Your kitchen sink and faucet is probably the hardest working of all the plumbing fixtures in your home. If you’re building new or renovating your kitchen this year, you need to focus on several aspects of plumbing fixtures, including faucets. Of course you want aesthetics; even a hard-working faucet can be an attention-grabber or even a work of art! Depending on your water quality, the type of faucet material may be important. And – again – because it’s the workhorse of plumbing fixtures, you want your kitchen faucet to have strength and longevity.
‘Style is Secondary’
Hampton Kitchens’ president Max Isley says when it comes to plumbing fixtures, “Style is secondary.” Max always asks homeowners to list how they will use the kitchen sink and faucet. For example, double-bowl sinks were made for washing dishes. How often do you actually hand-wash dishes?
Whatever your interior décor preferences, go with the style that speaks to you. There’s a faucet design for the most discriminating homeowners, but function and finishes are important. The most durable faucet will be one that has a ceramic disk valve and solid brass base materials, says HGTV’s Alicia Garceau.
However, brass finishes aren’t as functional as others and don’t age well. Use chrome, polished nickel, brushed nickel, or pewter, says Isley. He also recommends a single-lever faucet and a spray arm, whether it’s part of the faucet spout or a separate piece.
Touchless Kitchen Faucets
The kitchen is where multi-tasking is critical, so why not choose a faucet that you can activate, even with your hands full? The beauty of a touchless faucet is you can set it to turn on briefly every time you toss something into the sink. Or not. You can set it to operate manually on slow days. For most of these faucets, the temperature is pre-set by a separate unit, and the water flow is pre-set by the faucet handle position.
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