitchen info!

LOVE my Blanco in cinder. I echo fishymom.......in the days right after install, I would lovingly wipe it down with a paper towel after almost every use just to see the beautiful surface. Now I know it's always going to dry beautifully on its own. Note-we do have a water softener. After having the awful black enameled cast iron sink, I could never go back to that! Even with the water softener, it was way too labor intensive.

I was just like fishy and still am like fishy
2+ years and looks new. I used to wipe it down several times per day but no longer - just squirt any debris down the hole and done.
I thought I had a blueberry stain about a year ago but it came out easily.

I have a Blanco in Cinder, but it's in my entryway...just arrived. :D

I do remember a post about a year ago from someone who showed pictures of scratches on his Silgranit sink, and another from someone whose sink was chipped upon delivery. It can happen, but it seems to be rare. I've had my Metallic
Grey sink for a year and have never had anything close to a chip or scratch, and I do virtually zero maintenance on it.

I have a swanstone composite sink in Nero (black) and I love it. Silgranite was way beyond my budget, swanstone stretched it a bit.

I do wipe down the sink when I'm done using it, ie after a load of dished, once dinner prep and cleanup are done etc. I don't ever specifically wash it. Wiping with a dry towel after I'm done takes only a few seconds, so I don't find it a big deal. If I'm just quickly rinsing I don't bother to wipe dry, really only after heavy use so to speak. I don't baby it at all. I think solid surface is the only sink type that wouldn't require wiping dry to prevent spots.

Before we moved into the house DH would often use the sink when he was here working, and not wipe it down. It ended up having water spots that bugged me. I read on GW to wipe it down with some olive oil. I tried it and the sink looked like new. That was more than 2 months ago and not a single water spot since.

Found a thread that worried me while shopping, so much so that
I got samples and really tortured them. I recommend testing, it will give you confidence to use and abuse your sink with no worries. My sinks (cinder) look great even, though we are tough on them and much less than thorough about cleaning. We have a water softener.

Here is a link that might be useful: Rub marks, not scratches

Had a Silgranit Super Single in the anthracite color for FIVE YEARS in my previous kitchen, and after five years it looked like the day it was installed. And we did not baby it. We banged around cast iron pots and pans in it, drained tons of boiling water from pasta, tossed wine and coffee into the sink and didn't rinse it till the next day. The title of this thread about the daily drying and cleaning is ludicrous in my experience. Perhaps it was my sink's anthracite color, but the sink never looked dirty and I had to remind myself to clean it. It was indestructible, never scratched and never showed water marks, and was the best sink I have ever had.

The only reason I am not getting a Silgranit sink in this new kitchen is I want an apron front, and Blanco does not make an apron front sink in Silgranit. I am getting a Kohler enameled cast iron apron front instead, and I am quite nervous it won't be as carefree as my previous Silgranit sink.

This post was edited by Sahmmy on Fri, Jul 11, 14 at 21:03

I purchased a Blanco precis under mount sink in 2010 for my kitchen. It is a beautiful sink. However this year, 2014 the sink cracked on the left side near the bottom curve....the crack continues to grow up the side and across the bottom. The sink leaks so we can't use it. We have a dishwasher and are not heavy users of the sink...so we're alarmed and surprised that it cracked after 4 years of use. We contacted Blanco Canada, who were very pleasant and they said that they no longer make the sink in white and gave us other color choices to replace our damaged sink under the lifetime warranty. We asked if there was another white or stainless sink model that we could substitute that would fit our cutout in the counter top...they said unfortunately not. They did not offer any other solution. Unfortunately our whole kitchen is pure white so the color options offered won't work. Our sink is undermount with Caesarstone countertops...so we have a problem. We contacted Blanco in the States...and have found the same sink in white which we have ordered. They went out of their way to be helpful. Denise Durken....their customer service person is wonderful.
As far as cleaning is concerned. ..our existing sink was great for about 2 years. ..then it started staining...because our whole kitchen is white...the staining really shows. I have found the best solution is filling the sink with water and adding powdered oxyclean and letting it soak for hours. The sink returns to sparkling white. The stains return all too soon though. Between oxyclean treatments I use a stiff brush and Vim ...it does a good job. .but I worry about long term erosion of the surface. Overall I am disappointed with the fact the sink has cracked...and it is difficult to keep it white without a lot of work....because of the undermount issue we are compelled to use Blanco again . From a practicality point of view...i would probably order a dark color if I were to redesign my kitchen....i think there would be fewer cleaning issues.

I have the Swanstone granite sink Chrissie posted of and love it also and also clean it just as she does . Their black is called Nero. Love the low curved divide and my sink one of my favorite things in my redo. Also a great price online of $275 and finish not as glittery as the Blanco so was perfect for me.

I have the Swanstone granite sink Chrissie posted of and love it also and also clean it just as she does . Their black is called Nero. Love the low curved divide and my sink one of my favorite things in my redo. Also a great price online of $275 and finish not as glittery as the Blanco so was perfect for me.