Sealants Direct Paint Blog

Sealantsdirect.com finds the best technology in caulks and sealants throughout the world and delivers them direct to your door. For maximum energy savings, don’t limit your choices to mass market DIY caulks that may not perform.

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Cut Your Cooling Costs With Caulk: A Great Air Leak Checklist From Energy.gov

*Reminder* If you are planning for your sealant to last a long time, order Hybrisil. Unlike mass-market caulks, which can fail due to shrinkage, paint cracking, adhesion failure, or lack of flexibility, Hybri-SIL offers superior performance with lasting results. It has all of the benefits of both silicone and water-based caulks with none of the limitations, delivering superior results for your projects every time.

The no odor, low VOC formulation of Hybr-SIL sealant makes it suitable for a variety of applications, and the innovative features can enhance the outcome of your project. It is not sold in retail stores but is available to you through Sealants Direct. 

You may already know where some air leakage occurs in your home, such as an under-the-door draft, but you'll need to find the less obvious gaps to properly air seal your home.

For a thorough and accurate measurement of air leakage in your home, hire a qualified technician to conduct an energy assessment, particularly a blower door test. A blower door test, which depressurizes a home, can reveal the location of many leaks. A complete energy assessment will also help determine areas in your home that need more insulation.

Without a blower door test, there are ways to find some air leaks yourself.

Visual Inspection

On the outside of your house, inspect all areas where two different building materials meet, including:

All exterior corners

Outdoor water faucets

Where siding and chimneys meet

Areas where the foundation and the bottom of exterior brick or siding meet.

Inside your home, inspect around the following areas for any cracks and gaps that could cause air leaks:

Electrical outlets

Switch plates

Door and window frames

Electrical and gas service entrances

Baseboards

Weather stripping around doors

Fireplace dampers

Attic hatches

Wall- or window-mounted air conditioners.

Cable TV and phone lines

Where dryer vents pass through walls

Vents and fans.

Also look for gaps around pipes and wires, foundation seals, and mail slots. Check to see if the caulking and weather stripping are applied properly, leaving no gaps or cracks, and are in good condition. Check the exterior caulking around doors and windows, and see whether exterior storm doors and primary doors seal tightly.

Inspect windows and doors for air leaks. See if you can rattle them, since movement means possible air leaks. If you can see daylight around a door or window frame, then the door or window leaks. You can usually seal these leaks by caulking or weatherstripping them. Check the storm windows to see if they fit and are not broken.

You may also wish to consider replacing your old windows and doors with newer, high-performance ones. If new factory-made doors or windows are too costly, you can install low-cost plastic sheets over the windows.

Building Pressurization Test

If you are having difficulty locating leaks, you may want to conduct a basic building pressurization test to increase infiltration through cracks and leaks, making them easier to detect:

Turn off all combustion appliances such as gas burning furnaces and water heaters on a cool, very windy day.

Shut all windows, exterior doors, and fireplace flues.

Turn on all exhaust fans that blow air outside, such as bathroom fans or stove vents, or use a large window fan to suck the air out of the rooms.

Light an incense stick and pass it around the edges of common leak sites. Wherever the smoke wavers or is sucked out of or blown into the room, there's a draft. You can also use a damp hand to locate leaks; any drafts will feel cool to your hand.

If you don't want to turn off your furnace, you can just turn on all your exhaust fans to depressurize your home.

Other air-leak detection methods include the following:

Shining flashlight at night over all potential gaps while a partner observes the house from outside. Large cracks will show up as rays of light. Not a good way to detect small cracks.

Shutting a door or window on a piece of paper. If you can pull the paper out without tearing it, you're losing energy.

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5 Ways To Remodel Your Kitchen For Springtime On A Budget

It Doesn’t Have To Break Your Bank Account To Remodel Your Kitchen

Whether you have owned a home for a long time or just purchased your first I think everyone knows that remodeling your kitchen can be a expensive task. New cabinets, new countertops, and if you are going to do all that you just have to get a new floor. Lets face it, Your kitchen can make or break your home. If you have ever gone with a real estate agent to look at homes? Whether you relize it or not if you didn’t like the kitchen, you didn’t like the home.

