by American Standard Brands
Your choice of faucet can bring efficiency
to your kitchen in a whole host of ways
Small but mighty, the kitchen faucet can have a big influence on your daily tasks. If you have the wrong one, filling up a pasta pot becomes a battle, dirty pans are your nemeses and gymnastics are needed to wash raw egg from your fingers. The difference between a smooth flow and frustration? It all comes down to choosing the best faucet for your kitchen, says Emilie Williams, the design director at faucet brand American Standard.
So what goes into good faucet design? “We begin with the home cook in mind,” Williams says. “We think about the different activities that they do with the faucet, how they’re using it in the home.” Industrial designers consider shape, size, scale and maintenance, to name just a few factors. “It makes life better if you build a product to how someone works in their kitchen,” Williams says.
Read on to learn some of the ways a faucet can improve your kitchen routines.
1. Enhanced Ergonomics
Good ergonomics isn’t just for office chairs — designing for efficiency and comfort also plays a key role in faucets. A wide lever with enough space from the faucet body, for example, lets you turn the faucet on with your wrist or even your elbow, Williams says. She recommends a single-handle faucet, which makes it easier to achieve the desired water temperature.
Your faucet’s reach, or how far the spout extends into the sink, also affects ergonomics. “We typically do a reach of 8 to 9.5 inches, depending on the faucet’s size,” Williams says. “That gives you a nice work area under the faucet.” A height of 15.5 to 18 inches from the sink bottom provides enough space for filling or washing big pots, she adds.
2. Improved Measuring
Measuring cups might look unassuming, but the annoyances they cause can stack up. If you’ve ever needed one and realized they’re all dirty or already in use, you know the frustration. Faucets with a measure-fill option help solve this problem, delivering a precise volume of water on demand. They reduce clutter, dishes and headaches, and help prevent wasted water.
The measure-fill faucet seen here, for example, lets you measure from half a cup (4 ounces) to 5 cups (40 ounces) of water using the dial on the side. “It can be used as a pot filler you don’t have to babysit,” Williams says. It turns off when the selected volume has been reached. “It’s also helpful if you want to drink a certain amount of water a day but don’t know your bottle size,” Williams adds. Just dial the faucet to the volume you want.
3. Simplified Cleaning
Powerful pull-down sprayers make tackling dirty dishes and sinks much simpler (and more fun). No need to scratch off egg when you can spray it down the garbage disposal. “There are faucets with multifunction spraying, such as a jet spray for dirty dishes,” Williams says.
Look for a sprayer that snaps nicely back into place so it doesn’t dangle over the sink. Just make sure it doesn’t have too much tension. The buttons should also be easy to press. “They should be the right size for your fingers and not need too much force,” Williams says. And don’t forget the faucet itself. Choose an easy-to-clean finish, such as chrome, and a design without too many nooks and crannies that can trap dirt.
4. Better Control
Handles are great until you’ve got raw chicken or sticky icing all over your fingers. Sometimes the less you have to touch, the better, Williams notes. For a true hands-free experience, consider a faucet with infrared sensors that turn the faucet on with a wave. If your faucet has memory positioning, you can get the same temperature the next time you turn it on, Williams says.
The faucet in these photos has a dial for its measure-fill feature and touch on-off functionality — tap the button with your wrist if your fingers are dirty. An LED light, powered by batteries or an AC adapter, illuminates when it’s in use.
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