An Overview of Faucets
For the money, a basic American faucet may be one of the best consumer values around. Designed to last a lifetime, all but the cheapest certainly will, and if they don't, the manufacturer will at least replace the defective parts.
Elkay Arezzo faucet. All brass construction, lifetime warranty. About $500.00 before installation.
Modern finishes are unlikely to flake or tarnish. Modern plating and coating processes, including electron beam physical vapor disposition, can imitate anything - brass, nickel, pewter, even gold. Epoxy coatings can keep that new finish looking new for a long time, with proper care.
Today's faucet valves rarely leak. Washerless valve technologies have virtually banished the midnight drip, drip, drip. But some of the best reproduction faucets still use the old compression washer technology (see below). These require periodic washer replacement, not an onerous task, especially for the old house purists. But for the rest of us, the newer no-maintenance washerless technology is a better choice.
Unfortunately the classic American faucet is increasingly not made in the good ol' US of A. A few manufacturers have maintained domestic manufacturing, but most faucets are made elsewhere — from China to the Balkans — and merely distributed by American companies under their own labels. It's the global economy, folks, so get used to it.
As with anything, some faucets are better than others, and price, while generally reflective of quality, is no absolute guarantor. You do not necessarily get a better faucet for more money. All of the major faucet manufacturers, American Standard, Kohler, Moen, Peerless, Price Pfister, Delta, Elkay and Eljer make mid-priced faucets that are lifetime products. When you pay more than mid-price ($150-$400) then you are generally buying the cachet of high-style (Graff, KWC, Toto, Grohe) or custom hand casting and finishing (THG, MGS Progetti) or both. These are usually excellent faucets, but not necessarily a lot better than major-brand mid-priced faucets. They are produced in smaller runs or even made one at a time as they are ordered, so they do not have the cost savings of large production quantities. And so the higher price. But even these are often steeply discounted,
Classifying Faucets
Faucets are classified in any number of ways. So many, in fact, that it is hard to make sense of it all. The most common classifications are by valve type, configuration and style, although there is a lot of overlap between configuration and style. How important a classification is may depend on the viewer. A plumber is a lot more interested in valve type than he or she is in style. A decorator might place more emphasis on style and configuration than on the type of valve. As builders we agree with the plumbers that valve type is the most important consideration, but then, it's not our kitchen and we don't have to look at it every day.
Faucet Valves
A faucet is nothing more than a valve that controls and directs the flow of water. In fact, in the U.K. and much of the English-speaking world outside of the United States, a faucet is ordinarily called a "valve" or a "tap". Its main components are the valve itself, a handle to
Typical compression valve. Over time - often not much time -the rubber seat washer will wear out permitting the faucet to leak.
turn the valve and a spout through which the water flows. In early faucets, hot and cold water were delivered separately — one faucet for hot, the other for cold. The mixing occurred in the sink or tub. These are dangerous (the hot water can be scalding hot) and rarely seen today outside historical renovations. The modern faucet includes a mixing valve that blends hot and cold water inside the body of the faucet — out of harm's way. Valves are of four general types: compression, cartridge, ball and ceramic disc. The last three are commonly known as "washerless" types.
The original Moen cartridge valve started the "washerless faucet" revolution.
Compression Valves: A compression valve is the oldest and least expensive valve type. Turning the handle raises and lowers a stem. At the base of the stem is a rubber or plastic washer that nests into a metal (usually brass) seat. The washer twists into the seat to shut off the flow of water. When the washer wears out, as it does very quickly, the faucet leaks until the washer is replaced. Easy to do, but it requires special tools. In most modern houses a compression valve will be found only on outside faucets (which are actually called "wall hydrants" or "hose bibbs', just a little trivia for fun). Inside faucets usually have one of the washerless valves.
Cartridge Valve: Invented by Moen, the cartridge made single handle "washerless" faucets possible. The cartridge rotates to control water temperature and raises up and down to control volume. The water seal is provided by rubber or plastic o-rings. Because the o-ring is merely compressed without being twisted and ground into the valve, it lasts a long time before it needs to be replaced. Quality is determined by the materials used in the cartridge: plastic, metal, or ceramic. All but the cheapest plastic cartridges will last a long time.
Ball Valve: The ball valve is a Delta faucet innovation. It works just like a cartridge — in fact, except for the ball-like shape, it really is just a cartridge. The ball-shape enabled Delta to get around Moen's patent. Rotating the ball lines up different slots to control water temperature, raising and lowering the ball controls the volume of water, from trickle to torrent. Early balls were brass, current models are stainless steel and nearly indestructible. Delta boasts a failure rate of less than one in 100,000 units.