    Here is the other thing, a kitchen NEEDS to function. It needs to be comfortable to cook in. It needs to have the appropriate counter space to prep your food, and to work in. Lets face it, that is what your kitchen is for. If you evewr heard any thing about remodeling a kitchen the main rule is, make the functioning part of your kitchen a triangle. In other words have your stove, sink, and fridge in a triangle. This they say is the best way to make sure your kitchen is comfortable to work in.

The bottom line is this, a kitchen is the most expensive remodel in a home. It makes the biggest impact on ones opionion of a home. It needs to be comfortable to actually cook in. If you don’t like the kitchen 9 out of ten times you didn’t like the home.

  I want to share with you 5 ways to do some remodeling in your kitchen that will NOT break the bank. That’s right. There are things you can do that will drastically improve the impression your kitchen has on people and will leave a couple of dollars in your pocket.

I hope you enjoy this article and it helps you make your kitchen a more beutiful place.

luxuries granite countertop

new countertops

There are several types of counter-tops that you can replace your old ones with that will add a drastic change to your kitchen. I don’t want to get into the different types in this hub but for more info on the different types go to my hub titled 5 best home improvement investments. The point is that by having new counter-tops installed you can add a fresh look and totally change the appearance of your kitchen.

beutiful lavender lilly painted cabinets

Paint Your Cabinets

Some people really like painted cabinets. It is definitely a look. Most cabinets(that did NOT originally come painted) Have had varnish, lacquer,stain or all of these on them. That being said paint doesn’t take very well to surfaces with those products on them without extensive prep work. In all honesty to really do a good job you will probably want to use a stripper followed by denatured alcohol to make sure the cabinets are free of those chemicals. If you are really after a quality job, It is not at all a bad idea to at all to leave this one to the pros. In other words,”Call your painter”

Tile Backsplash

Tile Backsplash

Would you believe a little thing like adding a new Tile backsplash can drastically change, for that matter improve the appearance of your kitchen. With a tile backsplash it can add a whole new color and depth to your kitchen giving you a totally different impression as you enter. It won’t cost you a lot of money either. A great alternative to investing in a entirely new kitchen.

drawer pulls

Replace Your Drawer Pulls

Really inexpensive and can drastically change your kitchen. Just changing your drawer pulls can do miracles and you are talking less than a hundred dollars for most kitchens. They make so many different drawer pulls and handles now and with the Internet what you can find is unlimited. Believe it or not I saw a couple on the Internet, I believe they were out in Arizona, They were actually making drawer pulls out of rocks and the thing about it was, They were cool as could be. Definitely worth considering if you are on a budget and your kitchen is tired. WAKE IT UP!!!

Luxurius Kitchen

Do It All!!!

The thing is kitchens do get old and drab but you don’t have to have 20,000 dollars to freshen them up and change the appearence all together. I guess I could have made 6 and 7 things to do to your kitchen on a budget. You can always paint the walls and yes, you can brake down and spend the money, and get a new kitchen. But that is not the direction we are going with this hub.

   You can do a couple of the things. Maybe tile the backsplash and get new drawer pulls or paint and new countertop. use your imagination and don’t be scared. I really think people are afraid to do something in there kitchen. Plan it out, talk it over with the rest of the family and go for it. These things will give it a make over and you will still have a couple of dollars to go out to eat so you don’t mess up that fresh kitchen.

By  Keith Johnson

Source: workat2009.hubpages.com

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Just A Few Satisfied Customers

   Story 1:

-I was introduced to THIS ( Duo-sil ) by a Construction Manager that hired me to paint his entire new construction custom home. The exterior was sided with James Hardie lap siding, and he required every vertical and horizontal seam to be caulked. Yes that means the underside of every lap. Needless to say after 2 days each finger was so friction burned sleeping was tough at night. However the results were astounding! I have also used it on interior trim, and none of it will ever separate from the ceiling or walls when the house settles.

   Story 2:

-(In Reply to a contractor who hasn't tried us before, stated that its not a good idea to caulk the underside of hardie, when the sun shines on it, it can expand up to 1/8" and push that caulk out. ON wood houses it will cause it to peel.)

Our Users Response?

