Buying Kitchen Taps
If you are going to go to all the trouble of having new sinks put in, you might as well go all the way and install new kitchen taps. After all, one without the other would not look right. The market is flooded with all types of styles, shapes, and colours but when it comes to the actual working part, they are broken down into four specific groups. First, you have the compression, then cartridge, followed by disc, and then ball. These parts are the part of the kitchen tap that controls the amount of water flow. Therefore, when choosing your new kitchen taps, you also want to pay attention to the internal design aspect.
The three parts for cartridge, disc, and ball are what is known as "mixing faucets or taps". In most cases, this type of kitchen tap is designed with a single control or handle. However, you will find cartridge and ball type taps designed with two controls or handles. For compression taps, these have two controls - one being hot and the other one being cold. In addition, compression taps have seals and washers, which work to close the valve seat, thus restrict the amount of water flow when the handle is in the off position. The cartridge, disc, and ball taps do not come with washers but instead, have o-rings as well as neoprene seals to stop water leakage. You may hear of these kitchen taps called waterless.
For the outer part of the kitchen tap, the finish, a wide range of options are available. With this, you can choose the type and appearance that matches and complements your sink and overall kitchen design best. First, brass has been around for more than 100 years. This finish has an inviting, warm look that can turn a plain sink into something special. The only drawback is that brass requires frequent polishing to keep it shiny unless you go with a brushed brass, which is easier to maintain.
Another type of finish for the kitchen taps is enamelled plastic. This popular choice is great for non-metallic colours and works well with any sink design. Then, there are chrome kitchen taps. Chrome has been a great choice for more than 90 years and today, remains a top choice. Chrome is tarnish resistant and creates a sleek, modern, and lively look. The only downfall is that if you go with the shiny finish, it will need to be polished much like brass. However, chrome also comes in brushed finishes, which eliminates this need.
Nickel has been around for more than a century and has recently resurfaced, as well as climbed to the top of the list. Nickel is often brushed so it has an elegant and sophisticated look. While you can purchase nickel in a shiny finish, the matte and satin are the most popular. Best of all, brushed nickel hides scratches and water spots, and requires little maintenance. Finally, you could choose a stainless steel kitchen tap. The beneficial aspect of stainless steel is that you can choose from various hues from weathered copper, antique brass, antique pewter, and so on.
While the majority of kitchen taps are installed as on the sink mount, you might consider a streamlined lever or antiqued porcelain handle to give them some pizzazz. Great cooks are also now enjoying kitchen taps mounted on the wall near the stove, which makes filling pots easy and convenient. The bottom line is to look around at kitchen taps because you will have so many incredible choices. Just consider the look and design of your sink, the way in which you cook, and the look you like best.