Delta ball-type valve cartridge also used in Peerless and Brizo.
Ceramic Disk Valve: A European innovation, the disk is actually two slotted ceramic disks that rest against each other. One rotates to control temperature and raises and lowers to control water volume. This valve eliminates rubber entirely. The water-tight seal is provided by the disks that are polished to near perfect flatness, so highly polished, in fact, that they stick to each other as if magnetized just from surface tension. The space between the disks is smaller than a molecule of water, which is why water cannot flow between them.
Ceramic disks are housed in replaceable cartridges. All brass or stainless disk units are generally more durable that plastic cartridges.
Ceramic disks are second only to diamonds in hardness, which makes them ideal for the tough environment of a faucet valve. They are largely immune to the effects of grit and debris in the water. Hard water mineral deposits can damage other types of valves, but ceramic disks are largely immune. Fired at temperatures over 2000°F, these discs are also unaffected by the hottest household water.
Look for these state-of-the-art valves on Kohler, American Standard and Price-Pfister faucets as well as most upscale European brands such as Grohe. In fact, a European faucet that does not have a ceramic disk valve is usually not worth consideration.
Which valve is better? That's a question that can start a three hour argument among the pros we know. You probably cannot get a plumber to install a compression-type faucet without a sizable bribe. But, those in love with everything antique won't use anything else. While compression faucets need frequent washer replacement, it's not very hard to do and if done regularly (so the valve seat is not damaged), the faucet will last nearly forever.
Washerless valves last a very long time with virtually no maintenance. But while in theory the valves are replaceable when they finally fail (and they will — eventually), as a practical matter by the time the valve fails after 20 to 50 years, the faucet is likely no longer being made and a replacement valve is no longer stocked by the
A good example of a standard spout faucet. This single-handle conventional faucet with side spray is from Moen, but almost all manufacturers make one or more similar models. Most are single hole mounting, but some require three holes.
manufacturer. Generally we prefer ceramic disk valves. We think they are just a little tougher and seem to break less often. Style and configuration may play a big part in your valve decision. Single handle faucets cannot use compression valves.
Faucet Configurations
The configuration of a faucet describes its overall functionality and basic appearance, how it is mounted, how many handles it has and other features that affect how it is installed and connected to the water supply. The following is a list of features that are generally included in describing a faucet's configuration.
The Moen "One Touch". This single-handle, one-hole-mount, bulb-head spout design was one of the most copied pull-out faucet designs of the 1980s, and is still a best seller.
Mounting Holes: Before 1960 or so all faucets required either two or three mounting holes. With the invention of the washerless valve, one hole configurations became possible, and are now the most popular for kitchen faucets. Some kitchen faucets need two holes, some three. If a side spray is installed, add one more for the spray. We have seen as many as seven (add one more hole each for the soap dispenser, lotion dispenser, instant hot water tap, and filtered drinking water tap). The largest number of holes you can get in a sink is five. So if your configuration requires more than five holes, consider a sink that supports faucet mounting through the countertop.
Bath faucets come in one-hole, two-hole and three-hole configurations. In two- and three-hole configurations, the hot and cold handles are set either 4" apart (centerset) or 8" apart (widespread). There is also the vessel faucet that mounts in a countertop and has a high arc or tube spout to clear the rim of a vessel sink.
"Hampton" from American Standard. A three-hole, two-handle faucet with side spray in polished brass.
Mounting Surface: Most faucets mount into a ledge on the back of the sink or into the countertop. These faucets are referred to as deck mounted. Some faucets are mounted in the wall over the sink. These are referred to as, no surprise, wall-mounted. Wall mounting is becoming more popular as homeowners discover that wall-mounted faucets not only provide more room on the countertop, but are easier to keep clean. Deck mounting is usually assumed unless wall mounting is indicated.
A bridge faucet with a gooseneck spout with traditional styling in stainless steel. Bridge faucets are by necessity two-hole mounting and two handle. They don't come any other way. This faucet is the "Hi-Rise" from Kohler.
Number of Handles: Two handles were the norm until about 50 years ago when the invention of the washerless valves made single handle faucets possible. A two-handled faucet has one knob for hot water and one knob for cold water. This gives you a very precise control of both water temperature and volume. The one handle on a single-handle style controls both temperature and volume using the same lever. For period kitchens and baths, two-handle designs are most often the preferred configuration.
