Kitchen Sink Options in Mobile Homes

Growing up, I hadn’t ever given much thought to the kitchen sink. That is, until the dishwasher broke.

Suddenly, the mountain of dishes could not quickly and easily be transferred neatly into the dishwasher after little more than a quick rinse.

The complicated game of Tetris I played to fit all the cups, bowls, pots, and pans on the two racks before adding some dish gel and starting the wash cycle was nothing compared to this newfound horror of washing dishes by hand.

It was at this dark time in my life that I began forming opinions about what makes a good kitchen sink.

My opinions have evolved over the years, and I’ve even come to enjoy some elements of hand washing the dishes, but ultimately my experiences have taught me that not all kitchen sinks are created equal, and they can play an important role in home life enjoyment.

Mobile homes can be purchased with a kitchen sink of different sizes, styles, and materials. In this blog we’ll discuss the pros and cons of each.

Single Bowl Sinks vs. Double Bowl Sinks

A double bowl sink is the most common and well-known sink. It simply means the kitchen sink is divided into two sides, each with its own drain.

This style of sink is the most practical for handwashing dishes. One bowl is filled with hot soapy water while the other is used to rinse the dishes clean. Most mobile homes come standard with a double bowled stainless-steel sink ranging from 9” to 12” in depth.

Also available in the sink world are double-bowled sinks with one bowl smaller than the other. These sinks give the same practical ability for handwashing dishes but also allow for better stacking in the sink before you’re ready to move them into the dishwasher and a little more maneuverability for washing large items like roasting pans.

Lastly, you have the single bowl or single basin style kitchen sink. Many refer to these sinks broadly as “farmhouse style.”

These sinks are just what they sound like: one large rectangle with a single drain and no dividers.

This kitchen sink style has gained in popularity over the last decade or so and seems to be on every HGTV home shopper’s “must haves” list.

This farmhouse sink probably isn’t the best option for those without a dishwasher as creating an efficient system for handwashing is a little more challenging. But, for someone with a dishwasher and a new family, it makes for a perfect baby bathtub.

Kitchen Sink Depth

After considering the pros and cons of kitchen sink bowls, it’s time to consider the depth of the kitchen sink.

A standard sink depth is between 9” and 12”. It may seem that a deeper sink is always a better sink, however, it’s important to think about how you typically use your kitchen and your sink.

Are you tall and do a lot of hand wash dishes? Some tall people notice a difference washing a big pile of dishes in a deeper sink because they have to physically bend over more to reach the dishes at the bottom. If you are tall, you may want to check out other people’s sinks to see if a shallower sink is more comfortable for you.

If you cook a lot and are in charge of almost all holidays, a deeper sink would make sense, as it fits more dishes and allows room for large cookware to be filled, drained, and washed.

However, if you have a small family, don’t cook at home often, or keep your dishwasher consistently emptied and filled, then a shallower sink probably won’t make much of a difference in your kitchen enjoyment.

What is an Apron Front Sink?

As mentioned earlier, farmhouse sinks are all the rage for homeowners. Over time, the term farmhouse sink became interchangeable with “apron front” sink.

Put simply, an apron front or farmhouse sink is built for the sink front to be on display as part of the base cabinetry.

Rather than being mounted underneath or dropped into the countertop, the base sink cabinet is built to allow the sink to be slid in with its sink front on proud display.

Kitchen Sink Materials: Stainless Steel vs. Porcelain vs. Enameled

Most mobile homes come standard with a stainless steel kitchen sink. Stainless steel is a highly durable material, that, as the name would imply, is nearly impossible to stain. There’s a reason this material is one of the most common and sought after in not only sinks, but appliances, and cookware too. It’s a material that looks sleek, isn’t difficult to keep up, and can take a beating.

Some mobile homes come with the option to upgrade to a porcelain, or enameled, sink option. This means that the base of the sink is steel, and it has been coated, or enameled, in a porcelain finish. These sinks offer a more classic style still sought after by some homebuyers and can come in a variety of colors.

Generally speaking, while porcelain coated sinks are durable, they are more susceptible to chips and stains and more visible wear than their stainless-steel counterparts.

Kitchen Sink Faucets: Gooseneck, Sprayer, and Straight Neck

And if your head is swimming with the knowledge of all these different kitchen sink option, just wait until you learn about the faucets!

The style of kitchen faucets in mobile homes range from the traditional straight neck faucet with two knobs all the way to the modern gooseneck sprayer.

The straight neck style is the most affordable option for a tight budget. It does not have a spray option and can make handwashing dishes a bit tricky to get bigger pots and pans fit under it.

Between the straight neck style and the gooseneck style is the rounded neck with separate sprayer. This option gives a little more room to fill large pots with the convenience of a flexible sprayer for dish washing that requires more water pressure or tricky maneuvers.

And combining these two features is the gooseneck sprayer faucet. This kitchen sink faucet is a tall, rounded, flexible faucet with the sprayer built into the faucet head. Rather than switching from faucet to sprayer and back again, it’s an all-in-one option. Though the gooseneck sprayer limits the opportunity for pranking your family by secretly taping the separate sprayer into the on position, it’s still a pretty convenient tool for the drab and repetitive, yet necessary, job of washing dishes.