Monday, April 30, 2012

Kohler Staccato Double Basin Kitchen Sink

If you’re looking for a unique sink that gets attention, consider the KOHLER Staccato double-basin kitchen sink.

Right from the first time you see it, you will notice that it looks a bit different than its competition. When most people think of a sink they think of a boring rectangular bowl, right?

Well this model still has the rounded corners of a normal kitchen sink, but it also has a small inlet on the top. It does not affect the functionality of the sink in any way, but it does make it look a bit more unique than most. Even though many people do not like it and prefer the traditional style, sometimes it is nice to have a change of scenery- especially if you’ve been staring at the same kind of sink for a few decades!

The basin size is very generous and large enough to perform the majority of necessary tasks. Washing dishes, straining pasta, and other daily tasks are very easy to do.
The double equal basin design is the most popular in households. This allows you to easily stack dirty dishes in one basin and clean ones in the other. The only time this is inconvenient is when you are trying to wash very large cookware that does not easily fit into the smaller basin.

The sink itself is made out of 18-gauge stainless steel. Despite the major push for “upgrading” sinks to granite or marble, stainless steel is still by far the most popular type of sink. This is because it keeps hot liquids hot, cold ones cold, is very durable, and resists staining. Many people also love the bright shine that stainless steel gives as opposed to the dull color of many granite sinks.

The way this sink is designed, it actually minimizes noise created by running water or clinking of plates and silverware. If you have ever used an old fashioned steel sink, you know how loud they can be! This is not an issue with the KOHLER Staccato and your family will thank you for it being so quiet.

An interesting thing about this sink is that it has a wide array of customer reviews. They are all over the board on Amazon.com, with one customer saying that it’s worth 1/5 stars and 6 customers giving it a perfect 5/5 star rating.

The negative reviews said that the main problem with this sink is that it scratches very easily. They said that it looked lovely in the store but once they got it home and in use it started getting scratched quickly.

The positive reviews actually said the opposite. One user said that the 18-gauage made her old sink look like tin, and another said that it’s a beautiful high quality sink that has performed very well for them.

So what’s the verdict? Judging by the price of the sink and the reviews, it could very well be that it scratches easily. That said it’s still a decent quality sink by most standards (and considering the price).

If you think this is a good sink for you, buy it from Amazon.com to get a 32% discount.

Saturday, April 28, 2012

Houzer 22 inch Stainless Steel Single Bowl

The Houzer PGS-3122 single bowl stainless steel sink is a favorite in a lot of households right now. Even though a lot of people still prefer the double bowl, more and more people are beginning to use single bowl sinks for several reasons.

One reason that a lot of people prefer this type of sink is that it’s much easier to wash large dishes, pans, baking sheets, etc. If you are using a normal sized double bowl design then you cannot fit the larger cookware in there.

Something else to consider is that without the middle divider found in double bowls, you actually have a lot more space. This means that a single bowl sink can generally hold more dishes and cookware than other designs.

Double bowls are great for homes without a dishwasher because you can use one bowl for dirty dishes, the other for clean. If you have a dishwasher than a single bowl is generally a better choice. Because your dirty dishes go in the dishwasher, you don’t have to worry about dividing clean from dirty all of the time.

Even though there is a large push for granite countertops and sinks these days, there are also plenty of people who still prefer stainless steel sinks. They have several advantages over the competition. For example, stainless steel does not stain like granite does. It will not chip, scorch, or mar like some of the cheaper granite sinks will do.

Stainless steel helps keep hot water hot which is great for washing dishes. Combined with Houzer’s SonteGuard and Super-Silencer pad, the sink minimizes noise and under-water sink condensation.

 Stainless steel sinks are also very easy to clean. They give a very elegant feel to the kitchen making it seem brighter and more welcoming than most of the granite sinks on the market.

As mentioned above, this Houzer single bowl sink comes with 2 trademarked features from Houzer. The one that most people like is the Super-Silencer pad which is made out of a natural rubber. This not only reduces the sound made from water hitting the sink or dishes, but also the sounds of dishes clinking together. This is very convenient if you are doing dishes while others are sleeping or trying to concentrate and need quiet.

