Kitchen faucets are essential fixtures in any home. They affect the look of your kitchen and help set the mood in everyday use. If you’re having issues with your current faucets, it might be time to think about replacing them with the help of your local Bethesda plumber.
Here are some signs that may hint that it’s time to change your faucets:
Your Current Faucet is Old
If your current kitchen faucets are over five years old, they might be leaking and wasting water. If you can afford it, it would be better to replace them rather than continue using them until the issues start popping up.
You Don’t Like the Appearance of Your Current Faucet
Your kitchen faucets don’t need to match completely, but they do need to complement one another and look nice together. If you have a high-end faucet in the kitchen but an older faucet elsewhere in your home, it can make everything from doing laundry to flushing the toilet feel out-of-place.
Your Kitchen Faucets Aren’t Functioning Properly
You may find that your kitchen faucets aren’t working as well as they should. If water appears to be dripping from the spout, it means the seats of the cartridge need to be replaced right away. If you can see some signs of corrosion or scaling around the faucet, you will need to think about replacing the whole thing. Also, inspect for any leaks, and if you spot any water on your walls, ceilings or floors, this could also indicate a problem with the faucet.
The Faucet Is Old And May Require Replacement Parts
If the faucet is more than 10 years old, you may need to purchase some replacement parts. This is most common for handles since there are so many different styles available now. You can check if this is why you need replacements by testing whether they move smoothly and easily without any leaks appearing. If the faucets were originally installed by an unlicensed plumber, you could find out soon enough if they engineered it correctly.
No matter what the reason is, your plumbing company should be able to help you with replacement parts for your kitchen faucet.
Types of Kitchen Faucets
There are many types of kitchen faucets to choose from, each with its pros and cons. Your plumber will help you figure out which option is best for your current sink setup.
Gravity-Fed Faucets
This type of faucet remains on at all times but only releases water when the handles are turned or put under pressure by another source like a sprayer or dishwasher. Gravity-fed faucets have separate hot and cold handles but still function similarly to most other faucets.
Touchless Faucets
These kinds of kitchen faucets use motion sensors to turn them on and off instead of using manual taps. This can make cleanup easier but isn’t the best choice if you like to wash your hands while cooking.
Single-Handle Faucets
These kitchen faucets have one hot and one cold handle that controls water flow through the spout instead of a separate faucet. If your sink uses one hole and you don’t want to replace the entire sink, this is a good option for you.
Two-Handle Faucets
These kitchen faucets have two separate handles that allow users to control both water temperature and pressure independently from one another. Two-handle faucets come in many different styles and can be used with single-hole or multiple-hole sinks.
Check with your Bethesda plumber to help narrow down your selection. Replacing your kitchen faucets is a good option if you’re feeling frustrated with how long it takes to boil a pot of water or wash the dishes. Kitchen faucet models are categorized by many different options.