You have either: 1) Never lived in south Florida during the rainy season. 2) Never used Duo~Sil caulk. That stuff will never release due to the added adhesive, and it expands quite a bit. It was the homeowners choice who also happens to be a construction manager that builds new custom homes regularly. Arguing with him or his money was not an option.

   Story 3:

-Ask for some Duo-sil caulking. Also available online. It is a 50 year urethane acrylic sealant and adhesive, available in over 100 colors, and is also paintable. The tube has a removable screw on application tip. This stuff is what the pros use for vinyl siding and window installs.

read full stories here: -http://www.contractortalk.com/f8/siroflex-duo-sil-51044/ -http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=143233

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Don't Think We Can Match Your Color? Then Test Us!

We challenge you to see if we can match the color of your specific needs! That means, any project, any repair, any paint color, any anything, use our color match system here and test is our DUO-SIL® urethane acrylic caulk meets your needs.

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Why You Need To Remodel Your Bath And Kitchen For The Future

       Remodeling your kitchen or bathroom is one way to make sure that you increase the value of your home over time. In fact, Remodeling magazine conducted a study on kitchen remodeling and found that kitchen remodeling translates to 78 percent ROI in home value when the home is sold. If you live in an area or community where land value steadily increases, just imagine the value of your home when you do kitchen and bathroom remodeling projects or a regular basis. And if you live in an area where the value of the land and homes fluctuate, one way to ensure that your investment is protected and remains to have good value is by remodeling. This is actually what a lot of people have done to have new homes. In the aftermath of home collapse, one way people are able to buy new homes is by remodeling their old homes or parts of their old home, such as the kitchen.

     These are proven facts. Homebuyers, especially those who have real estate agents by their sides will buy homes at that had been remodeled at higher price over those that have not seen any remodeling. This is because of the advantages offered by remodeled kitchen and bath. For example, it is estimated that up to 8,760 gallons of water every year can be saved by a family of four if they install high efficiency toilet unit. And aside from improving the look and value of your bathroom, installing a whirlpool bath offers you a great way to relax everyday. When it comes to your kitchen, a good way to make your kitchen look new is by having kitchen countertop replacement. It also adds value to your home in the same way that the high efficiency toilet does.

    As always when you remodel, make sure to use a adhesive that will last through the future, and beyond...

Source: Futura House Photograph by David Franck, via

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Making That Remodeled Bathroom Last

I don't think anyone remodels a bathroom expecting to remodel it again anytime soon.  Unfortunately in some jobs this can be the case. The reason why a lot of bathroom or tiling jobs go awry is because of not letting materials properly set or just flat out not using the best brand needed to have a long lasting or permanent seal.

*areas of concern*

How do you avoid this? Well, use a higher quality caulk like Hybri-SIL. You'll find that Hybri-SIL is both flexible and waterproof and will not crack, making it an ideal sealant for a variety of commercial and residential applications and energy-saving projects at home.  Unlike mass-market caulks, which can fail due to shrinkage, paint cracking, adhesion failure, or lack of flexibility, Hybri-SIL offers superior performance with lasting results. It has all of the benefits of both silicone and water-based caulks with none of the limitations, delivering superior results for your projects every time.

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Real Talk From A Real Painter

professional painter & crown molding expert David Russo talks about how he uses Hybrisil on his projects to eliminate cracking in crown molding and keep his customers happy with a seal that will last a lifetime.

this video covers how to fix cracks in your ceiling, save energy, how to prepare your house for extreme weather conditions, tornado, hurricane, or blizzard. If you have a video talking about your success with hybrisil or any of our products, please tell us about it! email us at: - "crown molding" sealant multisurface extreme weather caulks and sealants seal caulking caulk DIY testimonials testimonial crack peel test lifetime easy warm save energy green Simple painting painter professional expert dousil sealantsdirect

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Caulk Now, Before Its Too Late!

    Every storm that comes around causes old and new homes alike to take on  minor weather damage and overtime little problems become big ones. Slowly but surely storms expose your interior to exterior weather conditions.  After awhile your paint, ceiling, lining, and even caulking. Why? It's well its because your interior may be cold resistant, but it isn't cold proof.

