Right from the start, I know what you are thinking. The remote control. That is a great guess and one day I’ll have to write a blog posting about remote controls as there are some pretty cool ones out there that can do just about anything. Some of you are thinking the toilet or doorknob. Both are excellent guesses.
I am talking about the faucet. In my home it’s the kitchen faucet but there may be a bathroom faucet that gets heavy use in your home. Why is that? And why is this little piece of technology that makes water flow so important? After all, the purpose of a faucet has not really changed over the years. Deliver running water to the person standing at the sink when they need it. It seems pretty simple right? Yes, but…
Where it is used most:
For my family, the kitchen faucet is the one that is used most often. When my family comes in from playing or running errands, the first thing they do is go wash their hands. If they are in the family room playing and make a mess, to the kitchen they go to wash hands again. Even though the half bath is just a few feet away, they constantly go into the kitchen to clean up. And that leaves me with one simple thing, a mess. At craft time, I find glue on the faucet or paint. After playing outside I find dirt on the faucet. When cooking, well, you get the idea. Not only is it the primary place to wash hands, but it is the primary place to find a dirty faucet. And if your kids are like mine, they put the soap on their hands first before turning on the water. So what’s the solution?
Touch sensitive fixtures:
Ever since Delta released the Touch2O products, I have wanted to try it. The display in Lowes just didn’t do it justice because you couldn’t see it in action and even with the promotional videos showing the product in use, you just want to touch and feel it yourself before you make the investment. I was blown away by this product. It worked just like the video was showing and it actually made hand washing even easier for my kids. But how could that be?
The water simply turns on when you touch any metal part of the faucet. When you are done, touch any metal part again to turn the water off. It really is that simple. Now there are a couple of things that are a little different than you may expect. Because touching turns on the water, you preset the water temp and flow at the level you want them in advance. Normally, when you turn on the water the amount that comes out varies as you adjust the handle. But here, as soon as you touch the metal it is running at that flow rate instantly. What’s even better, you can purchase kitchen or bathroom fixtures that have the Touch2O technology from Delta. So you can truly outfit every faucet with this incredible technology.
The install:
I am a pretty handy guy. I am also not a plumber but I have installed a few toilets and faucets in my time. That said, the install on this faucet was pretty straight forward. It is not a quick install and you have to pull yourself under the sink, into the cabinet and work around all the water lines and drains.
After removing the old fixture and installing the new one, everything went together pretty quickly. I can say an extra pair of hands were very helpful on the install and I asked my wife to hold the faucet upright and centered so it would not move while I was tightening down all the connections. As usual, after an extra trip to Lowes to purchase a new water hose, due to the deposits that had built up in the old one, I had the unit installed. There are a few connections to make and you need to attach a battery to help run the sensor, but overall it was an easy-to-do installation that I will bet most people can handle. Just be sure to turn off the water before you start so you do not have water spraying all over the place after you loosen the water lines. If you turn the wateroff under the sink, the rest of the house can still operate normally without any water disruption.
Faucet operation:
The Touch2O faucet is very simple to operate. Before I purchased this, I read a number of reviews online and a couple stood out in my mind. Two or three said it took them a while to understand how to use the faucet. After I had the faucet installed, I was surprised at how easy it was to use. Their main complaint was they would try and move the faucet and they would turn on the water or they wanted the water on and instead the water remained off.
I found none of those issues. Turning the water on was simple for me. Just touch the metal for a brief period of time and the water was on. To turn it off, touch the faucet again and the water is off. If you want to swing the faucet from one side of the sink to the other side, simply grab the faucet and swing it over. If you hold onto the faucet it does not turn on. However, if you quickly touch or tap the faucet, that is when the water starts to flow. Also, the pull down sprayer is not made of metal, so you do not start the water when you extend the sprayer.
Things to note:
There are a few things I wish were different but for the most part I really like this product. I purchased the Pilar single handle, pull-down, kitchen faucet without the soap dispenser. Our counter was not cut to accommodate the soap dispenser and when ordering the product from Amazon.com, I was able to choose the model with out this accessory.
First, the things I wish were different or addressed. The arch of the faucet is a little wide. I read this in other reviews and if you compare the arch of my old faucet to the new Touch2O faucet, you can see the old faucet has a better curve to it. This means it sprays the water down closer to the center of the sink, where our drain is located. The Delta Touch2O faucet sprays closer to the front of the sink. It is not as much of an issue if you keep the water flow rate down below 50% but if the flow rate is up at the highest setting, water seems to splatter and can spray up. I also am not very happy with the magnet that is used to hold the pull-down sprayer up against the actual faucet. The hose connected to the sprayer seems to pull down too much on the spray which makes the magnet not hold tight and the sprayer seems to always be off at an angle, never centered as desired or intended. Finally, I wish the button that switches between steam and spray was built differently. My old faucet had a rubber covered toggle button that automatically returned to non-spray operation when the water was turned off. This way you never had to worry about which setting you were on. But with this faucet, it stays on the last setting so you may be expecting the stream and turn on the water and have a full speed spray going on. Those are really my only three areas of improvement.
What I really like about the product is you are hands off for the most part. Sure, if you need to adjust the temp or flow, you can make the water hotter or colder or have it come out slower or faster. But other than that adjustment, you set the temp and flow rate where you want it and you are ready to wash your hands with the touch of your arm.
And, kids do not need to climb on the counter to turn the water on. The climbing part was important for me. My kids are tall enough to reach the metal of the faucet but not tall enough to reach to the back of the counter to turn the water on, without climbing up on the counter. Thisfaucet has eliminated the need to have a step stool in front of the sink and just makes life easier for everyone involved.
Was it worth the purchase:
So was it worth the installation? I absolutely think so in the kitchen. I have considered installing them in the bathrooms but I think that is more than I need for my family, especially with how little the bathroom faucets are used in comparison to the kitchen faucet. Finding the faucet is pretty easy too. You can check the home supply store, the Delta website or Amazon. I am always looking for the best price and if you will install it yourself, the online stores are a great choice. Do not be scared by the price on the Delta website, none of the home improvement stores or online retailers are selling the faucets for that price, so you can find them easily for a couple hundred dollars. You can also hire a plumber or handyman to install the faucet. Which let’s you enjoy everything without any of the work.
What do you think is this faucet for you?
Would you put this in your home? Would it make life simpler for your family? Could you do the install on your own? Let us know in the comments section and tell us your impression or ask any questions you may have.
Delta Faucet (http://www.deltafaucet.com)
Delta Touch2O faucets (http://www.deltafaucet.com/smart-solutions/touch2oxt.html)
Taylor Morrison (www.TaylorMorrison.com)