Spout Shape: Spouts are made in just about every configuration that will hold water. But while spouts are important to a faucet's style, only a few faucet shapes figure in determining a faucet's configuration.
• Standard Spout: A standard spout juts out from the faucet base with either little or no arch. It may angle slightly up or down, and may have a little hook at the end.
A restaurant-style faucet from Franke. The high arch spray is placed inside a heavy coil spring that keeps the sprayer upright and centered when not in use. Most home versions of the restaurant faucet have a locking collar that the spray clicks into when not in use. Most actual restaurant faucets do not. They just dangle.
• Gooseneck Spout: If the spout arches up a lot it is called a "high arc" or "gooseneck" faucet. A gooseneck faucet has more clearance for filling tall pots, or, in a bathroom, more height to reach over the rim of a vessel sink.
• Articulating Spout: This is a very new design in which the spout is jointed at several spots and can rotate, extend or retract at the joints so that it can be moved into any position. It has both a long reach and a generous clearance. It is, in fact, a spout and sprayer rolled into one, so its hard to say whether it is a new spout shape or a new sprayer location. Invented by Kohler whose "Karbon" is still the best selling articulated faucet model, it has been widely copied. We were initially skeptical of the design, figuring that all those articulating joints provided ample opportunity for leaks to develop. So far, however, this does not seem to be a problem. Of course, we have to wait about 50 years for the real test of reliability.
The Kohler "Karbon" articulating faucet in its wall-mount version. This is one of the few faucet configurations equally at home in either deck- or wall-mounting.
• Exotic Spout Variations: There are any number of spout configurations that are essentially just variations on one of the basic three, and function much the same way. A channel spout, for instance, is an standard spout in the form of an open trough used to create the affect of an old-time well pump. A waterfall spout looks very exotic, but is just another variation of the standard spout. There are so many variations on the gooseneck faucet that you need a scorecard to keep track of them all.
Spray Location: Retractable sprays aid in the rinsing of large pots and can extend to hard-to-reach areas. There used to be a faucet, and alongside the faucet was a sprayer. Now there are at least three standard sprayer locations.
• Side Spray: The original side spray configuration is still available and still very popular. The sprayer is attached to the faucet with a hose, but is mounted to one side. Its control is in the sprayer head. The spray pattern may be adjustable and usually can be switched to spray to stream with a switch mounted on the sprayer head.
A hands-free "automatic" faucet from Sloan, the grandfather of automatic faucets. When the faucet senses movement, it turns the water on. When movement ceases, it turns the water off. Temperature and volume, however, must still be manually set.
• Pull-Out and Pull-down Spout Sprayer: In the 1980s Rohl introduced the pull-out spout sprayer to the U.S. market. Moen, Delta and other large American manufacturers immediately copied and mass marketed the innovation. It was an overnight success. Most sprays are now of the pull-out or pull-down spout variety. In this configuration the spray and spout are the same. The spout is connected to the faucet with tub that can be extended for use then retracted. In its retracted position the spray head acts like a spout.
A few of the many variations on the gooseneck spout.
There are problems with this spray configuration. If the sprayer is also the spout and the sprayer fails, you have no water at all. Spout sprayers do tend to break with some frequency and chances are the failure involves the hose or hose attachment which are usually the weak points of the faucet. A braided, stainless steel hose is the best choice. Plastic hose makers claim their hoses are nearly as strong as steel braided hose, but after having responded to a lot of leaks involving plastic hoses, we don't think that's true.
If the sprayer is separate from the faucet, as in a side sprayer configuration, then if a hose fails it is merely a mild inconvenience until it is repaired or replaced, and not a four-alarm emergency
• High-Arc Spray: The most recent innovation in sprayer technology is the restaurant-style faucet with its high-arc sprayer. These feature a long hose or a very high, elongated gooseneck (up to 30 in. tall) and a spray head that sometimes offers choices of spray strengths. Some offer a gooseneck spray separate from a swivel spout, in others the spout and sprayer are one.
Bridging:
The bridge faucet is a variation of the two-handle faucet in which the tube connecting the cold and hot water (the "bridge") is visible rather than concealed beneath the counter. These were invented in the 1930's as one of the very early attempts to blend hot and cold water inside the faucet, and are popular when resurrecting Victorian or Art & Crafts styles. Bridge faucets are by necessity two-hole mounting and two handle.
