Granite Worktop – Flutes in granite versus stainless steel draining board

Fuzzy

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We are looking to get a granite worktop for our kitchen, and are currently considering getting draining flutes/ grooves in the granite beside the sink. Just wondering if anyone has any opinions on this as opposed to a stainless steel draining board? Do the flutes drain water sufficiently? We have a dishwasher but also wash some saucepans and dishes by hand.

Thanks in advance.
 
Why granite?
What color?
It is not as hard as folk think and it not scratch proof, if a dark colour with hard water then the calcium shows when it dries off and is a b to clean, not that is my area:)
If my OH insisted on it I would go with the ss d/board and a light colour
 
Thanks Ircoha. We are planning to go with a beige/grey type colour granite, against cream gloss kitchen units. I have heard black granite is hard to keep clean.
The main reason we were going with granite is it looks good. I don’t really like the look of laminate and think wood worktops would scratch and stain easily.
 
I personally hate draining boards, I think they look terrible and the higher-end the kitchen the cheaper and nastier they look (even when they presumably aren't). When I was doing my kitchen I left it out completely and am so pleased I did (I didn't have the option to have grooves instead as my worktop is only laminate).

I do have a dishwasher, but whenever I need to hand-wash something I put down a tea towel to use as a temporary "draining board" and I put it away when I'm finished. An unexpected upside of this is that I rarely just leave things out to drain-and-dry, I nearly always actually dry them up and put them away (my track record on this issue would not lead you to suspect I had any drying-up skills at all, so this behavior is a big surprise).

My aunt and uncle have a stone (sorry, don't know what kind) worktop and they have grooves instead of a draining board and I've always thought it looked great. It certainly looks much more high-end than a stainless steel draining board. I think they have it about 15 years now and it seems to holding up perfectly.
 
We have granite and love it. We have the flutes in the granite and looks much nicer than the traditional stainless option.

We have ours for over 10 years now and love it.
The water does drain off but I actually use a cloth on the granite to soak up the water instead.

Got them in homestore and more. They are a large square made of absorbant material and cost approx 2.99 each.

It also prevents me breaking glasses that have to be washed by hand as found I broke a few glasses placing them on the granite too harshly! Dont leave them on the draining section but only use it when needed.
 
I have dark blue granite, but have a stainless steel drainer. Looks ok to me but I'm not fussed either way. I have a draining rack so wouldn't be using the drainer surface no matter what. I have hard water which looks bad on any surface.
 
There are some other options previously discussed on AAM re. corian etc.

I fancy solid wood but don't fancy the costs attached :)

Would have to say the granite with flutes does look great but a friend who has the black granite does complain about the marks. Perhaps the beige/grey would be easier to maintain.
 
Silestone is an alternative option to granite and can also have drainage grooves. It comes in many shades and has a high quality finish.
 
We have granite with flutes and love it. Our water is very hard but we don't have any issue with calcium showing up. I would definitely agree with fobs that you need to be careful placing items on it to avoid breakages - I must check out those cloths fobs! :)
 
I have a granite worktop but as well as the flutes, the bowl and drain area has the granite recessed about 5mm. This means that any excess water doesn't escape from the the sink area. Similar to this
 
We have dark - almost black - granite with flutes cut into it. Looks good and works well (though we typically always wipe it and don't leave water sitting on it for long periods).

Looks brand new after about six years. Very easy to keep clean. Not particularly careful either: the only thing is we're careful with to wipe immediately if anything too acidic is on it (lemon juice, vinegar etc.). Also, although it's apparently OK, I'd never put something directly from hob or oven onto it, as I don't like tempting fate.
 
I have a granite worktop but as well as the flutes, the bowl and drain area has the granite recessed about 5mm. This means that any excess water doesn't escape from the the sink area. Similar to this


We have something similar.

I'd be voting Yes for flutes (must admit, knowing what I know now, I might have liked them cut at a slightly deeper angle to allow the water run off a bit faster but thats a very small point and unique to my own set up no doubt).
 
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