Please reassure me about our new cast iron sink

8 years ago

Can someone sing the praises of cast iron sinks? I really wanted stainless and somehow let my husband decide on cast iron, and i want to feel good about it instead of just dreading the broken glasses, staining and chipping. Any cast iron fans out there who can tell me how much i will end up loving it?

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Jillius

8 years ago

I have been using my mother's cast iron sink for almost 20 years. When it is clean, it still looks new, and I have always preferred looking a white sink. Like a white bathtub, it just looks like a nice, clean place to get clean. Solid and wholesome and dependable and definitely going to get you clean.

I don't know what it is about stainless -- perhaps I had too many cruddy little apartments with cruddy little stainless sinks with recurring gook in every crevice-- but they just evoke dirt and work and cheapness to me. And dishes that I wash in them always seem a little suspect. Cast iron, on the other hand, evokes pretty, clean, white, vintage la la land.

Also, I am massively clumsy, and I have broken glasses in almost every circumstance EXCEPT dropping them in the sink. To me, the only downside of cast iron has been that it needs cleaning often to stay white. But I read on here that the grate for the bottom takes care of a lot of that. We should probably buy one...

If your choice is still open, you might look at Silgranit. Apparently that is white and pretty without the cleaning?

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Comments (15)

gawdbe
8 years ago
Buy the stainless steel grate(s) made by the manufacturer to fit your sink. Do it today.

Besides being more sanitary, a grate will protect the sink from a dropped pan, prevent scratches, and dropped things are far less likely to break.

Our enameled sink is black (lovely) and we're on well water, so I ordered the grate after discovering that a glass left in the sink overnight leaves behind a nearly-permanent ring of mineral deposits. Using white vinegar or Barkeeper's Friend gets it back to about 98% of new but I haven't found anything that removes these deposits without a trace. They probably wouldn't even be visible on a non-black sink.

Other than that, the material should last decades and still look great. Just use a non-abrasive cleanser and buff it dry to restore the gloss.
Fori
8 years ago
Cast iron is great! Just don't drop stuff. Use a dishpan for crystal. And don't be afraid of bleach.

You have to try really hard to chip it. Yeah, it's doable, but it's tough.
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I loved all the reviews of the Silgranite on this forum. I was inspired so I went to look at one today. At one warehouse the one there had a crack at the front out toward the divider, it wasn't smooth, it had white streaks and it looked plastic. Now some of that may be from sitting in a warehouse and not being cleaned but I am wondering about it especially the plastic appearance. At Home Depot, I could only see it at a distance so I couldn't really tell. I really like many of the advantages and the cost of the Silgranite but I'm just not sure about the look. I am used to my smooth, solid looking cast iron... Has anyone had a Schock-Houzer Granite Sink? I heard they were smoother but I haven't seen one in person. My worry with the cast iron is that I've heard that the new ones are not as good as the old ones. I would hate to be disappointed in my new cast iron! My current one I clean with Bar Keepers Friend and that's about it. It does clean up pretty well. I will admit it doesn't have the shiny look of the new ones in the store but it does get pretty white again with some elbow grease.
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beth09
8 years ago
As for washing delicates, another option is to lay down a large cloth in bottom of sink. I don't think it will be near as bad as you think! ;)
BirchPoint
8 years ago
This is the sink I put in my white, stacked, shaker inset cabinets with honed Jet Mist granite kitchen:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/KOHLER-Cape-Dory-Tile-In-Cast-Iron-33x22x9-625-4-Hole-Single-Bowl-Kitchen-Sink-in-White-K-5864-4-0/100421418

It is my favorite thing in the kitchen! I find it perfect in every way! I have the stainless steel grate that fits snugly in the bottom. I added magnetized accessories that hold my sponge and sink plug neatly on the side. It is a gleaming beauty that functions perfectly for me in size and shape. It insulates my disposal so well that people standing in my kitchen can't tell when I'm running my disposal. It looks and performs so much better than stainless steel!
weedmeister
8 years ago
Just remember how heavy a cast iron sink full of water is going to be.
artemis_ma
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
As an addendum no matter what you buy -- don't drop glass in ANY sink. I had housemates here once. A couple glassware sets later, without cast iron... I think there's one piece of each style of glassware still here... ;)
ci_lantro
8 years ago
I've had cast iron sinks for the last 40+ years. I will be soooo glad to finally get a stainless steel sink because I'm sick of the staining, bleaching, pot marks.
cookncarpenter
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
I had a Kohler cast iron sink for 27 years prior to my current Silgranite sink. Never had a grate in the bottom, and the sink performed wonderfully. When I removed it three years ago, It looked almost as good as when I installed it in 1986.

I also have an American Standard cast iron laundry sink in the garage that was original with our house built in 1953. It also looks remarkably good, considering the ware and hard use it's had.
PRO
Joseph Corlett, LLC
8 years ago
You may never chip your sink, but if you do you'll stare at that chip until the day you replace it.
User
8 years ago
BirchPoint

We have the Cape Dory, too, and love it. We got the custom grate for the bottom.
a2gemini
8 years ago
Mine was 20+ years old and still looked brand new. I never had sink grates and never broke anything in it - but I tend to wash everything in the DW including crystal and china. I also never chipped it

I replaced it with Silgranit. I have the grids but seldom use them.

Wood side - Now, since DH got his way on the sink, I think you need a Miele DW and then you can wash all in the DW. LOL!

Joseph - you are terrible! Sending negative vibes will only jinx her. It never crossed my mind that I might chip my sink and sure don't need to have that in the back of my brain

Woodside - all sinks have positives and negatives

SS can dent

Cast iron can chip

Silgranit can crack

Corian - I am sure there are issues as well they tell you to run cold water when draining a pot of boiling water Wait - Corian scratches

Enjoy your sink and just take reasonable care for a long life!
Justine Reese
Original Author
8 years ago
Thanks to all of you for the reassurance (and some warnings). The sink is in now and I see I can live with it. I will still wish it was stainless, but it's ok, last night i washed a cast iron pan in it and it didn't scratch or stain (yet), so now i'm on to obsessing about other regrets!
beth09
8 years ago
Enjoy your sink. ;)
Natasha S.
3 years ago
@Justine Reese how's the sink holding up for you? Considering buying one!

Please reassure me about our new cast iron sink

Jillius

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gawdbe

Fori

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Please reassure me about our new cast iron sink

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