Hands Free:
Hands free or automatic faucets have been around for quite a while, but only recently began migrating from public restrooms into home kitchens and baths. These fixtures work with a laser sensor to turn the water on and off. They can be hard wired, battery or solar powered. The drawback: The temperature and volume of water are preset. The electronic control merely turns the water on and off. For more information visit Sloan Valve Co. If you want to make your existing faucet automatic, there is a device for that. EZ Faucet makes a battery-powered control that can be retro-fitted to your existing faucet to turn the water on and off electronically. You use the regular handles to adjust temperature and volume.
Faucet Styles
Brizo "Loki" contemporary faucet. Winner of the prestigious ADEX award for design excellence.
Faucets are grouped into three large style categories: Traditional, Transitional and Contemporary. While traditional faucet designs still outsell any other style group by a wide margin, transitional and contemporary designs are a growing segment.
According to a recent National Kitchen and Bath Association "Design Trend Survey", the top bathroom feature desired by most homeowners is a decorative faucet. Manufacturers are meeting this demand by pushing design limits. Contemporary designs are becoming very geometric — featuring rectangular shapes with sharply defined edges and clean, unadorned cylindrical shapes distinguished by elegant finishes. While bright chrome still dominates as the favorite faucet finish, stainless steel and polished brass are catching up, with the various bronzes not far behind.
Brizo "Vesi Channel" lavatory faucet. Traditional format with contemporary features such as a channel spout and clean, geometric lines place this faucet solidly in the Transitional style group. Winner of the Graphis Award for best graphic design.
For those whose style preference is not quite so avant guard, manufacturers have added contemporary features to traditional faucet styles to create an in-between look usually referred to as "transitional" or "eclectic" style. The Brizo Vesi Channel lavatory faucet is a good example of this style group. The basic two-handle lavatory faucet has been around for most of a century. By adding a channel spout and crisping up the basic rectangular shape, Brizo has transformed the faucet into something more modern that will fit well in a contemporary bathroom and still be quite at home in a more traditional setting.
Few inexpensive faucets are either transitional or contemporary in styling. Style innovations start at the top of the line and work themselves down over time to less expensive faucets. By the time the "very latest" has filtered down to the bargain shelf, it is long past being the very latest. Still, except for the ultra-high-style bath or kitchen, a
Delta Classic Teapot Spout two-handle lavatory faucet. This traditional faucet style has been a solid, reliable performer for many years and is still one of Delta's most popular sellers.
traditional faucet works just about anywhere. And, as older styles are phased out in favor of newer lines, traditional faucets can be exceptional values found on Internet discount venues.
To an increasing extent, faucet improvements are being driven by design, not technology. There have really been no important technological breakthroughs since the ceramic cartridge. Virtually all name faucets are functionally reliable, economical to operate, and will last a lifetime. Indeed, reliable faucet performance is pretty much a given these days. Almost all current competition is design-driven. In fact the push for design innovation now transcends mere faucets to coordinated hardware and fixture suites. Todo, Fusion, Price Pfister and other companies now have entire matching rooms of faucets, fixtures, cabinet knobs, towel racks, lighting and even tile to ensure you new bath or kitchen is stylistically consistent.
Faucet Finishes
Stainless steel faucets don't need finishing. The material itself is the finish. But brass faucets are another story.
Native brass tends to turn green after a while, and requires almost daily maintenance, so brass faucets are coated with some sort of tough, low maintenance finish, typically another metal, but not necessarily. If brass is left native, it is still clear-coated so it does not have to be polished continuously. Most brass finishes are highly polished, but brushed and satin finishes are also available. If the faucet is something other than bright brass, for example antique brass or weathered brass, then most commonly the finish is applied over the brass faucet just as any other metallic finish is applied.
Chrome. The original faucet finish in wide use was nickel. In the 1930s chromium, or what we now call just chrome, began replacing less durable nickel and quickly became the new standard. Tough, tarnish resistant and durable, polished chrome has been the single most popular faucet finish for nearly a century.
Oil-rubbed bronze finish centerset lavatory faucet from ,
Nickel. Nickel fell out of favor as a faucet finish because it is a soft metal that easily wears off the faucet, exposing the brass beneath. With improvements in metallurgy and new methods of applying nickel to brass, the metal has seen a resurgence as a faucet finish. Highly polished and brushed finishes are the most popular. Brushed finishes have the advantage of not showing water spots as easily as polished finishes. Hammered nickel is a popular finish for Arts & Crafts and Mission style baths, but works in any rustic setting.
Highly polished brass lavatory faucet from Elizabethan Classics.
