Tectonite 'plastic' Franke sink

mrschaucer

Thanks both.
CK, we've tried the bio powder (and dishwashing powder) previously and both do indeed help to fade the stains to some extent, but the sink remains disappointingly grubby looking when we really wanted a sparkling white effect ... The staining is particularly noticeable in the area where the tap discharges, so I can quite understand your earlier advice on boiling taps and stainless steel.
Ryder, yes, vinegar/lemon juice etc etc applied with due care and attention, but to little avail. I hear what you say about more aggressive treatments and would indeed love to use the nuclear option, but for peace of mind I just need to be a little closer to my "replace the sink fund" target before I do!

ryder72

Hasnt your kitchen supplier helped you with this. Are you sure these isnt a defect with this sink. Do you perchance leave it filled up with water and soiled pans/plates and leave it for long durations?

Must admit we havent had this problem with any of the white Blanco Silgranit sinks we have supplied.

mrschaucer

Yes, kitchen supplier aware and knows of others with the same problems on the white Franke fragranite supplied at around the same time. He no longer recommends Franke as he too was unhappy with the response he got from them to the problem, which basically was that there wasn't a problem, or if there was it was the customers' fault. And no, I have a dishwasher and loathe the look of dirty stuff soaking in the sink so don't do that!
I have put the whole thing down to experience and moved on - life is too short to worry about a sink after all - but just feel obliged to point out potential problems to future Franke customers like OP.

ryder72

Thats a pretty poor show from Franke and the retailer TBH.

namecheck

I agree with CKdesigner and Ryder72 that stainless steel is the way to go.

I live in a hard water area and bought two expensive ceramic undermounted sinks and they were a nightmare to look after (although they would looked great if they were clean and unused...). I can't see that a white plastic would be any better.

I now have stainless steel.

A family member is currently embarking on a new kitchen and chosen a ceramic sink. They have not heeded my warning!

Furts

namecheck wrote: »

I agree with CKdesigner and Ryder72 that stainless steel is the way to go.

I live in a hard water area and bought two expensive ceramic undermounted sinks and they were a nightmare to look after (although they would looked great if they were clean and unused...). I can't see that a white plastic would be any better.

I now have stainless steel.

A family member is currently embarking on a new kitchen and chosen a ceramic sink. They have not heeded my warning!

I did have an Astralite sink in a house that had done 30 years service. It was a hard water area but the sink was in good shape. It had received a hard life but the drainer was like new. There was some crazing on the sink bowl base but there was a sink mat and bowl so one did not see these marks.

But back in the 1980s items were more likely to be made to last. Even the kitchen unit quality was in a different league to that available today in the DIY sheds. This despite it being a contract kitchen fitted by the house builders labour. There were no specialist kitchen fitters then!