Kitchens have been the center of attraction for females. Each and every element in the kitchen counts i.e. be it a sink, kitchen countertop, wash area or simple kitchen cabinets, all the elements of the kitchen take equal part in beautifying the area.
Both stainless steel and porcelain sinks are a time-tested choice for a sink material. If you are renovating your kitchen area or just changing the sink; either way, you tend to spend some money to make your kitchen look beautiful. Lets us consider the best sink to choose for the kitchen area. A sink is an important element in the kitchen that handles the aftermath of your kitchen cooking and also serves as the center of attraction of kitchen too.
From a cursory glance, amongst the kitchen sinks both porcelain and stainless steel is the homeowner choice. Both are durable options, porcelain sinks has a lifespan of almost 20-25 years while stainless steel sinks are durable to 15-20 years. No matter which of the sink you choose proper care and maintenance is always required to make your sink last longer. The right choice for your kitchen totally depends on your needs, and your preferences.
Both the sinks have their own advantages and disadvantages, they differs in look, cleaning styles, durability and maintenance.
Let’s know feature and characteristics of each sink in detail and find which suits best in the kitchen.
Advantages of Porcelain Sinks
Porcelain sinks are totally fashion proof that means that will never lose their value. Porcelain sinks offer many advantages to the homeowner. It enhances the value of your kitchen in many ways.
It is robust, beautiful and gives a nice, smooth feel which many people finds appealing.
You don’t have to worry about the Porcelain sinks to match with your kitchen design and style. It suits best with any traditional or modern style and gives a complementary touch to your kitchen.
Porcelain sinks are available in wide range of shapes and colors such that they can be easily adapt by the homeowners to fit any design.
It adds a timeless beauty to your kitchen and goes perfect almost with any style and decor.
Porcelain sinks are budget friendly i.e. they require a less upkeep as compared to other sink options.
Advantages of Stainless Steel Sinks
Stainless steel sinks are improve and upgraded. The new 16 and 18 gauges sinks are less noisy and thicker.
They are unaffected by household chemicals. When it comes in contact with chemicals the luster of the stainless sink doesn’t fade with time making it the ideal choice for kitchen and bathroom areas.
The main advantage of using stainless steel sink is that it is a recyclable material. It doesn’t lose any of its properties while recycling making it a good green option.
Stainless steel don’t crack, fade or stain, thus making it more durable and perfect choice for homeowners.
With the eye catching looks and cool textures surround amazing patterns and colors, stainless steel sinks complement your kitchen decor for long years.
Drawbacks of Porcelain Sinks
Porcelain sinks scratches more easily than stainless sinks. As it is a brittle material the porcelain sinks can be chip or crack easily.
Stains can be easily develop on porcelain sinks this means you have to use bleach and cleaners more frequently to keep your sink area clean.
Porcelain sinks requires frequent repairs increasing your maintenance costs.
They gets easily affected by chemicals making its finish to fade in a time.
Drawbacks of Stainless Steel Sinks
You may notice fine scratches on the stainless steel sinks. Also if you allow regular drops of water to sit for a long time on the surface of the sink, these droplets may cause small imperfections in the sink over time.
The stainless steel is very thin as compared to other sink materials making it noisy. Higher quality stainless sink may have extra coating of steel to eliminate some noise.
If you have set your mind to pick any bold color for stainless sink, this may disappoint you as it comes in a variety of finishes and overall it always has a silver finish.
Now let’s see how Porcelain sinks and Stainless steel sinks differs in the characteristics.
Durability
Stainless steel sinks are not much affected by most chemicals. It doesn’t gets peel, crack or chip easily. Stainless steel sinks are the most durable option available to home owners. The thickness of the steel plays a major role in the sink’s resistance, the thicker the steel the higher the durability will be. The chlorine bleach, solvents and other abrasive cleaners can damage the finish of the stainless sink.
Porcelain sinks are not affected by any temperature changes but they get easily damage by sharp objects. If you drop any heavy object in the sink it may cause the sink to chip.
Cleaning
Stainless steel sinks are easier to clean than porcelain sinks. You can clean stainless sink wit any type of cleaning products but it is advised to use harsh cleaners or steel wool. These may damage the surface of the sink which can lead to rust.
Cleaning porcelain with any type of cleaning agents ultimately reduces the shine of the sink. This leads to surface dirt accumulation over time.
Noise
The thickness of the stainless steel is less as compared to porcelain sinks, therefore, stainless sinks makes more noise when objects are drop against the steel. Somehow, higher end sinks have an extra coating around the underside of the bowl to reduce noise, but still it is noisier than porcelain.
On the other hand porcelain sinks makes less noise when an object is dropped in the sink. Porcelain sinks are thicker then stainless steel. Noise from the kitchen doesn’t entertain any of the guests.
Also Read –How Natural Stones Gives More Refreshing Look To Your Room Decor
Convenience
The major drawback of using stainless steel is it limits us to color options. When it comes in a range of finishes like glossy, mirrored or brushed nickel, the color of the sink will always be silver. However it fits best with different decorating styles and appliances. The polished finish of the sink never looks out dated.
While porcelain sinks comes in different shades and colors it fits best with any contemporary style and looks. It adds a timeless beauty to your kitchen and suits well almost with any decor. But if you choose any color that is bizarre like green or orange you are only limiting your decorating options. It would be better if you choose normal colors, so later if you renovate your kitchen you don’t have to change the sinks all the time.
Other Options
There are different options available for stainless sinks. The lower the gauge number the thicker the steel will be. Thicker steel always dents and won’t be strong as thinner steel sinks.
Porcelain sinks are also durable, you can fine porcelain sinks made of steel or iron that are coated with a porcelain enamel.
Cost
Stainless steel will cost you considerably less than porcelain, granite or cast iron. It doesn’t matter how thick the gauge or the configuration of the bowl is, stainless sink will always cost you less. It has higher durability thus saving your money in the long term.
While porcelain sinks costs you more money than stainless. They are robust and give a solid feeling of depth which appeals many homeowners.
Considering the look, feel and your choice both the sinks have their own benefits and drawbacks. It totally depends upon your budget and long term plans which sink you want in your kitchen.
Source: http://www.cosmosgranite.com/blog/stainless-steel-sink-vs-porcelain-sink-whats-the-difference