Bronze. Bronze is also a perennial favorite faucet finish. Bronze can come in a variety of shades that vary from manufacturer to manufacturer. Basic bronze is usually lighter than oil-rubbed bronze (which is, of course, neither oiled nor rubbed), and some bronze finishes are almost black. So if you order your bath fixtures and accessories from different suppliers, make sure the bronze finishes are a reasonable match.
Copper. Copper can be applied to brass as a finish, but most copper faucets are actually made of copper. Copper is a component of brass, and although softer than brass, it still works well as a faucet material. The advantage of a solid copper faucet is that the finish cannot wear off since the faucet is the finish, and copper faucets are virtually lead free.
Gold. Because it is expensive, gold is rarely used as a faucet finish, but all major manufacturers offer it as a finish option. Bright and shiny, it just screams opulence, and for the classic boudoir look, is indispensable.
Non-Metallic. In addition to the classic metal finishes, faucets can be finished in most colors of the rainbow. Nearly every major manufacturer offers black, but after that the colors available vary widely. Non-metallic colors are typically applied using powder coating. Some faucets, however, are essentially pottery. They are made of vitreous china just like sinks, and can be glazed to exactly match your sink. At least one manufacturer, Kohler, offers china faucets in the same enamel colors as its sinks and toilets.
Faucet Finish Technology
How a faucet finish is applied makes a big difference to the durability of the finish. Three methods are commonly in use: electroplating, physical vapor deposition (PVD), and powder coating.
Powder Coating. Powder coating is a process of applying pigmented finishes to a faucet. The dry pigments are usually sprayed onto the faucet, then baked at about 400°F to set the coating. This causes the powder particles to melt and flow. The result is a glossy, tough, durable finish originally developed for marine applications that resists corrosion for many years. Be a little careful of colored finishes, however. Some of these plastic-look faucets are actually plastic, and plastic faucets do not last.
Electroplating. Electroplating is the old standard. This involves immersing the faucet and the metal to be plated in an acid then applying an electrical charge to both objects so metallic ions are drawn from the plating metal and deposited on the faucet. If the faucet is left in the solution longer, the plating is thicker. Thicker plating lasts longer. Some metals cannot be plated directly to brass, so an intermediate metal, called an undercoating, such as nickel is applied first, then the finish metal.
Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD). PVD is the latest space-age technology, rapidly replacing electroplating as the finish technology of choice. It involves vaporizing metallic atoms in a vacuum then depositing the atoms onto the faucet. Atoms are deposited in a very dense film, so the coating can be very thin — most are .05 microns or less — but still be very durable. PVD finishes are 23 times more resistant to wear than the old standard chrome electroplated finish.
Almost any inorganic material that can be reduced to atoms can be deposited using PVD, and the object being coated does not have to be metal. Its possible to deposit chrome on plastic using PVD, which it what makes inexpensive plastic faucets look more expensive. Undercoating is usually not required, although some processes use a nickel undercoating which manufacturers claim results in a stronger, most lustrous finish.
The disadvantage of PVD is the cost. There is a very high initial investment for the equipment, and the process is relatively slow compared to electroplating, so it takes longer and costs more. So, expect to pay 20%-25% more for a PVD finish over electroplating. For your money, however, you get a truly lifetime finish.
How to Choose a Faucet
Choosing a faucet is to a large extent a process of elimination. Typically your range of choice is limited by budget, style and finish. Your budget may eliminate the very high end choices, and your need for reliability should exclude the very low end faucets. You certainly want your faucet to match the style of your home. A contemporary faucet in a cape cottage or Arts & Crafts house may not be a good fit style-wise. But after you have eliminated the faucets you definitely do not want, there are still many considerations to think about.
Sink with five faucet holes. This sink mounts a three-hole faucet a side spray and one more accessory, such as a soap dispenser.
Not Clear About Sink Configurations or Countertop Materials?
Learn all about bath plumbing fixtures at Selecting Bathroom Fixtures, and all about countertops at New and Traditional Countertop Choices.
Choose the Sink, Faucet and Countertop Together:
There are many more faucet styles than there are sink styles. It's much easier to match a faucet to a sink than it is to match a sink to a faucet, so choose your sink first, then your faucet. Then go back and review your sink choice.
Most drop-in sinks have a ledge at the back with one or more mounting holes for the faucet. The number of mounting holes must fit the faucet. If you have selected a single-hole faucet, you don't want a 5-hole sink. You have to cover those extra holes with hole covers, which is unsightly. If your faucet requires three holes, but your sink has just one, you are going to have a mighty agitated plumber.
