In almost any commercial application, one will notice companies tend to choose stainless steel table legs over alternatives. Be it compared to another metal, wood, or plastic, stainless steel seems to always come out on top.
Today we want to explore why that is and explain why there’s a good chance you should choose stainless steel legs for your commercial tables too. See why stainless steel table legs are the option most commercial enterprises choose for their tables.
Aesthetic and Customer Expectation
The first reason you tend to see stainless steel legs for tables is also one of the more simple ones: people expect it. Metal legs are such a go-to that when customers don’t see metal table legs, it comes off as odd.
Take the most common alternative, wood. Wood table legs don’t seem out of place at home. In fact, many people prefer them in a home setting.
At a restaurant or other establishment, however, those legs still remind us of home. Unless you engage in some careful design work, people are going to associate the table with something like a home dining room.
This may not ruin their experience but it will still be thought strange. It can feel like the establishment doesn’t have a real aesthetic, instead of using whatever furniture they happened to get for cheap.
Hygiene and General Cleanability
Another reason to choose stainless steel legs for tables is that stainless steel is easy to clean. Moreover, stainless steel looks clean and customers will associate it with a hygienic establishment.
This is perhaps the biggest reason that stainless steel is the first choice of hospitals, kitchens, food, and pharmaceutical processing facilities. It is often critical that these places remain as clean as possible.
Stainless steel is a hardy material that can be wiped down with a wide array of cleaning chemicals other materials may not handle well. It also does not hide dirt and grime in a way dark, broken patterns (such as on wood) can.
Altogether, this means one can spot any issues on the metal legs and then clean them up without too much worry about ruining the surface. It takes some harsh chemicals to ruin stainless steel, well beyond what most cleaners use.
Highly Resistant to Rust
Stainless steel gets its name from being highly corrosive resistant. In short, it is very difficult to get it to rust. In an indoor environment, it’s an issue most establishments aren’t going to have to worry about.
As for why this is the case, it is thanks to the metal’s alloying elements and the way they interact with their environment. In essence, they react with the air to form a protective film that guards against corrosion.
While stainless steel comes in a variety of compositions, they all contain at least 10 percent of a substance called chromium. This is good news, as chromium is the key ingredient to forming that protective film.
It’s important to acknowledge this resistance because it is one of the few non-opinion-based criticisms people might aim at steel. Steel can rust but stainless steel is designed not to. It’s still possible but it is difficult.
Sturdy and Durable
Of all available options, stainless steel table legs are more or less the only option for any table one wants to be sturdy and durable.
It is an affordable alloy that can be trusted to hold significant weight and take a good deal of banging and jostling without complaint. Unlike wood or plastic, it is difficult to mar stainless steel (and any scratches are unlikely to go deep).
While you should check the specifics of your table before testing, steel legs often can hold the weight of a person or two without issue. They’re simply not going to give out in everyday use cases.
In fact, steel legs are so sturdy and durable, one should focus more on the table surface if that’s their worry. With steel legs installed, it is far more likely the table surface itself is what will give out before the legs do.
Long-lasting yet Inexpensive
A few of the above points imply it already but stainless steel legs are long-lasting. Your legs could very well look almost identical a few decades (or even centuries) under everyday use and only basic maintenance.
Stainless steel also isn’t expensive. In fact, its cost is comparable to aluminum, a common alternative, and it is often cheaper by the pound.
When it comes to commercial assets, it is important to understand how things may degrade over time. If a leg breaks, that’s an additional cost, in essence making the table more expensive. Steel won’t have that issue.
The worst most users will see on their stainless steel legs are tiny scratches after a great deal of use and even they will be difficult to see. The shine of the steel should remain intact for years.
This isn’t just true of tables kept in the backrooms of facilities either. Even tables used by many customers each day shouldn’t see much wear on their legs. At worst, the table’s connections to the legs may need rare adjusting.
Stainless Steel Table Legs Bear Considering
No material is perfect in all circumstances but stainless steel has an impressive list of benefits.
If you’re interested in stainless steel legs or bases, we hope you will explore our site. We’ve got a number of solid options to choose from that should be able to serve almost any customer’s needs!
