Most people argue that the sink is the most critical part of the kitchen, I agree. This is because most kitchen activities occur around the sink.
This is why choosing a kitchen sink for your home is an exercise you commit to. Since the kitchen sink is in use often than not, you want a sink that is durable and elegant.
Granite composite sinks are a mixture of durability and style. A granite composite sink that blends with the kitchen countertop creates a seamless design flow in the kitchen.
This sink differs considerably from its counterpart, the granite sink. The significant difference between these sinks is their composition. Simultaneously, the granite sink contains granite particles(quartz sand) and acrylic resins majorly.
This article is to help you with how to inspect a granite composite sink with two simple tests!
We can go with the following steps before you decide to install a granite composite sink:
1. Check if there is a coating on the sink surface
A quality sink does not need a coating to shine. Some manufacturers add a coat on the granite sink because they didn’t reach the high density. They need a coating to prevent leakage.
How can we know if there is a coating on the surface?
A coat is simply a layer added to the sink. Usually to make the color uniform or to hide a flaw.
We can use a sharp knife to scratch the sink surface. If there is a white haze on the scratched surface, know the sink you are acquiring has a coated layer.
If there are dark color scratches left on the surface, congratulations, you have a sink with no sealing coating. And these scratches are easy to remove with a soft cloth.
This is because the three subjects are in different hardness. The quartz sand( granite sink) is the most hardness; the second comes with the metal (knife); the less hardness is the coating layer.
When you scratch on the coated sink, the white haze is the layer falls off. And if you scratch the no-coated sink, the metal will fall off with a dark color, for the quartz sand is more rigid than the metal.
2. Penetration test
This test aims to check the density of the sink. Depending on the color series of the sink, you could administer the following tests;
Dark Color series
Sprinkle a little water directly on the surface of the stone trough and let it stand until the water dries naturally.
If you can easily remove the water stain on the surface with a soft cloth on drying, know you are about acquiring a high-quality sink. This is because the molecules of a high-quality sink are densely packed, giving the water molecules no room to penetrate.
That is to say, the density of the sink almost the same as the glass. You can imagine the water stains on the glass door in your bathroom. You can easily remove them once they are dry. But they are hard to remove after a long time. So the granite sink is the same, you need to clean it often. This is a tip for maintaining the granite sink.
If the water stains on the surface are hard to remove on drying, then the sink is not in high density. This is because the water molecules have penetrated the surface.
If there is a coating on the sink, the water will not penetrate the surface. But after using for a period of time, with the alternate heat and cold temperatures, the coating will separate from the sink surface. Then it will happen the penetration.
Light color series
For the dark color series, we used water. For light color series, such as white color sinks, Tea, Coffee, or Soy sauce is preferred. This is because drying these items leaves easily observable particles behind.
Place either of the items on the sink and let it dry naturally.
If the sink is of poor quality, the stains are hard to remove.
If the sink is of high quality, it’s easy to wide off the stains. Fot stain-resistant is one of the most advantage of a good-quality granite sink.
Conclusion
Getting a granite composite sink is not as crucial as getting a quality granite composite sink. It is easy to get confused once in the market, as most of the sinks look alike. This is why you must know how to differentiate high-quality from inferior quality sinks.
