Laundry sinks buying guide
A laundry sink takes the jobs a kitchen sink or bathroom basin should not. Stained clothes get soaked in it, delicates get washed by hand, mop buckets get filled and emptied, and muddy shoes, pet gear and garden tools get rinsed. For most households the right call is a single deep bowl in stainless steel. Fit it top-mount if the bench is laminate or timber. Go undermount only if the bench is stone or another waterproof solid surface. Size, material and fitting method follow from those two choices, and a few small details can change the plumbing.
Laundry sink, tub or trough
Laundry sink, laundry tub, laundry trough, utility sink and wash tub all name the same deep, heavy-duty basin. The National Construction Code calls it a washtub and requires at least one in any house or apartment that has a laundry. A kitchen sink or washbasin cannot be counted as that washtub. Every laundry needs one.
You can set a bare sink into a bench, or buy one that arrives on its own cabinet. Laundry sink and cabinet units are the ready-made version. If the room is being planned around the washing machine, laundry cabinets cover the joinery around it.
How large and how deep
Laundry sinks are sized in litres. Compact tubs start at 16 litres, mid-size tubs run from 35 to 45 litres, and the largest in this collection hold 70 litres. Litres tell you how much the bowl holds. Depth decides whether a bucket fits under the tap and whether the water stays in the bowl while you work, so look at both. The Fienza Tiva 45 litre top-mount, for example, is 250mm deep.
| Capacity | Suits | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| 16 to 25 litres | A narrow or compact laundry, light hand-washing and small items | The Clark Utility Mini is 16 litres and comes on its own cabinet. For tight rooms see small laundry sinks. |
| 35 to 45 litres | Everyday soaking, hand-washing and rinsing | A single deep bowl in this range covers most laundry routines. |
| 50 to 70 litres | Mop buckets, bulky bedding, sports gear and washing a pet | Larger sinks need more bench space and a deeper cabinet, and sometimes reinforcement, so check cabinet width and drainage first. |
Measure the cabinet or bench opening before you pick a model, whatever the size. Cut-out sizes differ from one sink to the next. Bench thickness matters for undermount sinks too: a bench thicker than 30mm needs its underside machined to take one.
Stainless steel, fireclay or stone
Stainless steel is the call for most laundries. It is light and it resists rust and heat. Stains do not take, and it copes with laundry detergents. A mild detergent wipes it clean. Thicker steel dents and flexes less and sounds less tinny when something heavy lands in the bowl, and sound-deadening pads under the bowl quieten it further. Satin stainless hides scratches and water marks better than a mirror polish. The full range is in stainless steel laundry sinks.
Fireclay and ceramic suit a classic or Hamptons laundry. The surface is hard and non-porous, so it resists scratches and stains, holds no odours and keeps its gloss. The cost is weight and fragility. These sinks are heavy and the cabinet beneath has to be built to carry them, and a heavy object dropped on the rim or the base can chip the surface. A chip in fireclay often means replacing the sink, so ceramic suits a household that handles it with some care. White fireclay shows heavy staining and needs more careful cleaning. Start with ceramic laundry sinks, and look at the butler-style sinks in Turner Hastings sinks.
A butler or apron-front sink is a fireclay or ceramic sink with an exposed front. It is heavy, it needs cabinetry designed around it, and the exposed front can wear over time, so settle the cabinet design before ordering the sink. A few stone and solid surface sinks are also in the range.
Colour mostly follows material. Stainless steel reads silver, ceramic and fireclay are most often white, and a black sink suits a darker laundry with more contrast. Black laundry sinks has the black options.
Top-mount, undermount or flush
The fitting method decides what the bench can be, and it is the choice hardest to undo later.
- A top-mount sink, also called inset, drop-in or overmount, sits in a cut-out with its rim resting on the bench. It works with almost every bench, including laminate, timber and stone, and the rim covers the cut edge, which protects an absorbent bench from water. It is the easier one to replace. Debris collects along the rim, and the silicone there can peel and let water into the cabinet, so check it when you clean. The Clark Square 45 litre is an overmount sink and comes with a basket waste and a fixing kit.
- An undermount sink is fixed beneath the bench. There is no rim, so crumbs sweep straight into the bowl. It needs a waterproof solid bench such as engineered stone, granite, marble or concrete, never laminate or timber, and clips and adhesive hold it in place. Grime collects in the silicone join, an exposed stone edge can chip if a heavy bucket is knocked against it, and the sink is harder to replace. It is effectively glued in, so a poor installation risks the sink coming away. Leave the fitting to a professional.
- A flush-mount sink sits level with the bench. The bench limits are the same as for an undermount sink, and the fitting has to be exact for the seal to hold.
Some sinks suit more than one method. The Fienza Hana is made for either top-mount or undermount. The call is simple: undermount when the bench is stone or another waterproof solid surface and you want the clean line, top-mount when the bench is laminate or timber or when you may want to swap the sink without touching the bench. Silicone around the sink needs replacing every three to five years either way, and on an undermount or butler sink it is worth checking the rim sealant, mounting clips and screws each month.
Single bowl or double
A single deep bowl suits most households. It gives one uninterrupted basin for soaking and hand-washing, with room to fill a bucket, and only one drain to plumb. A double bowl suits a laundry that runs two tasks at once, soaking in one side while rinsing in the other, and has the bench length to take it. The divider limits what lies flat in either bowl and the second drain adds plumbing, so a double bowl only earns its place if both sides will be used. One oversized bowl is often the better answer than two small ones.
Overflow, bypass, waste and tap holes
Four details change from model to model, and each can alter the plumbing or the tapware you buy.
Some sinks have an overflow and some do not, so check the model if you want one. Some come with a bypass kit or a concealed bypass built in, and others have neither. The Fienza Tiva includes a flexible bypass kit, and the Clark Square has a concealed bypass. A basket waste is supplied with some sinks and sold separately with others. The Clark Square and the Fienza Tiva both include one, and on any other model the box contents will tell you before you order. Tap holes come as none, one or two. The Clark Square is available with no tap hole or one, and the Fienza Tiva has two, with a cover for the hole you leave unused.
Choose the tap before you order the sink, because the number and position of the tap holes limit which tap fits. Laundry taps are the matching category, and a tap and sink chosen together read as one fitting.
Browse by range
The main ranges each have a page of their own: Clark laundry sinks, Caroma laundry sinks, Fienza laundry sinks, Seima laundry sinks and the Oliveri laundry collection.
Match the sink to the laundry
| If your laundry has | Choose |
|---|---|
| A laminate or timber bench | A top-mount sink, so the rim protects the cut edge |
| A stone bench and a wish for a clean line | An undermount sink in stainless steel or fireclay, fitted by a professional |
| A classic or Hamptons look | Fireclay or ceramic on a cabinet built to carry the weight |
| Mop buckets, bulky bedding or a pet to wash | A deep single bowl in the 50 to 70 litre range |
| A narrow room | A compact tub of 16 to 25 litres |
| Two tasks running at once | A double bowl, with the bench length to carry it |
Caring for a laundry sink
Rinse with warm water after use and wipe with a mild detergent and a soft cloth. On stainless steel, follow the grain, and polish with a stainless steel cleaner when the finish dulls. Fireclay and ceramic take a pH-neutral, non-abrasive cleaner and gentle handling. Keep abrasive powders, bleach, chlorine-based cleaners and steel wool away from every material. A baking soda paste is a gentle option for stubborn marks. Dry stainless steel with a microfibre cloth to prevent water spots, and look under the sink each month for leaks and moisture.
