How to choose a bathroom faucet

The bathroom is a complex room in terms of design. It is necessary to select plumbing and finishing carefully and there are several reasons for this. The first is high humidity, frequent contact with water. They make demands on quality. Secondly, everything should be convenient and functional – you have to use the devices every day and several times, so the inconvenience quickly sets the teeth on edge. And last but not least – I want everything to be also beautiful. This applies to all bathroom components, including faucets and faucets. We will talk further about how to choose a bathroom faucet and not regret it. 

Types of bathroom faucets

To begin with, let’s figure out how a tap differs from mixers. And the fact that the mixer allows you to get water at the desired temperature. We achieve this by mixing the flows of cold and hot water, which occurs inside the device. The tap allows you to get water at the temperature that is contained in the pipes. This is where the difference lies.

More about the types of mixers. They are:

• Two-valve. This option can be called classic – two crane boxes, the flow is regulated by the number of turns of the valves. On the one hand, such a device makes it possible to more accurately adjust the temperature, on the other hand, few people like to turn the valves.
  

• Single lever (flag). The water temperature is changed by turning a single knob. In the normal state, it can be directed parallel to the spout. Turning it to the right or left makes the water colder or warmer. There are models with levers pointing upwards. In this case, they are called joystick. The lever also moves to the right or left. With an accuracy of a degree, lever models will not allow you to adjust the temperature, but it changes easily.
  

• Contactless. Modern models, on the body of which there are built-in motion sensors. They react to the appearance of objects in their “field of vision” and open the water. Its flow stops after the object disappears from the sensor’s coverage area. The water temperature is also changed by touch, the current value can be displayed in numbers, or maybe in color. Wonderful and modern devices, but their price is high.
  

• Thermostatic mixers. They differ in that they maintain the set temperature, regardless of what water is supplied to the inlet. They can also maintain a given pressure. These parameters are regulated by two knobs on the sides. On the right is the temperature, on the left is the pressure. The devices are complex, significantly increase the level of comfort, but are expensive.
  

A little more about the structure and types of the most popular mixers – valve and single-lever (one-handed).

valve

Despite the fact that using such a mixer is less convenient than a single-lever one, they are still bought, and often. The thing is that this design is very reliable. Most of the problems are related to leakage, and they are caused by worn rubber gaskets. So in 80% of cases, the repair of a valve mixer is associated with the replacement of rubber gaskets.

Gaskets become unusable not only as a result of operation. Water quality plays a significant role. A high salt content leads to the fact that the rubber loses its elasticity, leaks begin. To change the gaskets less often, you can put not rubber, but silicone o-rings. The main thing is to find suitable in diameter and thickness.

Lever

Lever mixers have a completely different structure. The mixing of cold and hot water takes place in a small cylinder called a cartridge.

Inside the cartridge there are two plates with holes cut into them. The bottom plate, due to the presence of protrusions, fixedly engages with the cartridge body, the top one remains movable and moves following the movements of the lever. Turning the handle to the left or right changes the ratio of hot and cold water, and moving it up or down changes the pressure.

The plates in the cartridge can be plastic, metal and ceramic. The best are ceramic. They are the most durable, least affected by water, have a perfectly smooth surface, which makes it easier to slide them relative to each other, which means that the lever movements remain smooth and even after several years of operation.

Many consider the best metal filling (stainless steel) as steel is more durable. But the metal, with constant friction and being in water, wears out faster, because of which the lever moves with effort.

The most budget option is cartridges with plastic plates. They fail quite quickly – with normal quality they work for a couple of years – but they cost a little. So with their replacement usually there are no problems.

It is easy to choose a mixer by the type of cartridge: it is possible to take it with a ceramic mixing element, no – a plastic one is also a good option, provided that the cartridges are replaced.

There is another type of lever mixer – with a ball mechanism for mixing water. In them, mixing takes place in a hollow ball with three holes. Two – for the entry of water (cold and hot), the third – for the exit already mixed. A rod is attached to the ball, with the help of which it is attached to the lever. By changing the position of the lever, we change the section of the hole through which cold and hot water enters. The design is simple, original, reliable. Appeared not so long ago, quickly conquering the market – repairs are needed very rarely.

Externally, you cannot distinguish the mechanism of a lever mixer, because all the differences are inside. Before choosing a bathroom faucet, study its technical characteristics. The description usually says the type of mixing unit and the material from which it is made. If there is nothing like this in the description, then there is a plastic cartridge and you have an inexpensive copy in front of you.

How to choose

How to choose a bathroom faucet with shower from this variety? Really simple. If possible, install a thermostatic one. Then cold or hot water will not pour out of the shower, but it will be at the set temperature. If this is not possible, choose between the remaining three. In most cases, a single-lever is chosen, then a two-valve and a closing one – non-contact.