    So what is there to do about this? Caulk, Caulk, Caulk! Before its too late! The sooner the better, caulking with a weatherproof sealant will stop cold air from entering your house and heat from escaping.

   Even a slight crack now will cause a larger one later, that is why its important to follow these steps when you identify a crack in your house.

Dust the crack with a dust brush to remove any loose debris and dust. This will ensure the caulk adheres properly to the ceiling.

Load a tube of weatherproof caulk into a caulking gun and cut the tip off the nozzle with a utility knife.

Squirt a bead of caulk along the entire length of the crack. Allow the bead to overlap the edges of the crack by 1/16 inch.

Set the blade of a putty knife flush on the ceiling, at one end of the crack. Scrape the putty knife along the crack. This will allow the knife to push the caulk into the crack and scrape away any excess. Wipe excess caulk off of the putty knife blade with a wet painter's rag. The caulked ceiling crack will look filled at this point. Wait 24 hour for the caulk to dry.

Inspect the caulked ceiling crack for shrinkage. If the caulk has shrunk into the crack, apply a second bead. Scrape over the second bead and let it dry for 24 hours. Repeat this process until shrinkage has stopped and the ceiling crack has been filled flush with caulk.

    Or you can always follow our video tutorial here:

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Always Keep This In Mind When Choosing A Color For Your House

That your not only picking a color of paint, your also picking a color of caulk!

    With The holiday seasons approaching, It becomes increasingly important that we seal our household. The best way to do this of course is with a sealant that doesn't crack or peel.

      Air escaping from your home accounts for at least 20% of your yearly household costs and even if you do caulk your windows, doors, and vents the risk of cheaper caulks cracking, shrinking, or even peeling from temperature change. So make sure to always seal your house with the best caulk the industry has to offer.

   By ordering caulk from sealantsdirect.com you not only get the caulk that stays strong no matter what, you also get over 150 colors to choose from, that we will even color match for you! I don't know about you but not caulking my house is like leaving the window open on a cold night! On that note we will leave you with this little gem:

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Replace Toxic Caulking in Your Bathtub Now! (Or Learn to Hold Your Breath)

by Sara Novak

A clean serene bathroom can be a great refuge. But a dingy, mold laden bathroom does nothing to serve you. Moldy caulking around the tub is especially gross. I have to admit that my bathroom doesn't get the amount of attention that other parts of the house get. Especially that tub. No one sees it besides my husband and I and my puppies during their bi-monthly bath. I know that's no excuse, it's just that it is likely my least favorite household chore.

Another reason why cleaning the bathroom has been such a wrenching task in the past was the moldy caulking would not come clean. It does not matter how much elbow grease that I put into it. There seemed to be no hope. But black mold is just not good for your respiratory system and furthermore it scares the crap out of me. In fact, according to the EPA, potential health effects and symptoms associated with mold exposures include allergic reactions, asthma, and other respiratory complaints. So with that, it was me against the mold (or my husband for that matter whom I soon convinced to replace the caulking with a greener variety).

How to Choose Green Caulk

Conventional caulks are cheap to produce and contain toxic volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as toluene and hexane. Choose a greener product like:

Hybri-Sil,

No odor, Low VOC - the green alternative

Paintable in 1 hour

Superior to silicone in every way!

Guaranteed not to shrink, crack, or peel

Sticks like glue to most surfaces - adheres to brick, metal, vinyl, glass and roofing materials

Has a shelf live of over a year

Waterproof - Can be applied in standing water or wet conditions

Will fully cure within 48 hours regardless of temperature

You can purchase it from the Sealants Direct for $7.97 per tube.

How to Replace Caulking Around the Tub

1.Place a rag around the drain to prevent debris from clogging it.

2.Remove the caulk with a putty knife. Do not just replace the caulk that's moldy, replace it all. Use the putty knife to forcefully chip away at the caulking all the way around the tub.

3.Use a caulking gun to evenly distribute caulk all the way around the tub. A caulking gun is the easiest tool to use if you want a professional looking end product.

4.Clean up any excess with a paper towel.

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Whats Ultra-Low VOC and why we are proud to have it?

