Composite or ceramic sink?

[Cherryblossom200]

Hi there,

I'm in the process of getting a new sink, it'll be a contemporary undermounted sink. I can't work out whether to get a ceramic or composite sink?

Any advice please?

Thanks 😊

I just moved into a house with a ceramic sink. Five mins after being here my son dropped a cup and there is now a big line on the sink where it cracked. I am going to replace with a stainless steel one.
I used to be a cleaner. What colour is the other sink?

Thanks! This is what I thought!. The kitchen will be white with granite surfaces, so a white composite sink will be ideal 👍

I have a white composite sink - instant and lasting regret. It stains instantly and I spend a significant amount of the week scrubbing it with special cleaners that do barely anything to remove the stains. It’s been in 8 weeks and looks a total mess!!

Ceramic all the way, I love how shiny and new mine looks all the time, even though I have had it for years, a bit of cif and it looks like a Hollywood smile. I personally don’t like stainless steel they always look grubby to me and having worked in the kitchen industry we had a lot of complaints about composite staining.

Same experience here. Forever bleaching it.

Composite still nos do stain after a while

However they don't break every bloody thing that goes near to it or chip

Fill it up with cold water and bit of bleach leave over night and back to its former cleanliness

I had a sparkly black composite sink and it was brilliant apart from showing limescale. I couldn't cope with the pressure of anything white or chippable!

Argh 🤪 I don't know what to do! I definitely don't want stainless steel.

I'm now thinking ceramic?! I don't want a dirty grubby looking sink. I'll only clean pans in it as the rest goes into the dishwasher.

Ceramic is lovely - we had one at our old house for years without problem. Easy to clean, looks nice.

Composite stains easily.

We've got ceremic and I love it. Yeah you have to be careful not to drop anything into it but it comes up shiney clean!

I’ve had at least six ceramic sinks and I’ve never chipped one. I always buy a really solid one : RAK or a French brand.

I have ceramic in the utility - massive and fits the dog. But kitchen is inset stainless steal and really deep. I wanted easy clean, non mug smashing and not a feature. I love how discrete it is under the quatz. Dm has composite and is happy but I find it quite visibly intrusive.

i guess what I’m saying is you are the only one who knows what look you personally like.

Changing my composite to steel was one of the best kitchen improvements. Only bleach got it mostly clean, otherwise it was stained and disgusting.

Steel isn't perfect, but all I could afford.

Ceramic. You want ceramic.

We’ve inherited a composite when we bought the house. Cannot say it takes anymore cleaning than our previous steel one. Bit of spray bleach each night, scrub and leave overnight job done. But I do use the dreaded mn washing up bowl - so nothing sits or is strong enough to really stain it. Ceramic look nice and a bowl can prevent most of the dreaded drop/chip scenarios.
If I had to buy a new sink, I would probably replace like for like as it is huge and I would need two new worktops to fit a smaller steel sink/drainer combo. Advantage of ceramic or composite is they don’t rust through - ours went on the back lip.

Thanks I've done a u-turn and decided to go for a stainless steel under mount sink. I don't think I can handle a dirty sink or constantly worrying about breakages.

The one I've attached looked pretty sleek and I think the sensible option!

Have any of you every bought one of the instant boiling water taps? I'm considering the one I've attached, but not sure what the upkeep would be like. I know that filters need changing every 6 months and they are £40 each. But I'm guessing I'm saving in electricity so it would be a cost saving long term?!

We’ve just put a double ceramic in and I love it. Previously had stainless and that was ok but could look grubby quite quickly and took some scrubbing to make it sparkle. I wouldn’t touch composite with a barge pole- the white ones always look dirty and the grey/black ones always have water marks (unless you’re lucky enough to not have hard water!!). The only thing I would say is make sure whatever you do get that you don’t get one with “sharp” corners. Tiny crumbs or specks of whatever inevitably accumulate in the corners and they don’t just wipe out nicely like they do with more rounded ones.

We have a grey composite undermounted sink and white quartz worktops. No issues with staining. We also have a quooker tap, which I love and wouldn't be without.

I am at your point and think I am getting franke undermounted steel, NOT square corners as impossible to clean, with a franke brushed steel swan neck tap with pull out hose hit (very, very soft water here, I know that usu limescale can affect them).

I am just making practical choices all the way here, either quartz composite or dektron (sp?) rather than the marble I want as we have no cleaner nor likely to get one in the near future as there are very few available, so everything has to be chosen carefully to minimise housework. Barkeepers friend is brilliant for keeping steel clean.

Ceramic, I'm a cleaner and they are much easier to keep clean

Grey composite here. Never needed any special attention other than a wipe down. Its a sink, i couldnt be arsed with having to worry about how to keep it clean.

Either. Metal. Otherwise you have a life of chips and stains.

Do you have room for any form of double? Or one and a bit?

No just room for one sink, I don't need anymore really

I loathe stainless Steel. I moved into a home with composite and had to bleach it regularly, it was awful. I replaced it with ceramic. It brings back the joy of grandma's kitchen when I was a child and it's easy to keep looking smart. I do worry about chipping it but I'll replace it if needed.

Hello @welshweasel , can I ask if you’re still happy with your grey composite sink? Do you have hard or soft water? We are thinking of getting a light grey composite undermount but worried about staining…