Reasons to Choose Stainless Steel for Your Lockdown Bathroom Remodeling

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In these times of impermanence, it’s mentally healthy to redesign our personal spaces and to regain control of the things we can influence. Functionality is not the main reason why home remodelling is important anymore. As they are returning to their role as epicentres of our lives, both safety and aesthetic appeal are increasingly sought out.

When it comes to the room where hygiene starts and could possibly end, bathroom remodelling makes perfect sense as the next lockdown self and home improvement project. Who knows how long we’ll be divided between keeping things clean enough and not obsessing over germs, one of the reasons why is stainless steel the best for bathrooms. If you haven’t started eyeing stainless steel laundry sinks, mixers, cabinets and accessories just yet, here’s why they should be on the top of your list for your lockdown bathroom remodel.

Completely Hygienic
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Exposure of pathogens on surfaces may take place either by direct contact with contaminated objects or indirectly through airborne particles. Some bacteria attach to surfaces as their predominant form of survival in nature and man-made ecosystems.

Kitchen sponges were found to be potential vehicles of pathogens in domestic kitchens and pathogens were able to survive in kitchen sponges for at least weeks. Although kitchen sponges have had the spotlight for some time when it comes to contaminated home objects, there’s no reason why we can consider a bathroom sponge any less dangerous. It’s made of approximately the same materials, gets wet and moist hence perfect for bacterial growth and comes in contact with organic cells and compounds i.e. your skin.

Metallic alloys have been widely used since ancient times to limit microbial activity. Even Phoenicians, Romans and Greeks sought out to find out what is the most hygienic metal. Silver bottles and vessels were common while copper was widely used in the pre-antibiotic era to tackle a plethora of infections ranging from tuberculosis to skin problems.

Among these materials, copper has a so-called “contact killing” ability. In addition, silver and zinc oxides also exhibit antimicrobial activity due to the release of ions from their surface. Tunning the copper-to-zinc ratio influences the hardness and antimicrobial performance of the alloy.

Mixtures like copper-silver and copper-nickel improve both anti-corrosion performance, durability and antimicrobial activity. Even so, copper-silver is used for electrical applications while nickel-containing alloys, on the other hand, are not recommended for touch surfaces since nickel is an allergen. The time to turn to other metals is long-overdue.

Why is stainless steel sanitary and why are stainless steel laundry sinks the best option for your bathroom? Stainless steel is not antimicrobial per se but it’s incredibly easy to clean and can withstand chemicals, the only ones who can completely get rid of bacteria. Entirely non-absorbent, the metal contains no pores, cracks or open spaces for bacteria, creating a protected surface. This ensures that a mere surface clean will be enough to remove all bacteria and germs. It holds its form against fire and water, making it safe to use in a big range of environments where other metals may melt or bend.

Its strength is its cleanability as it's uniquely designed to handle soap and water, a dishwasher or laundry cycle or a clean cloth and antibacterial spray. If it can survive in busy, fast-paced environments like restaurants, hospitals and high-pressure factories, it surely can survive your baths and laundries.

Extremely Hard-Wearing
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The amount of alloying elements in stainless steel will vary a lot depending on your supplier. Higher amounts of nickel and manganese increase the stabilization of austenite steel.

Stainless steel can endure both high and low temperatures and wet and dry conditions. Moreover, it can survive shock and abrasion without damage. The surface coating is considered as a ‘passive’ layer that resists damage from external factors.

If your laundry is in the garage, you don’t have to worry about how long dos stainless steel last. A stainless steel laundry sink or a laundry cabinet with plenty of storage space below will withstand the tests of time and detergents.

100% Recyclable
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Its durability inspires steel’s environmentally friendly attitude. As it can be reused a large number of times and thus lowering the rates of repurchase and repeated production, less waste and fuel are used in the production of new materials.

Stainless steel can be recycled, reduced or remade, thus, it’s environmentally friendly. Stainless steel is theoretically 100% recyclable. In spite of this, if a discarded stainless steel product fails to be recycled, there are no detrimental effects neither on the soil nor groundwater. Hence, it’s completely compatible with the environment so even if you get to that point you need to get rid of your stainless steel appliances, no harm will be done.

The steel sector contributes 9% to global energy consumption and process-related carbon emissions, a figure that is very much dependent on how much steel is recycled. Production of steel from recycled material can be carried out with much less energy and CO2 emissions.

Next time you wonder is recycling steel worth it, remember that about 40% of the steel in use today comes from recycled material. To conclude, if there ever comes a time where steel’s consumption is decreasing, there’ll be numerous possibilities of producing a large amount of the steel from recycled scrap.

Suitable for Outdoor Use
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Stainless steel doesn’t rust, because of the interaction between its alloying elements and the environment. All of its components such as iron, chromium, manganese, silicon, carbon and, in many cases, significant amounts of nickel and molybdenum react with oxygen from water and air and form a very thin, stable film consisting of corrosion products like metal oxides and hydroxides. This film, subsequently, acts as a barrier between the metal surface below and the oxidizing environment above.

Chromium has a dominant role in oxidation reactions. All stainless steels by definition contain at least 10 % chromium while asthenic steel usually contains above 11%. Low sulphur and low nickel content of stainless steel result in a stronger, more cost-stable and economical material.

Interestingly, polished steel has a greater pitting corrosion resistance against common commercial disinfectants however the surface finish doesn’t influence bacterial attachment, colonisation or removal.