Glass vessel sinks, beware!

9 years ago

I just wanted to give a word of caution for anyone thinking about putting a glass vessel sink in their remodel. Last night I was bent over placing a fresh trash bag in the powder room trash can and I heard a sound like a gun going off by my head... it was my sink, it EXPLODED!!! I hadn't done anything to it, I wasn't even touching it! I screamed from the noise because it understandably startled me, my husband and one of my son's came running in to see if I was ok, I was stunned and covered in glass and blood. My head had literally been right next to the sink, I'm just thankful it was bent down and no glass hit my face or eyes.
As I went to take a shower my hubby did a quick search online... apparently it's not all that uncommon for glass sinks to explode. We had no idea! I'm so glad one of my children or a guest wasn't in the room when it happened!!! I mean, I've had tempered glass oven doors and pans explode on me, but there was always an obvious cause like extreme heat (like self cleaning cycles) or pressure (like the time my hubby torqued the oven door by accident) but there must've been some unforeseen flaw in the sink.

I'm ok, some minor cuts on my hands, arms, and legs is all I suffered, and apparently there is a lifetime warranty on the sink (it was a Vigo and I'm hopeful that we won't have any problems from the company, we cannot go through a contractor because the powder room gut and remodel was a DIY project of ours) but we will NOT be replacing it with another glass vessel sink no matter how gorgeous many of them are. We are going to install a porcelain vessel sink now and let accessories bring that pop of color we had from the sink. I just wanted others to be aware of the risk of a glass vessel sink... I swear, I wasn't even touching it when it exploded. (Yet another reason I'm glad none of my children was in there when it happened, not sure I'd easily believe them that they hadn't broken it somehow, LOL!) We finished this bathroom remodel about two years ago, so not like it was a new install that was faulty.

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skmom
Original Author

9 years ago

I wanted to give an update, since I publicly mentioned that this was a Vigo product... we spoke with a representative of Vigo yesterday and he apologized about our initial encounter with the person who we first called. He understood why we didn't want the same replacement sink that the warranty normally covers and offered up any sink of our choice from their other lines, we are going with one of their matte stone vessel sinks as a replacement. I thought this was very fair of Vigo and appreciate their gesture of goodwill.

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Comments (18)

skmom
Original Author
9 years ago
I wanted to add... so far, Vigo says they can only offer the same sink as replacement. Husband said the customer service rep admitted that these sinks sometimes explode and actually told him that he was over reacting because he told the guy that I'd been cut up and bloodied due to being right next to it when it exploded! When my husband asked to speak to someone else and the rep refused.
He's calling back again. That's unacceptable. My husband was not acting like a raving lunatic when he spoke to the man. Is it too much to ask for just money back?
chiflipper
9 years ago
Over-tightening of any "through the glass" fitting can cause the glass to explode. Glass is "touchy" in that respect and men are notorious for torquing fittings. That said, I am very glad you weren't seriously injured.
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skmom
Original Author
9 years ago
Yes, hubby said he torqued the drain to spec.
So far, vigo isn't much help, trying to go up the chain. ;)