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are emitted as gases from certain solids or liquids. VOCs include a variety of chemicals, some of which may have short- and long-term adverse health effects. Concentrations of many VOCs are consistently higher indoors (up to ten times higher) than outdoors. VOCs are emitted by a wide array of products numbering in the thousands. Examples include: paints and lacquers, paint strippers, cleaning supplies, pesticides, building materials and furnishings, office equipment such as copiers and printers, correction fluids and carbonless copy paper, graphics and craft materials including glues and adhesives, permanent markers, and photographic solutions.

Organic chemicals are widely used as ingredients in household products. Paints, varnishes, and wax all contain organic solvents, as do many cleaning, disinfecting, cosmetic, degreasing, and hobby products. Fuels are made up of organic chemicals. All of these products can release organic compounds while you are using them, and, to some degree, when they are stored.

Given the VOC reductions made possible by technological advancements in the chemical industry, the phrase "Low VOC" is used to describe a product with a VOC content at or below 150 g/L.  We are PROUD to say all products availible from sealantsdirect.com are considered to be "Ultra-Low VOC" as they have VOC content below 50 g/L.  A product that is lower in VOC content typically has lower or even undetectable odor.

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Colors and Sealants and Caulks OH MY!

www.sealantsdirect.com

DUO-SIL color match services:

1. Provide the make / manufacturer of building component and we will find a suitable / closest match

2. If you do not know the color or manufacturer reference, we will send you a color chart so that you can match it. Once you pick a color we will send you a sample to test your match.

Source: youtube.com

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Be the John Wayne of Caulk: Wexford Caulk Gun

The Exceptional Everyday Caulk Gun

The Wexford 4100b caulk gun is a must have for every home.  Most caulk guns will hinder the sealant application process with sticky triggers, sloppy application release and metal components that corrode or bend overtime. This professionally engineered gun features an epoxy finished steel casing with a “no drip” retractable trigger system that makes applying sealants a one step process time and time again.  Available in standard 10 oz cartridge sizing, this every day caulking gun is easy to load, use, clean and store. 

Holds Standard 10 Cartridge

Easy trigger mechanics

“No Drip” retractable trigger system

Will not corrode

Ladder Hook

Steel Catch Plate

Perfect for DIY and Home Projects

The Wexford caulk gun is a perfect fit for home improvement projects and sealantsdirect.com professional grade caulks and sealants such as Hybrifix Super 7, DuoSil Colored Caulk, SiroSil 25 and SiroSil 50

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All About Colors! Colors! COLORS!

Sharing this awesome article because WE LOVE COLOR and offer the most, as you can see here!

Color is the most versatile tool a designer or homeowner can use. It is the easiest way to update an interior and an effective tool to visually alter it. It is the most exciting decorating element, changing a room with ease. However, many people find the power of color intimidating. So the palette for walls is often neutral – colors that work fine as a backdrop for more richly hued furnishings. However, they are less successful in rooms with neutral-colored furnishings because, believe it or not, there are so many variations of them that it’s sometimes hard to make them match.

Aside from the strength of color itself, the enormity of color choices in everything from paint to furniture and flooring can be overwhelming, causing a retreat to the safety of white or beige. So how do you break the monotony and establish an exciting scheme? Trial and error is one way. If that’s too risky, you can’t go wrong with these fundamentals.

Color Wheel Basics

The color wheel is a fixed, circular arrangement of colors that reveals their relationship to one another. Start with the primaries – red, yellow and blue. All other colors are made from these three. Mixing red and yellow , for example, produces a secondary color, in this case, orange. Mixing together one secondary and one primary color, such as blue and green, will produce a blue-green, which is a tertiary color. Turquoise is an example. There are six tertiary colors. In addition to blue-green, there is yellow-orange, red-orange, red-violet, blue-violet and yellow-green.

Colors such as yellow-green and red-violet oppose one another on the color wheel, so they are complimentary. Colors that are adjacent on the color wheel, such as blue and green, are called analogous. A good rule of thumb for an attractive analogous scheme is to use no more than two primary colors.

A split-complimentary scheme contains three colors – one complimentary and two analogous. Varying the value of the colors can produce either soft or dramatic results.

