While style certainly plays a significant role in choosing the best faucet for your kitchen, you should not forget about the functionality and practical features that your new faucet should have. And choosing the one that has a perfect balance of both can be tricky.
In addition, faucets now come in all shapes and sizes, materials, and price ranges, making faucet shopping a great experience.
However, with these seven tips for buying the perfect kitchen faucet, your shopping experience should be more effortless and get you through the checkout line faster.
Looks can be deceiving
Most of us want the new ultra-modern and smooth faucet, but that choice is based only on looks.
Appearance may be important, but you shouldn’t compromise quality and life for something that looks pretty nice. The following tips are based on the advice of faucet manufacturers and designers, retailers and professional plumbers.
1. Set a realistic budget
We all know that less money means poorer quality, so don’t be shocked when you see a nice-looking faucet that’s also cheap.
Chances are lacking in the sector of performance, reliability or durability. For a good kitchen faucet, plan to spend at least $100 to make sure you have a good quality faucet that will last a long time.
2. The height and reach of the spout is important
You’ve found the kitchen faucet you’ve always wanted. You know, the one with the long beak. The only problem is that you have a shelf above the kitchen sink, and the high faucet may not fit.
No matter your wishes and preferences, it will be better if you consider the layout of your kitchen. Make sure you get the spout height correct and reach to avoid water sloshing out of the kitchen sink.
3. Ceramic valves are the way to go
A beautiful faucet, a perfect spout and reach, and a reasonable price equals a purchase. But what makes a good quality faucet drop has low quality components. One of the essential components is a valve.
A ceramic valve kitchen faucet is a winner in this case as it is proven to be more reliable and durable than other types of valves. The best thing is – the price of a ceramic valve faucet is pretty much the same as all other faucets.
4. Faucet finishes feature
There are two factors to consider when choosing a facet finish.
The first factor is to make sure that the finish of your kitchen faucet matches other hardware in the kitchen. The wrong match will make the whole kitchen look bad.
The second factor is to ensure that you get the finish of the faucet that matches but is also quite durable. Most faucets have satin nickel, polished chrome, or bronze finishes. They are all quite durable, but some are more than others.
- Chrome is the best finish for faucets if durability is your priority. It is also the easiest to clean. Therefore, chrome is best for heavy use.
- Nickel (or brushed, satin, stainless steel) is also durable but susceptible to water spots and fingerprints. This means that cleaning is a bit more challenging. And even if a nickel finish faucet comes with a protective coating, the coating can chip or wear.
- Bronze faucets (or from oil, rubbed) also have a thin coating layer. But this coating is made of an epoxy-like material, which makes these types of faucets more prone to scratching and chipping.
5. How many holes
Most kitchen remodeling projects are kitchen improvement projects. This means that many obsolete things are replaced. One of the things that will indeed be replaced is the kitchen faucet. So now that you’re renovating your kitchen, you can try that one-handle faucet you’ve always wanted.
But before you do, check how many holes there are in the sink. Most sinks will have three holes: one for the cold handle, one for the hot handle, and one under the spout. Your new single handle faucet may have a cover for those extra holes on your sink, but many also don’t. However, all you have to do is check the label.
Switching from a side sprayer to a pull-down sprayer also leaves an extra hole in your sink. And here’s the trick-simply install a soap dispenser.
6. One handle for convenience
Recently, faucets with two handles have become quite popular for their retro design, especially for bathrooms, but they are still far from practical. Adjusting the temperature is inconvenient for a faucet that will be used as much as kitchen faucets do.
Single handle faucets have all the advantages, making them a much better choice when it comes to your new kitchen faucet.
7. Consider a pull-down sprayer
Side prayer was often the cause of many leaks. And unlike the popular opinion that pull-down sprayers are unreliable, the truth is the opposite. Experts, and plumbers who provide emergency plumbing repairssay pull-down sprayers have proven to be more reliable than old side sprayers.