Apparently, there are quite a few people who've had this happen to them... most accounts I've seen wake people up in the middle of the night and they think someone has broken into their home.
skmom
Original Author
9 years ago
Talked to hubby again, he said he didn't torque it down. It was loose enough that when he undid the drain after the sink exploded he was able to undo it with his hands. He's pretty careful when it comes to stuff like this, he's an engineer (he's actually a rocket scientist, LOL!) and he understands how stuff works.
But the warning for others still stands... how is a person to know whether their plumber or whoever installed a glass sink did it properly or not? We had the sink working just fine for almost 2 years... found a news report of a man who'd had his glass vessel sink explode after 4 years of use! In my opinion a glass sink is potentially a ticking time bomb. There is no industry standard apparently for the glass in these sinks. There was no extreme heat or excessive force applied to make my sink explode, it was just bad luck that my head was about a foot away from it when it blew.
(Most of what hurts are my hands today, the day after it happened... I cannot SEE any abrasions, but I can feel them. I suspect my hands got cut up when I was trying to wash the glass dust out of my hair. My countertop and floor was COVERED in glass dust that was very visible once we picked up all of the large tempered glass chunks. I know it was all over me.)
Carol Singletary
9 years ago
Oh my! I am so glad you are mostly ok. Thanks for heads up and the smile. I, too, would have been SURE my boys had done something to break it! :-)
K Laurence
9 years ago
Yikes! This problem needs to be publicized to a wider audience... dangerous. Glad you're okay, apart from almost being scared to death.
Cocotini Hartman
9 years ago
I used to be a glass artist. Although I never made sinks, many other artists I knew did. If glass is not annealed properly it can explode at any time. This could possibly be what happened to yours.
Judy Mishkin
9 years ago
i'm glad you got some nice and reasonable customer service from them. along the lines of 'caution: filling may be hot' on mcdonald's apple pies, the glass sinks should have a warning label permanently affixed saying 'danger: sink could explode at any time'. although that may put some customers off....
auntthelma
9 years ago
Wow. Does not make sense that glass sinks that 'could explode at any time' are marketed at all.
skmom
Original Author
9 years ago
Ninigret, my hubby said something along those lines to the guy. LOL!!!
We did also inform him that we had already contacted a local news agency, and while we were NOT out to bash the company, we did want to help make others aware of potential issues with these kinds of sinks. The news agency has expressed interest in doing an interview, I'll try to post a link to it if that comes to fruition. ;)
tallgrassdesign
9 years ago
Have you heard about the wedding photographer who recently won a million+ dollar lawsuit when a customer (a professional blogger) said disparaging things about the photographer all over social media? Google it. She called a local news station to air her grievances too, even though the photographer was trying to work with her to remedy the situation, something about a $125 charge for an album cover that was disclosed in the initial contract. I'd proceed with caution, especially if the company is working with you to solve the problem.
skmom
Original Author
9 years ago
Hadn't heard of that, but I eagerly posted the update that they made an exception to their warranty as I thought that was fair to give them proper credit. (We still have 2 bathrooms left to remodel in our home, we will likely use Vigo again as we've been pleased with other products we've purchased from them.)
Still, I won't have a glass sink from anyone any longer, no matter how beautiful many of them are... having one explode next to me was all I needed to convince me it's not worth it. I'm not bashing the company or a person, I'm using my right to free speech to tell others that there are potential risks involved with glass sinks of any brand. Apparently there are risks with other tempered glass products as well because if the glass was not annealed properly then it's a matter of time before it explodes, and it could take years! I don't know about you, but it gives me another reason beside "I don't want to clean the glass every day," to forgo glass shower doors when we finally remodel our master bathroom.
PRO
Cancork Floor Inc.
9 years ago
So glad someone at Vigo is stepping up to the plate. I've heard of exploding glass vessel sinks before - and I'm a flooring person!

Glass vessel sinks started out as a hot trend a few years ago. They still hold a niche market because of their look and range of colours. I predict this is the start of "exploding sink tsunami". Image how many more of these stories we will hear as these sinks get older and older and more and more brittle. Glass doesn't age well.

If a vessel sink is in your future, you might want to look at metal or stone. Good luck. Thanks for letting us know!
PRO
JAN MOYER
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Glad you're not injured, and just confirms why I have never liked the concept of vessel sinks anyway: ) Glass or not.
keepitcheap
9 years ago
I've seen those sinks and as a disaster prone clumsy person, have wondered what happens when you accidentally knock something into them or drop something/something falls on them and they get chipped up or break. Never realized they could simply self destruct of their own free will. Glad you were not hurt when yours exploded.
skmom
Original Author
9 years ago
Keepitcheap, I had to laugh about your comment... I have five children and I NEVER would've had a sink like that when they were young, but they're all older teens/young adults now (and have always been respectful of ours and others' property) and I remember thinking "now I can finally have something like this!" because they were mostly past their clutzy accident prone stage. LOL!!! But nope, I didn't expect it to self destruct. If I hadn't been so shocked when it happened I might've thrown my hands up in the air and shouted "and this is why we can't have nice things!" LOL!
But I do remember my hubby asking me if I wanted vessel sinks when we redo our master bath, and I said no because in a master bathroom I'm more likely to drop a hair dryer on the edge, or a heavy bottle of face cream, or some other disaster. But it was ok in the powder room, we only washed our hands at that sink, no other grooming chores. LOL!
gtcircus
9 years ago
They passed a law that allows people to discuss bonafide complaints about companies and products online - its called an opinion and its protected 1st Amendment speech. That said, a reasonable opinion about a bad experience is not the same thing as cyber bullying via bad reviews. The truth is always an absolute defense.

Glass vessel sinks, beware!

skmom
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