Finally, a monochromatic scheme is based entirely on various tints and shades of a single color. Monochromatic neutral schemes with shades and tones of beige, gray, brown, black and white could be described otherwise, technically. But this collection is generally accepted as a monochromatic neutral palette.

for the full article please check out their awesome blog here!

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How to Paint a Perfect Ceiling Line

You’ve spent several days painting your bedroom to be your dream color.  You meticulously painted around the trim and windows and you are certain that every line is perfect.  Then, you get in bed, look up where the wall meets the white ceiling, and you see the blobs.

Paint seepage blobs.  Yuck!  Even though you’ve taped, the paint still ran under onto your white ceiling.  Most people just accept this as part of painting, but I’m here to give you a quick and easy solution to this one problem – and it doesn’t even involve paint.

How to Caulk Your White Ceiling to Create a Perfect Line

1. After your wall and ceiling paint is dry, apply a line of painter’s tape on the wall about 1/4 inch from the ceiling.  Also, apply a line on the ceiling about 1/4 inch from the wall.  We love the Scotch 3M Delicate Blue painter’s tape.

2.  Using a caulking gun, apply a bead of white caulk in a line about 18-24 inches long.  We generally use the white DAP Alex caulk, which can be found anywhere from Home Depot to Walmart.  Just make sure you use white and don’t accidentally pick up clear or almond.

3.  With a gloved finger, drag the bead of caulk down so that it fills in between the tape.  Keep dragging until the caulk is pretty flat.

5.  Repeat this process until your whole room is finished.  You’ll want to work a section at a time so that the caulk doesn’t dry before you get a chance to smooth it out.

6.  When the room is finished, peel off the tape before the caulk is dry.  You’ll have a perfectly straight line.

In the photos, the caulk line looks brighter than the ceiling, but it really doesn’t look that way in real life.

The next time you paint a room, take 30 extra minutes and try this caulking trick on your ceiling.  I think you’ll be so glad that you did.

------> To add comments take a visit their website by clicking here! or check out their cool project gallery!

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Cool Pools, Done By A Team Of Pros!

We're always on the lookout for fresh ideas, especially when it comes to all things water.

That's why we wanted to share this cool project, a swimming pool that's currently under construction by Pool Services Tech, out of San Diego. Just check out the features on this one!

The men and women of Pool Services Tech seem to really know how to work quick. The client specifically requested that the pool be finished by the 4th of July so that party goers at their holiday cookout could enjoy a refreshing dip.

There are a few additional features to be installed, but we can't wait to see how it looks when it's done. You can check them out here! poolcare101.com

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The 10 Coolest Sinks That Lift You Up

"The 10 Coolest Sinks That Lift You Up" by the Industries Best Caulks and Adhesives: Sealants Direct

10. Natural stone sinks add a new bathroom inside

This is a pretty "rock solid" design!

9. Colorful Pedestal Sink: New Fusion II by Jan Puylaert

Simple clean and effective design, sometimes simpler is better.

8. LTB illuminated sink

The reason we chose this one is not simply because "light ups" are cool, but of its use for night time wash ups that a little one might need.

7. Fish Tank Sink

What better way to wash your hands than having them swim with the fishes!

6. Premium Unit Sink

When we saw this we were just so astonished, at first glance we didn't even know it was a sink!

5. Concrete Zen Garden Sink Waters Plants While You Wash

Peace is always the best element to add to a bathroom, but better than that is this sink that not only brings peace but waters the plants too!

4. modern-bandini-bathroom-sink-fixtures

Yes this is a sink... Well more like a shower for your hands!

3. Strange Combo

Sick of a dripping faucet well with this sink that is not really ever a bad thing with this sink. All extra water goes into your toilet to be recycled. Talk about green!

2. the Origin Sink

This sink is activated by lifting a pebble that makes the water build up into a bigger stream filling up the sink for freshening up. The reason we added this to our list is because its just so innovative!

1. Cool and Colorful Kids Bathroom Washbasin by Faura and Tey Teng Chuan

The reason these cool little monsters got our top pick is because it tackles the best problem with sinks... GETTING KIDS TO USE THEM!  That's right keep your kids hands clean with these cool sink buddies! Say good-bye sick days and germs!