If you go to Amazon.com to look at reviews, you’ll find that out of 8 customers this sink has a 4/5 star average. This is coming from 6 reviews of 5/5 stars and 2 reviews of 1/5 stars.

One of the negative reviews said that the edges were curved down so the sink didn’t sit flat. The other review said that it was a poor quality sink and has not had great luck with Houzer sinks.

The other reviews said that it’s a very high quality sink. They like having one large sink to make hand washing dishes much easier.

Overall this is a great sink if you like stainless steel and want a single bowl sink. If you think the Houzer single bowl stainless steel sink is for you, get it from Amazon to save about $135 from the list price.

Saturday, April 21, 2012

Brondell Swash 600

The Brondell Swash 600 luxury toilet seat is another bidet style toilet seat that I’ve been looking at recently. By all accounts it seems to be a great quality seat that is also listed at a reasonable price.

This seat comes with 2 warm water washes. As you might expect, one is for the posterior and the other is a front side wash. The posterior is very gentle and does the job very well. Meanwhile the front wash is mainly for women who are sexually active, pregnant or menstruating. This wash gives that “fresh and clean” feeling that you get from a shower without having to actually take one!

Like most luxury toilet seats, the Swash 600 has a heated seat. Even though this might feel a bit weird in the summer, it is a very nice feature during the colder winter months. For many customers, this is their favorite feature because they feel a lot more comfortable while using the restroom.

The seat and lid are designed to gently close without slamming down. This is primarily to help protect the seat and save you from embarrassment! If you have ever accidentally caused the toilet seat or lid to slam down and there were people nearby you probably felt embarrassed, right? With this toilet seat, that won’t be an issue.

One of the best features about this toilet seat is that it fits your existing toilet with no extra plumbing needed. This is very convenient because you do not have to know a lot about plumbing or worry about a very complicated installation process. Instead you can just follow the instructions and have everything set up within just one hour.

Finally, this toilet seat comes with a warm air dryer. This makes the Swash 600 more sanitary than many of its competitors’ models because you do not have to dry yourself with toilet paper. Instead, just turn on the warm air dryer and relax as all of the work is done for you! This is especially nice during the winter months when a little bit of warmth is always welcome.

So what do customers think of this product? Well since I usually check Amazon.com for reviews, that’s where I started looking. There I found that most customers seem to love this product, as there is not a single negative review about it. There are currently 9 customer reviews, and 7 of them give it a perfect score while 2 customers gave it a 4/5 rating.

One of the most noted things that customers noted is how well this product cleans your posterior. They noted that it is not only more “civilized”, but also is very refreshing. They also commented that the wash is very gentle and you do not feel any kind of discomfort from them.

Another very noted feature was the warm seat. Again many people love the warmed seat, especially women.

Overall, this is one of the better bidet style toilet seats on the market right now. Check out the Brondell Swash 600 on Amazon.com to save about $400 from the purchase price!

Saturday, April 14, 2012

Blanco Diamond Silgranit Brown Sink

The Blanco SILGRANIT II sink was designed to be extremely durable and resilient against almost everything you throw at it. Because it’s from Blanco, you know just from the name that it’s going to be a very high quality sink.

One think that many people don’t think about when they purchase their sink is how durable it is. Sure, it might look really nice, but can it withstand everything that you’re going to throw at it?

Think about how much you really do in a sink- for one thing, you might pour extremely high liquids into it. Hot pans or pots will get placed in there. Knives, scissors, and other things might get tossed in without thinking about the possibility of scratching. Acidic liquids such as lemon juice or grapefruit may end up in the sink.

In other words, your sink has to stand up to a lot of punishment! If you don’t but a high quality sink that can take it, you’re throwing your money away.

