When most people think of sinks, they immediately think of the bathroom and kitchen in a home. After all, these are the two rooms in a home that will always contain at least one sink. Some homes are also equipped with indoor or outdoor entertaining areas, complete with built in bar sinks. There are, however, several other areas of the home that may be making use of the conveniences a sink can provide. Utility sinks, in particular, are designed to meet the majority of sink needs that those in the bathroom or kitchen are unequipped to handle.
What Is A Utility Sink?
A utility sink, sometimes referred to as a laundry sink, is a fixture typically designed more for function than form. Unlike bathroom and kitchen sinks, which appeal to consumers based on their appearance as well as their functionality, they are intended to be able to handle heavy use in typically less than attractive environments. They are usually very large in size, often measuring several feet wide, as well as several feet deep. Utility sinks are designed to handle a wide range of duties, hence the various names that many people know them by.
Utility sinks are typically made from metal or a heavy duty plastic. They are designed to be able withstand much heavier use than standard sinks. Because of their larger size, they are often mounted on sturdy legs or pedestals, as opposed to a cabinet or vanity like base. Utility sinks are made to be functional, not beautiful. While those designed for indoor use, such as the ones found in laundry rooms, are made to be visually appealing, they are still very simple in design. Those designed for outdoor use, such as those found in garden sheds or garages, are typically very industrial looking. Unlike bathroom or kitchen sinks, utility sinks can handle heavy impact, as well as potential prolonged exposure to the elements.
Laundry Utility Sink
One of the original uses for utility sinks was as an addition to a home’s laundry room. Before automatic washers and dryers became a standard in many homes, laundry was often done by hand. The large laundry utility sinks provided a sizable area for dirty clothes to be soaked, washed, and rinsed, before being hung outside to dry. The added size that laundry sinks possessed also made them ideal for washing large loads of laundry at one time, cutting the overall time for laundry duties substantially. When not in use for washing purposes, the sink could be used to store dirty clothes, let soiled clothes soak to help remove stains, or even dye fabric on occasion. In some cases, the utility sink in laundry rooms were also used in place of mop buckets when the floors in the house were being cleaned. Instead of having to deal with dumping dirty mop water out, all the homeowner had to do was open the sink drain to wash away the dirty mop water.
Garden Utility Sink
For homes equipped with gardening sheds, utility sinks were a common fixture as well. They were perfect for holding pots while they were being filled with soil and planted with seeds or plants.
They could also be used for washing pots as various plants were being changed out. If vegetables were being grown, the utility sink could be used for washing the produce after it had been picked before taking it inside the house. The sink could be used for easily filling watering cans, a chore that could often prove difficult in a standard size sink. They were also handy for washing off garden tools after they had been used. Last, but not least, the sink offered a place to wash up after a long day gardening, avoiding the need to try and enter a house and find your way to a sink with heavily soiled hands.
Garage Utility Sink
One of the most common locations for a utility sink was in the garage. These heavy duty sinks were ideal for a variety of outdoor needs. If you were painting your home, a utility sink provided an ideal area for cleaning paintbrushes and other tools, eliminating the concern you would normally have of damaging an inside sink with the cleaning task. The sinks were commonly used for cleaning tools in the garage after they had been used, allowing them to be put away clean, thereby extending their potential lifespan. Utility sinks also offered an ideal spot for washing outside pets. Indoor pets could be washed in a garage sink as well, or in a laundry room utility sink if one was available. For the most part, a large percentage of work conducted outdoors involved larger messes. From changing the oil in the car to pulling weeds from the yard, any outside chore could be easily cleaned up after with the use of a utility sink in the garage. Smaller detached garages were also often equipped with small utility sinks. These served the same purpose as the larger garage versions but took up less space. A small utility sink was perfect for light duty use, but was still able to withstand the heavy duty functions it was sometimes called upon to do.
Utility Sink Cabinets
With nearly any variety of utility sink, a cabinet feature was also a handy additional feature to have installed. Often nothing more than a two door storage cabinet, these spaces offered the perfect companion accessory to a utility sink. In laundry rooms, a utility sink cabinet was often sued to store laundry soap, fabric softener, stain remover, fabric dyes, and any other laundry related products. For garden areas, the cabinets typically held an array of gardening tools, extra pots, fertilizer, pesticides, and other items that were needed on hand when working in the garden. Utility sink cabinets in the garage were often used to store items for the car, such as motor oil or transmission fluid. They could be used for keeping painting items localized in one area, such as brushes, paint thinner, and touch up paint. Overall, a utility sink cabinet makes the perfect companion to a utility sink in any room.
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