Getting the laundry done is a never ending task that some people love, and others despise, but we all need clean clothes to wear. With modern washers and dryers, the laundry sink has fallen out of fashion because most people don’t realize that they really need one. Although not all laundry is hand washed these days, there are still plenty of items that need a gentle touch, and using your washing machine would be a mistake. Delicate items need special care, and a washer cannot handle that as effectively as your hands. To avoid damage to certain items, you need to scrub by hand. Otherwise, you’ll end up damaging or replacing some items far more often than you should. While convenience is fine for jeans and t-shirts, a lace top should never go into a spin cycle. Using your laundry sink just a few minutes most weeks, you can preserve clothing longer and keep it looking much nicer. In the end, laundry sinks pay for themselves a thousand times over, and everyone should use theirs.
Do you really need a laundry sink? You do really need a laundry sink. Although many people fail to read labels on clothing and may not even know what the symbols mean, most people own hand-wash only items. When you toss these into a regular machine, it damages the fabric resulting in tears, pilling, or unnecessary wear, so you have to replace things or throw them out.
The Top Four Reasons You Really Need a Laundry Sink
There are at least three excellent reasons why you really need a laundry sink in your home. While some people argue that the laundry sink is outdated, I strongly disagree. Not only can you wash laundry there, but there are plenty of other reasons to have a sink on hand in your laundry area.
First, you need a laundry sink for handwash only items. You may have noticed that, despite modern washing machines having a delicate or ‘handwash’ cycle, the clothing tags haven’t changed. It’s not laziness; this is for a good reason.
You can do far more using your hands than you will in a machine. Moreover, you’re less likely to damage clothing if you wash it by hand, accidentally. Some items shouldn’t get wet without human hands to make sure they don’t get damaged, and even the best machine can’t spot check to make sure your items are clean and undamaged.
The second reason to have a sink on hand is for your hands. How many times have you gotten soap or fluff from the dryer on your fingers? You can drag that across the house with you, or you can turn and rinse off. The solution seems simple and obvious.
Thirdly, your hands aren’t the only places people get a mess in the laundry room. Spilled detergent and other messes get on the machine and the floor. Being able to turn and grab a damp cloth to clean up is a fast and effective answer that will keep your laundry room tidy. Furthermore, you don’t need to bring a full bucket of water in to mop or handle a large spill, which can save your back.
Finally, a laundry sink gives you a place to do laundry in an emergency. If the power goes out, and you need work clothes, you might be in trouble. At best, you’d have to use the kitchen sink or even your bathtub to handle the issue if you don’t have a laundry sink. However, when you have the sink right there, you can quickly and effectively wash anything regardless of your machine working. Best of all, you won’t have a mess in your tub later.
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More Uses For a Laundry Sink
A good laundry sink is ideal for soaking difficult stains. Not only is it good for wine or ketchup, but you can remove crusted on messes without clogging your washing machine as well. If you’ve ever done drywall or even had some glue get onto a favorite shirt, you know how tricky this can be and how easy it is to break your expensive washer.
If you iron clothing, a sink nearby will make refilling the iron spray bottle is much simpler. Home steam cleaners are becoming popular, and steaming in the laundry room, where you can hang up clothing, is a lot easier. Furthermore, in many homes, the laundry room is also where we keep other cleaning products like mops. Saving time and effort by having everything you need in one place is just smart.
You can also use a laundry sink to dye or bleach fabrics. Keeping your blacks dark and unfaded, dazzling whites and no more clogged washer holes is reason enough to use a laundry sink, and you won’t need to worry about accidentally damaging your next load of laundry. Ordinary sinks don’t always have the capacity to handle everything you can do with a laundry sink.
Since they’re so much larger than most kitchen sinks, a good laundry sink can do double duty. When it’s time to scrub large holiday dishes or clean oven racks, the laundry sink is the place to go. With more depth and space, you don’t need to worry about splashing water everywhere.
Folding Space
What if you need more counter space to fold laundry? Surely that means you need to give up your laundry sink, doesn’t it? Actually no. A laundry sink is the easiest place to add a cover for even more functionality.
With the right cover, you can fold and even set up your detergents while you do weekend laundry for easy access. It’s like having a table and a sink in one. A custom wood cover might even allow you space for ironing, but for folding space, an acrylic board with a lip is ideal.
I recommend the T.H.G. Acrylic Board With Counter Lip from Amazon for added counter space over your laundry sink. The clear acrylic goes with any decor and allows you to use the sink below for soaking, even as you fold on top. Moreover, this dishwasher-safe board is easy to clean and chip resistant. You’ll be surprised by the durability. Click here for more information.
Putting In a Laundry Sink is Easier Than You Think
Your laundry room already has water lines and a drain in it. Resultantly, putting in that laundry sink you really need is much easier. If you want to add a sink somewhere without preexisting pipes, it takes a lot more work.
Additionally, you can use the opportunity to add a cabinet below to safely store your detergent and bleach, or expand your storage space for other reasons. A good laundry sink is so much more than a way to run water. Depending on the design, you will have more counter space for folding clothes as well.
Even if you stick to adding some basic extensions to plug water and drainage into your laundry sink, you’ll find it’s invaluable for many tasks. Plus, using splitters for hoses and pipes, it’s possible to install all the plumbing without ever needing to open a wall panel or pull up flooring.
That said, I recommend installing the drainage in the wall. It would be best if you also planned to anchor your sink properly rather than leaving it freestanding. You can do this with screws in the wall and some waterproof sealant. A properly anchored laundry sink is more stable and useful than a freestanding model, and it won’t shift if you bump it with a hip while you’re doing the laundry.
Get an excellent Utility Sink Laundry Tub from Amazon for your DIY home improvement project, and never worry about where to wash again. This simple to install and leakproof sink has a stopper integrated into the design. Plus, the ribbed underbody design helps it to hold larger loads and more water easily. Have one shipped to your door by clicking here.
Final Thoughts
Hand washing your laundry in a laundry sink is not difficult. Moreover, it’s not particularly time-consuming. Plus, what you save in clothing damage is well worth the ‘trouble’ of gently washing and drying, instead of tossing it into a machine.
Even on the gentile cycle, washing machines still need a spin cycle to drain water out. Some fabrics simply can’t take the pressure, such as those which have wider weaves that can separate and become damaged with a vigorous wash. Additionally, clothes in the wash rub against each other, which can cause zippers and buttons to catch on delicate fabrics.
It’s crucial to treat any fabrics that say hand-wash only differently from your everyday cotton and polyester fabrics that do fine in your machine. Best of all, having a laundry sink means always having a backup plan if your machine gets damaged or power goes out.