If your sink is an undermount style, then the faucet will most likely mount through the countertop next to the sink. If your countertop is laminate or solid surfacing like Corian it can be drilled at the time it is installed. But, if it is stone or an engineered product, it may have to be drilled at the fabricator's shop before it is delivered.
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The faucet should also be tall enough so that you can fit your largest put under the spout for filling. This is called the faucet's "clearance" and it is measured from the base of the faucet to the highest point of the spout's arch. You then need to add the depth of the sink to that measurement. If the faucet's clearance is 8" and your sink is 6" deep, the tallest pot you can fill is 14" (actually about 13", you need some room to maneuver the pot).
Keep in mind, however, that pull-out faucets and faucets with side sprays greatly extend both reach and clearance and may eliminate any problems.
Say "No" to Plastic:
Plastic has no place in a fixture meant to give many, many years of trouble-free operation. Look for all metal construction — by that we mean only brass and stainless steel. Even avoid a plastic handle. (Plastic faceted handles imitate fine crystal glass handles on very high-end faucets, but turn yellow and harbor mold). You can
Why is Plastic a Problem?
Your water contains dissolved minerals. Among these are magnesium, limestone, iron, silica, and even granite.
When water flows through your faucet some of these minerals are left behind as very hard, rock-like, deposits. In your bathtub or sink these are known as "lime scale" or "mineral deposits" and they are the very devil to get rid of after they have built up for a while and etched into the fixture material.
They behave the same way inside your faucet where you can't get at them, or even see them. They grind away at the internal moving parts of your faucet, wearing them down over time. Brass and steel can handle the abuse for years and years without failing, plastic cannot.
We're not picking on plastic. We think that the many plastics available have lots of legitimate uses in construction and remodeling. It's just that no plastic is tough enough to be used in a faucet, and if you see plastic in a faucet, you can bet that the manufacturer is looking to save cost by drastically reducing the reliability and longevity of the faucet. Stay away from it.
usually tell a good all-metal faucet by its weight. It's heavy and feels solid. If you are not sure how heavy it should feel, ask the clerk to see a hose bibb (the outside faucet your hose attaches to). These are almost always heavy, solid brass. Your faucet should be at least this heavy. Test the faucet out of the box. There are often heavy things in the box (a hose weight, for example) that are not part of the actual faucet.
Test for Smooth Operation:
Turn the handle(s) full on and full off. The operation should be smooth with no hitches, and certainly no scratching or grinding noises. If the handle seems to bind or stiffen in certain positions, there is probably a problem with the faucet. Leave it alone.
Look for a Reliable Valve:
Not even the most beautiful decor is helped by a faucet that you cannot keep clean. There is not enough room behind this faucet for effective cleaning resulting in a visible "grunge line".
In a cartridge, ball or disk valve faucet, look for ceramic, stainless steel and brass, in that order. These last a good long time. If the box does not reveal the composition of the cartridge, pass it by. If it is ceramic, steel or brass, the box will almost certainly say so. If in doubt go to the manufacturer's web site and find the replacement parts list for your faucet. It will usually tell you the actual materials used in the valve. If not, use the toll-free number and call the manufacturer's customer service department — this is what it's there for.
As a last resort, we haul out our handy pocket screwdriver and take the faucet apart. Store clerks can go a little batty if they catch us at it, but we do it anyway. We flat do not ever want to be stuck with a plastic cartridge.
If you do buy a faucet with a plastic cartridge, go ahead and get the replacement cartridge now — you'll need it relatively soon.
Make Sure It's Easy to Clean:
Look for a faucet that is easy to clean. You have to be able to get your fingers in those small recesses. Remember that even the most stylish faucet does not look so good crusted and rusted. Select a faucet that matches your style, but still is easy to keep spotless with just a little effort.
Get the Lead Out:
Most faucets are brass, and brass is a metal alloy that contains lead. As of 1998, brass in faucets may contain up to 8% lead and still be labeled "lead free" as long as they leach not more than 11 parts per billion (11 ppb) into drinking water. However, the process used to test leaching developed by the National Sanitary Foundation (now NSF International) as Standard 61, Section 9 (ANSI/NSF 61,9) has been characterized by environmentalists as "unduly generous"1, and likened to testing an automobile's crash-worthiness by driving it into a "pile of pillows". Most studies have shown that "lead free" brass faucets actually leach much more lead that the NSF test suggests.
