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Tried to fix a slow drain with boiling water and cracked the sink basin
Last Saturday I was trying to unclog the kitchen sink. It had been draining slow for a few days. I figured boiling water would loosen up whatever was caught in there. Poured a full kettle down and heard a loud crack. Now there's a hairline crack running from the drain to the edge of the basin. I guess the porcelain or whatever it's made of couldn't take the sudden heat. Now I'm looking at a full sink replacement because patching it looks terrible. Has anyone else wrecked something trying a simple fix like this?
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the_anna21d ago
People always jump to the material like it matters. Enameled cast iron or porcelain, if you pour boiling water straight onto a cold sink basin you're asking for trouble. That sudden temperature change is a shock to the material regardless of what it's made of. I've seen people crack cheap stainless steel sinks the same way. It's not about the quality of the sink, it's about the physics of heat expanding things too fast. Hot water down the drain is fine but dumping a full kettle onto the basin itself is a different story. You'd have to be real careful even with a high end sink.
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