Contactless ones are less popular, firstly, because they have appeared recently, and secondly, because of the complexity of installation. Only a plate with a sensor and / or a small display on which the temperature is set remains on the surface. The rest of the “stuffing” is hidden in the wall. Such devices are still new in our camp, there are few of them on the market and there are almost no specialists who install and repair them.

What material

Before choosing a bathroom faucet, take an interest in what it is made of. Best in durability – brass. They do not rust and have a long service life. But even if you were told that the faucet is brass, you need to hold it in your hands: a mixer made of a normal alloy will be heavy. Branded products are usually distinguished by a large weight. And this is one of the selection criteria.

Cheap Chinese bathroom faucets are lightweight, although they are also written to be made of brass. Just to reduce the cost of products, a lot of lead is added to the alloy. It gives increased fluidity, due to which the walls can be made thin, significantly reducing material consumption and cost. At the same time, the casting quality will be high – without potholes and other flaws. Only the color will differ – cheap brass has a reddish color, while normal brass is orange, maybe yellow. In addition to thin walls, which are quickly destroyed by water hammer, cheap brass can be dangerous due to the high lead content. Of course, we do not drink water in the bathroom, but such elements are not a gift for the skin either.

Can bathroom faucets still be made from it? From aluminum and its alloys, from silumin – a cheap replacement for aluminum. Some firms, in order to make the price lower, some of the parts are made of plastic. The whole product is then covered with a layer of nickel, so that you will not see any differences externally. The whole difficulty is to do the nickel plating correctly, otherwise the coating starts to fall off the plastic parts after a while – the surface is too smooth, on which the film simply does not stick.

Mounting methods

Mixers can be installed on the wall or on the side of the bath. Traditionally, we have them mounted on the wall. Previously, the laying of pipes was open, today they are hidden in the walls.

Faucets are rarely placed on board the bathtub. It’s very unusual for now, and you can’t put it on a steel and cast-iron bath – there are no holes for this, and cutting them without professional equipment is unrealistic. Acrylic bathtubs are optimal for installing this type of equipment: holes are cut in their sides without problems.

For this method of installation, there are even special mixers, consisting of several separate parts – the handles and the spout are installed separately.

spout length

You can’t choose a bathroom faucet without deciding how long the spout will be. There are only two options – short and long. Traditionally put long spouts. This option was especially popular in Soviet times in small bathrooms. In this case, one “gander” served both the bath and the washbasin located nearby. Today, this is rarely done, but many still find long spouts more convenient.

The fact is that our baths are not only a place where water procedures are taken. In most cases, this is also a technical room where they wash, collect water, etc. And it is more convenient to collect water in buckets and basins with a long “gander”. And you can’t argue with that.

There are also supporters of short spouts. When installing such a mixer, water usually flows along the side, creating a minimum of noise, but it will be possible to draw water into the container only when using a shower head. And one more argument in favor of a short spout is a more modern look and interesting models. You can’t argue with that either.

For those who have not yet used a faucet in a bathroom with a short spout, there is good news: there are “extensions” that are screwed onto a short faucet if you are very uncomfortable with it. So to decide which bathroom faucet is the best, only everyone can do it for themselves.

The most reliable bathroom faucets

As usual, the best bathroom faucets are imported, and many agree on just two companies – GROHE and HANSGROHE (Grohe and Hansgrohe). Their lineup is noticeably different in design, they work in different price ranges. What they have in common is high quality and a large number of fakes.

Fakes are sold at lower prices and there are a lot of them. Outwardly, they can be distinguished, but rather difficult – you need to know exactly what to look for (the quality of the engraving of the name, the color of brass, the presence of an embossed company logo on the ferrules of the flexible hose, the thickness of the metal on the lever and tap, etc.). Just in case, it is better to buy branded faucets either on the official website of the company, or in a large store, and certainly not on the market.

Good reviews have Vidima (Visible) and Ideal Standart – Bulgarian firms. Vidima works in the middle price range. The model range is wide – there are lever, valve, thermostatic models, made mainly in the classical style. Ideal Standart products are somewhat more expensive, the model range is even wider, and the look is more modern. In principle, both brands belong to the same corporation, only they are produced at different factories.

Chinese faucets are also of good quality. Only they are clearly not the cheapest – the average range. The firms Frap (Frap), Duvu (Ledme), G-Lauf-Zegor have good reviews. As usual, they have a wide range, many interesting models. When choosing, carefully read the description and look for the material from which the case is made. Silumin ones are definitely not worth taking.

Even if you managed to choose a bathroom faucet, you need water of normal quality for its long-term operation. This means that it, at least, should not contain mechanical impurities. Therefore, either in front of the mixer, or (which is much better) immediately put strainers at the entrance to the apartment / house. It is advisable to put two of them – with a large grid cell in front and with a smaller one behind it. In this case, you can hope that the mixer will serve for a long time and without problems.