Granite Round Laundry/Kitchen Sink Drop in / Undermount Sink 460Ø mm - Various Colours

Start with the available space and how you actually use your laundry.

Consider:

• Available cabinet width
• Trough capacity and bowl depth
• How often you hand-wash or soak clothing
• Whether you wash large or bulky items
• Topmount or undermount installation
• Whether you require a trough and cabinet combination
• Overflow
• Washing-machine bypass
• Tap-hole configuration
• Washing-machine location
• Available benchtop space

For a small laundry, preserving bench and storage space may be more important than having the largest possible trough. For a busy family laundry, a deeper and larger bowl can be more useful for soaking and hand washing.

A laundry trough is generally designed around laundry-related tasks such as:

• Soaking clothing
• Hand washing
• Filling buckets
• Washing muddy items
• Cleaning larger household items

For this reason, laundry troughs are often deeper and higher-capacity than many kitchen sinks.

They may also include laundry-specific features such as a washing-machine bypass and overflow.

A kitchen sink can sometimes be used in a contemporary laundry, particularly where space is limited or a more integrated cabinetry design is desired. However, check bowl capacity, plumbing requirements and intended use before substituting one for the other.

The right size depends on your available space and how you use the laundry.

A compact trough can work well in apartments, European laundries or smaller homes where bench and cabinet space are limited.

A medium-size trough can suit most everyday household washing and soaking tasks.

A large 45L or 70L-style laundry tub provides considerably more room for soaking clothing, filling buckets and washing bulky items.

Rather than choosing by litres alone, also compare the:

• Bowl width
• Bowl depth
• Overall sink dimensions
• Minimum cabinet size
• Available benchtop space

For many households, a trough around 35–45 litres provides a practical balance between usable bowl capacity and cabinet space.

A smaller trough may be sufficient if the laundry is mainly used for:

• Hand washing small items
• Filling buckets
• Occasional soaking
• General cleaning

A larger 45L or greater trough can be more convenient for bulky clothing, large buckets and frequent soaking.

A topmount or inset laundry trough is installed from above the benchtop and leaves a visible rim. It is practical and works with a wide range of laundry designs.

An undermount trough is fixed underneath the benchtop, creating a more streamlined appearance and making it easier to wipe water from the bench directly into the sink.

Undermount installation normally requires a suitable water-resistant benchtop material and careful installation.

Some laundry sinks are designed for either inset or undermount installation, giving you more flexibility.

A washing-machine bypass allows the washing machine discharge water to connect into the laundry drainage system without needing to discharge directly into the open trough bowl.

This allows the washing machine wastewater to continue draining even while the laundry trough itself is being used or filled.

It creates a cleaner and more integrated plumbing arrangement than simply hanging a washing-machine drain hose over the edge of the trough.

Not every laundry installation requires the bypass to be incorporated into the trough itself.

Whether you need one depends on how your plumber intends to connect the washing-machine waste.

A bypass can be very useful where the washing machine and laundry trough share the waste system and you want the discharge connection concealed neatly within the cabinetry.

However, different laundries may use different plumbing configurations.

If you are unsure, confirm the washing-machine waste connection with your plumber before purchasing the trough.

An overflow is a secondary drainage opening positioned near the upper part of the trough.

If the water level rises too high, the overflow provides another path for water to enter the drainage system, helping reduce the risk of the trough overflowing onto the floor.

It can be particularly useful where the trough is regularly used for:

• Soaking clothes
• Filling buckets
• Hand washing
• Busy family laundry tasks

However, an overflow should not be treated as a substitute for supervising a running tap or for correctly designed drainage.

The tap-hole configuration determines how the laundry tapware can be installed.

A one tap-hole trough is typically suitable for a mixer mounted directly through the sink.

A two tap-hole configuration may accommodate traditional separate tap arrangements or may form part of a particular bypass configuration, depending on the product.

A no tap-hole trough is useful where the mixer will be installed through the benchtop or from the wall.

Do not assume the holes shown on a laundry trough are all intended for tapware. Some products use holes for bypass or other plumbing arrangements.

Always check the individual specification before ordering.

Yes, provided the selected trough, benchtop and plumbing layout allow it.

Benchtop-mounted mixers are popular in contemporary laundries because they can create a clean and integrated appearance, particularly with undermount troughs.

Before finalising the position, make sure there is sufficient space between the trough and splashback for:

• The mixer body
• Installation hardware underneath
• Handle operation
• Any pull-out hose
• Splashback clearance

If you want a benchtop-mounted or wall-mounted mixer, selecting a laundry sink with no unnecessary tap hole may provide a cleaner finished result.

Check the manufacturer's minimum cabinet size as well as the overall dimensions of the trough.

Measure:

• Internal cabinet width
• Internal cabinet depth
• Cabinet height
• Benchtop depth
• Bowl depth
• Waste position
• Washing-machine bypass and pipework
• Any shelves or drawers below the sink

The bowl can be significantly smaller than the outside dimensions, but plumbing and mounting hardware also require space beneath the benchtop.

A single large bowl is the most common and practical solution for many household laundries because it provides maximum uninterrupted space for soaking, buckets and bulky items.

A double bowl laundry trough can be useful if you frequently want to perform two tasks at once—for example, soaking in one bowl while rinsing in the other.

However, a double bowl requires significantly more cabinet and benchtop space.

Stainless steel remains one of the most popular laundry trough materials because it is durable, practical, relatively lightweight and easy to maintain.

Quality products commonly use 304-grade stainless steel, although thickness and construction vary between products.

Granite composite and other coloured sinks can also be used in contemporary laundries where appearance is a higher priority.

The best choice depends on how heavily the trough will be used, your preferred design and the level of maintenance you are comfortable with.

For routine cleaning:

• Rinse away detergent and chemical residue
• Use a soft cloth or non-abrasive sponge
• Use a mild cleaner suitable for stainless steel
• Wipe in the direction of the grain where applicable
• Avoid steel wool and aggressive abrasive cleaners
• Do not leave harsh chemicals sitting in the bowl for extended periods

Laundry troughs can be exposed to stronger cleaning products than kitchen sinks, so it is especially important to rinse chemical residues away after use.

Fine surface marks can occur through normal use of stainless steel and do not necessarily indicate a product defect.

Always follow the manufacturer's care instructions for the individual trough.

You can visit Melbourne Bathroom Shop in Blackburn, Victoria to compare selected laundry sinks, troughs, cabinetry and laundry tapware.

Our showroom is located at:

214–218 Whitehorse Road, Blackburn VIC 3130.

Melbourne Bathroom Shop currently offers both Laundry Sinks & Troughs and trough-and-cabinet options, including compact and full-size configurations.

If you are planning a laundry renovation, it is helpful to bring:

• Cabinet dimensions
• Laundry layout
• Washing-machine location
• Photos of the existing plumbing
• Preferred benchtop material
• Whether you require a bypass or overflow

This makes it easier to select a trough that works with both the cabinetry and plumbing before ordering.