Touch sensitive Faucets were introduced some 5 years ago and at the time they were so rudimentary that accidentally grazing your arm would turn the faucets on. Unfortunately, this perception of touch faucets has remained till date and I find it abhorring to hear so many complain that they wished they could use a touch faucet but they have young kids and pets.
Here’s something I want to ask you – don’t you think that designers and engineers of today would have anticipated this problem? If Kohler or Grohe is selling a touch sensitive faucet for over thousands of dollars then you at least expect them to deal with such situations before releasing their product into the market. Just read a few reviews on Amazon or elsewhere for touch kitchen faucets and you will immediately realize that many are actually dependable, free from any worries.
Here are the top 5 myths surrounding a touch sensitive kitchen faucet and why you should not be bothered by it.
The Faucet Turns On By Itself!
High quality touch kitchen faucets from reputed brands such as Kohler, Grohe, Delta, Danze etc. don’t turn off and on by itself. These faucets are compatible with even metallic sinks. Gone are the days when a metallic sink could accidentally turn the faucet on or off. As long as you refrain from unbranded cheap touch faucets, you will be fine.
Another point to remember is that with metallic sinks you must install the touch faucet with proper insulation between the sink and faucet. If the insulation isn’t complete, the sink itself becomes a complete continuation of the faucet and touching the sink will inevitably turn the faucet on.
Do your research beforehand and purchase a touch kitchen faucet that has got plenty of good reviews online. Read comments, reviews and user ratings to get a good idea of the quality.
Touch Faucet Is Hard To Clean!
One question that inevitably strikes everyone’s mind upon seeing a touch faucet is, how in the world am I going to clean that? A very logical question considering that the faucet responds to any kind of touch. So, how does one clean a touch faucet in the first place?
The best faucets answer this question by knowing the difference between a touch and a grip or push. Basically, these faucets respond to millisecond contacts rather than exaggerated contacts as in the case of pushing or cleaning. If it senses a proper touch, it turns on or off but with extended contact such as a push or grip, it does nothing.
If any faucet does not have this capability, then it is not worth investing into. Thankfully, every touch kitchen faucet I have tried out always had this technology built in. In fact, cheaper brands too used this mechanism to prevent accidental start up.
Touch Faucets Are Bad For Families With Toddlers!
Ok so there will always be drawbacks of new technology. No technology has ever managed to solve all problems of mankind. Likewise, touch sensitive kitchen faucets may make life easier but it also suffers from the issue of being unable to differentiate between a child and an adult. So, yes if your child operates a touch faucet, he or she may leave it running.
However, before jumping to conclusions that touch kitchen faucets are bad for toddlers, consider this simple observation that I have made. In homes without touch faucets, kids find it hard to learn and operate a faucet because they are unable to reach the knobs or handles. And when they do manage to reach them, they eventually end up leaving the tap running. On the other hand, homes with touch faucets let children quickly understand how a tap works and because they can easily reach the faucet, they learn quickly how to turn it on and off. I have yet to personally hear a complaint against touch faucets from parents with toddlers and kids.
Imagine how easy it must be for a child to turn the faucet off after using it because of the touch sensitivity!
Pets Too Can Operate The Faucet!
Like I mentioned before, today’s touch faucets come with intelligent technology that differentiates between a touch and a prolonged contact. Your cat brushing past the faucet or a canary perching on top won’t set it off as it is not a fraction of a second touch. And come to think of it, do you really believe your cat is going to love touching the cold faucet with its paw just to see water trickle out of it?
While such situations are hardly ever going to happen, thankfully, even if a touch faucet is activated accidentally, they have built in timers that switch it off after a period of inactivity. So, you end up running the faucet for like 3 minutes tops before it shuts down on its own.
Touch Faucets Use Electricity And It’s Dangerous!
If you did not know, touch sensitive feature of a kitchen faucet relies on electricity. However, this does not mean that it needs to be connected with the mains or that it is dangerous. Truth is that such faucets rely on DC power using a set of 1.5 V batteries. At most the voltage achieved by such a faucet is 9 Volts which is safe to touch.
This electricity resides on the outer surface while water within the faucet flows through non-conductive pipes hence it is always insulated from the current outside.