That’s the whole idea behind the Blanco SILGRANIT II. It’s designed to be acid-resistant, scratch-resistant, and it won’t burn, scorch, or mar. It’s also stain resistant so you don’t have to worry about black tea, red wine, or other very staining liquids touching it.

This sink is made out of non-porous material that resists water and other liquids. There is also an advanced surface technology applied to it that makes it easier to clean than most other sinks. Generally you can clean almost anything that gets on the sink with a simple sponge and you usually do not have to scrub.

Is there a window right above your sink? Usually there is, and depending on where that window faces it can let a lot of direct sunlight hit the sink. Do you think that sunlight hitting your sink for thousands of hours per year can do some damage?

The SILGRANIT II was designed to withstand damage from direct sunlight. Blanco realizes that most sinks have a window right above them so it only makes sense that a lot of sunlight hits the sink. By protecting it against the sun, Blanco ensures that this sink is going to last a long time.

But enough about the sink itself, let’s talk about what customers are saying about it. If you go to Amazon.com, you’ll see that right now out of 14 customer reviews, the average review is 4/5 stars.

Most of the reviews (10 of them) give this sink 5/5 stars. They say that it’s high quality, they get compliments about it all the time, and they love how durable it is.

That said, there are also 3 reviews that give this sink a 1/5 star rating. One said that the sink broke shortly after installation, one said that it chipped upon installation, and another said it was damaged during delivery.

So is this a good quality sink? From the customer reviews, Blanco’s highly respected name, and the materials used, we think so. That’s why we do recommend the Blanco SILGRANIT II, and if you purchase it from Amazon you can save about 41% off of the list price.

Saturday, April 7, 2012

Blanco Diamon Equal Double

As you probably already know, Blanco is one of the top sink manufacturers right now. They have been around for a long time, and they probably aren’t going anywhere any time soon.

If you’re looking for a sink with equal sides, check out the Blanco Diamond Equal Double Bowl. Just like the name sounds, you are getting the classic equal bowl design with this particular model.

The material used for this sink is 80% solid granite. This is the material that Blanco calls SILGRANIT and it has the same touch and feel of natural stone. Because stone is extremely highly resistant to scratching and chipping, this is one of the most popular types of sink on the market right now.

In addition to being scratch and chip resistant, this granite is resistant to several other things. Because it is black and non-porous, it is highly resistant to stains. If you have ever owned a white sink that stained easily, you understand how frustrating this can be at times. Certain things such as blueberry juice, black tea, or red wine can very easily stain some sinks if not quickly washed away. With the SILGRANIT materials you do not have to worry about that.

In addition to being scratch resistant, this sink is also resistant to damage from direct sunlight. Because most sinks are often in direct sunlight for hours and hours a day, it makes sense that Blanco would try to make sinks to resist this kind of damage. Just keep in mind that no design is perfect, so even a resistant sink may experience damage after 10 or 20 years of use!

Another advantage of the SILGRANITE material is that it is very easy to clean. Because it is non-porous, most materials do not stick to it very well. This means that you do not have to scrub, and instead a simple sponge is generally sufficient to clean the sink.

The equal double bowl design is extremely popular for several reasons. Having one large sink without a divider is often a pain because you cannot separate drying dishes from those that are dirty. If you do not have a dishwasher and have to use a sink all of the time, it is even more of a hassle if you don’t use the equal double bowl design.

Now let’s take a look at what customers think of this sink. I can talk about something all day, but until you see what customers think it’s hard to judge the quality of it.

Overall, Amazon.com users review this sink with a 3.5/5 star average. This is based on 4 reviews of 5/5 stars and 2 reviews of 1/5 stars. One of the negative reviews said that parts were not included, the other said that the sink stains and has tiny pitted areas on the bottom.

Meanwhile those customers with the positive reviews love it. They said that it is easy to install and beautiful. Another customer commented on the fact that it’s a deep sink so it can hold a lot of dishes.

So do I recommend this sink? It seems okay, but there are other great sinks out there that you may want to look at first. If you do decide to go with the Blanco Equal Double, check it out on Amazon.com to save about $200 from the list price.