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Buying Glass Vessel Sinks, Get What You Pay For!

By John Harkins of www.glasssinkwarehouse.com

I remember many years ago when I put my glass vessel sink in my home, my friends looked at me as if I had three heads. Although a lot of people glared in awe of how the waterfall faucet dripped into my etched glass vessel. Over the last six years these sinks have grown in popularity, and believe me I’ve heard crazy stories of sink popping due to dramatic temperature increases and decreases. I’ve also heard of retailers stating that the sink was tempered glass when it was not. Tempered glass is sometimes hard to identify with the naked eye. It can be verified through polarized light. What does it mean that if the glass is tempered? Well if you’ve ever seen a car window shatter into a thousand pieces, chances are you’ve seen tempered glass. Tempered glass is also known as safety glass. Tempering glass is the process of making the glass stronger and more durable by heating or a chemical process. Aside from durable quality, glass is usually tempered to avoid injury when the glass is broken. Buyer beware when shopping for a glass vessel faucet, examine the faucet it should have etchings in the glass stating that it’s tempered or the retailer should be able to verify it. Although some imports come into the USA are not stamped. A retailer should notify the consumer the glass is tempered at the point of sale. This is especially important if you have young children because you run the risk of them damaging the sink and possibly being injured, because glass that is not tempered breaks into sharp edges. It’s hard to tell the difference with colored glass vessel sinks and sometimes you just have to take the retailers word. Make sure you purchase your glass vessel sink from a reputable retailer with experience and knowledge of the product.

Good Luck !!

John Harkins John Harkins is the owner of www.glasssinkwarehouse.com and encourages consumers to do their