Protect Against Lead in Your Water
Lead in drinking water is harmful. Infants and children who drink water containing lead in excess of the action level could experience delays in their physical or mental
development. Children could show slight deficits in attention span and learning abilities. Adults who drink this water over many years could develop kidney problems or high blood pressure.
Water treatment facilities are strictly regulated for the amount of lead they can have in their drinking water, so if your water is rated safe, it has little lead. But lead can also get in your water by a process called leaching by which water picks up small amounts of lead by coming in contact with lead sources in your household plumbing. Old lead pipes and lead solder joints are culprits, as is the brass in faucets that may by law contain as much as 8% lead. Many local water systems add chemicals such as polyphosphates or metasilicate, to reduce lead leaching, and old pipes tend to corrode over time and the corrosive coating helps prevent leaching, The best way to find out if your water contains lead and other potentially harmful contaminants is to have it test a peace of mind process that usually costs less than $25.00.
While there is very little lead in most household water, even a very little lead ingested over a long period of time can be harmful. Fortunately, there are things you can do to reduce every this minimal exposure to lead.
• Use only cold water for drinking or cooking. Hot water leaches more lead than cold water.
• Let water fun for up for a while before using it. Water left standing in your pipes leaches more lead than water quickly flowing through your pipes. Flush the standing water out by running the water until all the old water is gone, usually 30 seconds to a minute.
• Install a drinking water purification system with an activated carbon filter that eliminates most contaminants, including bad tastes and odors like chlorine. Standard 53-certified filters also can substantially reduce many hazardous contaminants, including heavy metals such as copper, lead and mercury; disinfection byproducts; parasites such as Giardia and Cryptosporidium; pesticides; radon; and volatile organic chemicals such as methyl-tert-butyl ether (MTBE), dichlorobenzene and trichloroethylene (TCE). Often these filter are enclosed in a convenient cartridge for that makes changing them easy and hassle free. And, by the way, if you are going to filter your water, don't forget the water in your refrigerator icemaker.
Learn more about how we use, and waste, household water at Saving Household Water
Manufacturers are dealing with the lead problem in several ways. Some have eliminated lead altogether by fashioning their faucets our of plastic parts (not good) or stainless steel (very good). Others plate the brass parts with a non-toxic metal such as copper, or coat the brass with a chemicals, to eliminate lead/water contact.
Slow action by federal authorities has prompted some states to pass laws that more stringently regulate lead in water-supply fixtures. California's AB1953 limits lead to a "weighted average" of less than 0.25%. Beginning January 1, 2010, no faucet that does not meet the new low-lead standard can be "introduced into commerce" in the Golden State. Vermont has enacted identical legislation (S152) and other states are considering similar action.
In purchasing a faucet, simply be aware that lead is harmful, and you probably want as little of it in your faucets as possible. A "lead free" faucet is rarely lead free. The words "lead free" on the box are fairly meaningless. To get a truly lead free faucet, look for one made entirely of stainless steel. Stay away from plastic parts. To get a very low lead faucet, look for one that meets California AB1953 requirements. But, expect to pay more for it.
The irony is that, after all the fuss about lead in faucets, faucets are rarely the primary source of lead in household water supplies. Old pipes were often lead, and even after copper became the standard, it was usually soldered with lead solder until lead solder was outlawed in 1986. If your old house water pipes are galvanized steel or black iron, they probably have a number of problems by now, but none of them is lead contamination. Plastic pipes are safe from lead, but have a number of other problems, and cannot be used in many localiteis, including most places in Nebraska.
Make Sure the Pull-out Spout is Firmly Attached:
Make sure any spout pull-out device operates smoothly without catching. It may be hard to tell before it is installed, however, because the hose counter-weight is not fitted until installation. Any pull-out spout can be damaged if it is pulled too far and too hard. You probably won't do this, but your children will. Look for a solid metal-to-metal attachment. No pull-out is immune to damage, but well-attached hoses resist damage better. Just look, don't yank. If you break it, you have probably just selected your next faucet.
Faucet Warranties
Faucet warranties are a sham. There are just a very few things more useless -- maybe a pet rock or Chia HeadŽ.
All the manufacturer of a defective product promises to do is send you the parts necessary to fix the defect. The company does not pay for the labor required to: (1) remove the faucet, (2) remove the defective parts, (3) replace them with the new parts and
(4) reinstall the faucet.
All of this plumbing labor is expensive, usually more expensive than the cost of a new faucet, which is why most people faced with a defective faucet just buy a new one. Moreover, the company is usually in no great hurry to send you the
Here's a useful trick we recommend highly.
