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.

Hi All! I have learned sooooo much on this site. Thank you Mr. Corlett. I have had Corian countertops since 1998 with a granite composite under mount sink. Love the Corian, not the sink so much because it seems yellowed since installed. But I do a lot of canning so the sink has put up with a lot of beet juice and boiling hot water with minimal distress, no cracks. Just clean with Soft Scrub and bleach sometimes. We are now building a house. I am again using Corian for the countertops. I am considering either a Corian integrated sink 850 or an LG-HiMacs integrated sink 3118. I do not like the sink drain in the center of the sink as in the 3118 but that sink is an inch and a half longer than the Corian so better for skillet handles to fit in sink. Do you have an opinion as to the staining or cracking or other issue of either product I might consider before making my final decision? Thank you. Cynthia

For heat resistance I think all you need do is check the mfg specifications. Corian is heat-resistant to 325 degrees; it's the integrated sinks where you need to be careful with boiling water because of the glue used (seams are always the weak point in any kitchen counter/sink material). I'm not sure what Silgranit's max temp resistance is. My drop-in 32" Swanstone single-bowl sink is rated for 375 degrees. I never run cold water when I drain pasta, and have had no problems since its 2003 install. The only thing SoftScrub won't get out of Swanstone is rust stains from cans. But oddly, they disappear after a while just from ordinary use (e.g., running water) after a couple of months. Mine is top-mount, but you can undermount it. The deck is pretty thin (compared to our previous Kohler cast iron, LOL) so it would add 1/4" to depth when you're bending over. My DH would agree on a too-deep sink. He finds its 10" depth too deep for him (he's 5'10"). I'm four inches shorter and have no problems with the depth. He'd prefer an 8- or 9-inch sink, that would work better for him. So far they haven't been able to make solid surface sinks longer than 31/32" for a single-bowl, last I heard.

I've had the biggest singleCorian integrated sink now for about 12 yrs.. I put hot pans, straight from the stove in it. I dump all the frozen together ice from the ice maker in it (not at the same time as the hot pans!). I have never had ANY problems with this sink! My daughter had the same sink installed in her kitchen 8 years ag. She works and her husband is a SAHD and a total slob. Did I mention the two now teenaged sons? Believe me, that sink has seen it all and it looks as good as the day it was installed.