DC Girl Rebecca sent in this question about hootie rings. Yes — hootie rings!
Pam,
Do you know if anyone sells just the metal rim to go around sinks? I have a fantastic, huge cast iron sink that I want to reuse after replacing our countertops, but a plumber I had in recently said I couldn’t because no one makes that edging anymore and it’s next to impossible to remove the sink without damaging it.
This can’t be true, can it?
Rebecca
Update: See this story — we found the source — and note the correct spelling of HUDEE!
Originally, I had consulted with John V. of deabath.com, who explained that saving the existing ring may be possible, or not:
Hi Pam;
Unfortunately, the plumber is fairly accurate. Quite a few of those old Hootie rings were made specifically for the sink, and once the sink is discontinued, the ring goes as well. The best I could recommend to your reader is to hit up local, well established plumbing houses and hope there’s one kicking around in the warehouse…
I’ve saved them before, and I’ve lost them before as well. It just depends on what material was used to seal the ring onto the old countertop. I would certainly give it a go. And, as long as the ring isn’t physically broken, a body shop can probably repair the damage incurred during removal. Give it a shot, what do you have to lose?
Believe it or not, the ring were originally made by Hootie Manufacturing. Love the name….
John
Love that name, too, John, thank you!
Pat says
Hootie ring, oh my gosh. Never heard the term til now. And I certainly didn’t know they quit making them, now I want a sink with a hootie ring!
Hey Capecodmidcentury, are you from Omaha, so am I!
PugFreek says
What about cows?
Pam Kueber says
PugFreek, in America the phrase, “To have a cow” means: “To get very upset.” Like…to get so upset you give birth to a cow. 🙂
beth says
Y’all have MADE MY DAY – hootie rings indeed!
And I love the color name “Sand Tan ” – much nicer name than “peach” – it is very close to mine, although mine are American Standard with Crane faucets. My plumber lusts after my Crane faucets, and he always reminds me of the other bathrooms in my city which have them.
I passed up on one of those cast iron deep shower pans – they look like mini tubs – at a Habitat store years ago – it matched my peach bathroom fixtures perfectly but I knew that my then-husband would have a COW if I came home with it. It would have been a stunning addition, alas.
Pam Kueber says
Are you a new reader, Beth? Sounds like we have sucked you into our vortex, hehe! 🙂
Pam Kueber says
beth, oh those spouses and their “cows.” I think I will do a whole open thread on this issue!
capecodmidcentury says
Hello,
I have my old brown sink in the kitchen with a hootie ring. I am tired of brown so at Habitat For Humanity Restore–or whatever the name is shop I found a new white sink with a white hootie ring. The sink has a chip–I bought it.
Later I found the same sink at Micklin Hardware in Omaha ne. It was under 100 dollars. So if the chrome one doesn’t fit the new sink I purchase at Micklin–I will have to use a white hootie ring. So I know the sink and white as of last year are still available.
karmi_woolfe says
Okay kids…it’s krazi karmi with some cleaning solutions. 🙂 Honestly, these things are not as delicate as we’d like to think. You know plenty of grammas have scrubbed the heck out of them over the decades! I ended up with 3 extra sinks, and I have been diligently cleaning them, preparing them for sale. I used Zep brand Calcium, Lime & Rust stain remover and an extra fine Scotch-Brite pad (they are maroon in color and found in paint and hardware stores). I also used good old fashioned cleanser. While brillo pads are too abrasive, the Scotch-Brite pads are fine. I also let soapy water with plenty of bleach sit in the sinks in preparation for the final scrub. Yes, they seem to stain quickly once in use, but…relaxxxx…it’s just the bottom of your sink!
laradevil says
I also have an original sink with the *hootie* ring – that seems to have perma-stain!! I clean it – to sparkling white – and as soon as I put a cup in it – it’s stained again!! argh
DanaMc says
I had no idea it had a name.
I have a Hootie Ring!
*wink*
Now, who has the best solution for getting stains out of 46 year old sinks? LOL
DanaMc
Jennifer C says
Barkeeper’s Friend is the ONLY thing that cleans our 1957 original kitchen sink. Our sink is white, so be sure to check if it will work on a colored sink if you need it to. It does a great job with a minimum of elbow grease. Good luck!
Jen
pam kueber says
beware acids and abrasives – see our separate story on kohler reco’s – they say NO to BF
elvis says
We (well, the plumber, actually) successfully re-used our hootie ring. It took me a good bit of cleaning, but was well worth the great 50’s renovation look.
Femme1 says
When I did a google search for “hootie ring” one of the hits was for a Hootie and the Blowfish ring tone. *hoot*
dcgrl says
That was me, Pam! thanks for doing the research that I’m too lazy to do. At least I have a fun new term to google: “hootie ring”!
–rebecca