Once your new faucet is installed, put the installation instructions, warranty certificate, receipt and the installer's business card in a plastic baggie and tape it to the back of the sink cabinet.
If your faucet breaks, you have all the information you will need to make a warranty claim. And, even if you forget where you put it, the plumber will find it soon enough when he starts work on your defective faucet.
replacement parts, and few of us can go for a few weeks without a working kitchen faucet. Plus you have to send in the original receipt and sometimes the offending part. Who keeps receipts for 5 years or more? And if you did happen to save the receipt, where is it after all that time?
And the length of the warranty is no indicator of the quality of the faucet. Some of the best faucets are accompanied by the skimpiest warranties; while mediocre faucets have "lifetime" warranties. Why? Because the makers of lower quality faucets know from experience that there is very little likelihood you will exercise your rights under the warranty. So a "lifetime" warranty is good advertising that does not actually cost the manufacturer very much.
But, just to show that we are also somewhat taken in by this stupid warranty game, we will report each manufacturer's warranty as if it actually means something -- mostly because we're just as gullible as anyone else.
The Model Game
Did you ever wonder how stores such as Lowes and Home Depot can absolutely guarantee to have the lowest price on a faucet?
Simple.
Most major faucet manufacturers will make special models just for the large retailers. No one else can possibly have a lower price on an in-house model because no one else carries exactly the same model. In many cases the faucet is identical to the manufacturer's regular faucet, just renamed. But in some cases the faucet can be sold at a lower price because the materials used are lower quality - plastic spouts rather than brass, for example. Or worse, plastic cartridges.
There is no sure-fire way of determining whether an apparent main-line faucet is actually a store model. But here's what we do. Go to the store and pick your model. Then go to the manufacturer's web site and search for that particular model. If the model number or name is exactly the same, most likely you have a regular-line faucet. If it is not the same (usually by the addition of a suffix such as M1045-HD rather than M1045), then it is probably a store model.
If still in doubt, call the manufacturer's customer service and ask. They may not recognize the model at all — a sure clue that it is indeed a special store model. Otherwise, if it is a store model, they will hem and haw a bit, but usually finally admit it. Ask if it is the same as the main-line model. Answers such as it is "virtually" identical or "substantially" the same all mean it is not the same.
None of this is absolutely guaranteed to work. One plumber of our acquaintance usually sends customers to Lowes to buy faucets, which he then installs. He installed a Delta faucet from Lowes that leaked badly from the hot side of the cartridge. When he took it apart to figure out the problem, he found innards that did not look like typical Delta. So he bought the same model from his regular supplier and compared them. The Lowes faucet, made in Taiwan, was a cheap knock off of the regular model, made in the U.S. Both, however, were sold by Delta under the same model number.
Counterfeit Faucets
Another huge, but little discussed, problem in the industry is counterfeiting. Manufacturers who design faucets spend a lot of money to do so, and this cost is reflected in the price of the faucet. Counterfeiters can copy the faucet for much less investment and sell it at a lower price. High end faucets with hefty price tags are the most often copied, but even work-a-day mid-range faucets have been copied.
Faucet companies copy from each other all the time. If one has a successful design, it won't be long before others begin selling faucets that look virtually the same — with some just enough variation to avoid patent and copyright infringement problems. But some companies merely reverse engineer popular faucets, and sometimes even use the name of the original manufacturer. Most fakes are sold through non-standard channels, so be careful what you buy on eBay or Craig's List, but some end up in regular distribution channels. Globe Union Industrial Corporation was implicated in a rather famous (in intellectual property litigation circles) infringement case involving blatant counterfeiting of Delta single-handle faucets that were sold through regular plumbing supply houses.
It is also common to see look-alike faucets under off-brand names. Wenzhou Kele Sanitary Wares Co. Ltd has been known to sell what look like Kohler faucets under its own Kele brand. And, Kohler recently won a design patent infringement case against two Chinese manufacturers — in a Shanghai court, no less — for selling Kohler designs under their own brands.
The best protection against counterfeiting is to buy only name-brand products from established suppliers. If you get an unbelievable deal on a name-brand faucet, especially if you bought it at a non-traditional source, there is a good chance it's a fake.
Continued....
Footnotes:
1. Mathew L. Wald, "A New Standard for Lead in Faucets", New York Times, November 3, 1994, quoting Philip J. Landrigan, head of the department of environmental medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital.
Continue to Faucet Review and Ratings.
Rev: 02/19/12