Astralux-type sinks a real pain to clean

[MM]

One gripe I have with my new house is the kitchen sink which is of the hard plastic (Astralux?) variety. This stuff is actually very horrid indeed. I am used to stainless steel sinks, or recently one of the IKEA Butler-style ceramic ones. Both were dead easy to clean, especially the latter. But cleaning this Astralux piece of crap, branded Leisure, is not a leisurely process at all. You have to scrub away at the surface very intensively to get rid of the stains. And the surface is so rough that you wear out scouring cloths in no time. I have resorted to using copious amounts of bleach, but as soon as I can that sink is coming out.

DO NOT BUY ONE OF THESE!

MM

[mike ring]

MM wrote in news:rf3j21tdmj9qnnc4nautf4c9ttgphqv15a@

4ax.com:

I would second that; but if, like me, you've got one, and no immediate prospect of changing, I have found the manufacturer's advice to use descaler helpful.

Also Cillit Bang is better than any "conventional" cleaner I've yet tried, spray on and give it half an hour or so.

Flash Eraser melamine foam blocks are good for final destaining - too **** expensive for coarse cleaning.

HTH

mike

[Lobster]

And who the hell came up with *that* brand name? Spose it's one of these international names like Snickers or Cif that 'works' (not?) in all countries.

Then there's the fabby TV ad, which definitely deserves a Ferrero Rocher award or something, fronted by the hiply-named lip-synching Arthur...

David

[John]

Out of very idle curiosity, and as a crossword enthusiast, I put it in an anagram program and got some mildly interesting results:- call it bingcling it lab call big tin la cling bitlac in bling tin clag lib tin gib call til clag binjohn

[Lobster]

Hey, you must have stumbled over a Eurovision Song Generator...

[Bob]

Try adding biological soap powder to a sink full of hot water, as if doing a wash in the sink. leave it to soak overnight. Works for us.

Bob & Bren

[MM]

It's not so much the sink portion itself, more the draining board area and the area surrounding the taps.

What I do not understand is why these ruddy plastic sinks caught on so! I used to have an enamel sink which I bought at MFI twenty years before. It was fantastically cheap, only got one chip in 20 years, was dead easy to clean and its colour (tan) blended in with the kitchen decor beautifully. Now try to find an enamel sink! They are as rare as hen's teeth.

MM

[The Natural Philosopher]

I simply used to put the plug in, dribble some caustic in and fill with hot water. that rips the stains out in no time. Also slowly degrades the plastic. Bleach is probably a kinder option.

If you are in a hard water area,then a dilute acid will rip teh scale off - and often its the sacle that cariies the stains anyway.

Cillit bang is simply a very expensive way to buy limescale remover.

Like that cooker cleaner stuff that black geezer advertises. An expensive way to buy caustic.

[Lee]

We have fitted another Asterite sink, we both hate stainless steel ones, and don't find any problem cleaning it. Wiping it over with a citric acid based cleaner is all it needs - and that's only because it's a hard water area.

Ours has a gloss surface though, perhaps that is the main difference?

Lee

[Steve Firth]

Indeed, all those composites (and especially Corian) are complete crap. BTW, usign bleach hastens the demise of the stuff, it seems to make the surface porous, so very quickly afterwards you can never get it clean. We have both Ikea and other ceramic sinks, by far the best IMO.

We also have some Italian marble einkls for use outside (in Italy) also very good, but not recommended for use with food/etc as they stain easily.

[Steve Firth]

Err yes, becausethe washing powder contains a temperature activated bleach (perbromate). You're just bleaching the sink the long way around.

[MM]

Ha, the surface of mine is anything but glossy. It's quite rough to the touch, actually. I don't understand what people see in them. I think they're crap, even before I bought the house. Didn't think it would be such a problem to clean, though.

MM

[Lee]

Although I like plastics sinks, I agree in part. I don't understand why people fit the rough and slightly porous type - and why are these always white or light coloured? Seems ridiculous to make a white sink in a porous material... The glossy ones seem to hold up much better, but usually seem to be only available in the darker colours. Wonder why?

In our case, SWMBO wanted a dark blue sink to match the kitchen design :)

Lee

[Mike]

Can't agree. We had one at home since 1990 and it's still looking good. Conversely we've almost destroyed two stainless steel ones (albeit cheap ones) during our current restoration.

[bigcat]

Using any form of scourer is a big mistake on these. The mfr recommends Jif/Cif cream cleaner, it works reasonably well.

Hot vinegar does wonders: scale is the main enemy. It tends to need a rub with a cloth after the vinegar to get it off.

NT

[MM]

I think ceramic sinks are much more elegant. You can't get much more pristine than a glistening white, clean Butler sink, in my opinion.

My problem now is, the sink is fitted into a continuous, professionally jointed worktop which extends around three walls. I cannot just remove the sink and fit a Butler style one. All the worktop would have to be replaced, which would be quite an expensive process. My only hope is that I can find a stainless steel or enamel sink that fits into the hole left by the Astralux monstrosity without gaps. If I had to extend the hole a bit, that would be no problem. But if the hole is bigger than any replacement sink, what then?

MM

[James Salisbury]

MM check out the Astracast ALTO it is over sized, and I used it to replace a plastic sink.

[MM]

Isn't that the same thing? Sounds 'plasticky' to me. I want stainless steel, enamel or ceramic.

MM

[James Salisbury]

Astracast make stainless, ceramic and plastic sinks. The alto is stainles steel, check out

[The Natural Philosopher]

Until you have washed a few sucespans in it and teh glaze get microscored and the tea stains those.

There is only one practical sink, and thats stainless.

I don't have one anymore as SHE reads kitchen design mags...

You are fuicked, of course!

Stainless come on many sizes. Despair not..