Choosing a bathroom faucet

The bathroom is a difficult room to decorate. Plumbing fixtures and finishes must be chosen carefully, and there are several reasons for this. The first is high humidity and frequent contact with water. They impose requirements for quality. Second – everything should be convenient and functional – you have to use the devices every day and several times, so that the inconvenience quickly builds up oskomina. And last but not least, you want everything to be beautiful. All this applies to all components of the bathroom, including faucets and mixers. About how to choose a mixer for the bathroom and do not regret and we will talk further.

Types of faucets for the bathroom

To begin with, let’s understand how the faucet differs from faucets. And the fact that the faucet allows you to get water of the desired temperature. We achieve this by mixing streams of cold and hot water, which takes place inside the device. The faucet allows you to get water of the temperature that is contained in the pipes. This is the difference.

Next about the types of faucets. They come in:

• Two-faucet. This option can be called classic – two faucet-beads, the flow is regulated by the number of turns of the valves. On the one hand, such a device gives the possibility of more accurate temperature regulation, on the other hand, few people like to twist valves.

  

• Single-lever (flag). The water temperature is changed by turning a single handle. 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 models. The lever also moves to the right or left. Lever models will not allow you to adjust the temperature to the nearest degree, but it is easy to change.

  

• Non-contact. 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. It stops its flow after the object disappears from the sensor’s area of action. The water temperature is also changed by touching, the current value can be displayed in numbers or color. Wonderful and modern devices, but the price is high.

  

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

  

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

Valve

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

Gaskets come into disrepair not only as a result of use. A significant role is played by the quality of water. High salt content leads to the fact that the rubber loses elasticity, leaks begin. To change the gaskets less often, you can put not rubber, but silicone sealing rings. The main thing is to find a suitable diameter and thickness.

Lever mixers

Lever mixers have a completely different structure. The mixing of cold and hot water occurs in a small cylinder, which is called a cartridge.

Inside the cartridge there are two plates with holes cut in them. The lower plate, due to the presence of protrusions, is fixedly connected to the cartridge body, the upper plate remains movable and moves following the movements of the lever. Turning the lever to the left or right changes the ratio of hot and cold water, and its upward or downward movement 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 facilitates their sliding relative to each other, which means that the movements of the lever remain smooth and even after several years of operation.

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

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

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

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

Externally, the mechanism of the lever mixer you will not distinguish, because all the differences are inside. Before you choose a mixer for the bathroom, study its technical characteristics. In the description is usually written 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 in front of you is an inexpensive copy.

How to choose

How to choose a mixer for a bathroom with a shower from this variety? It’s really simple. If possible, put the thermostatic. Then from the shower will not pour cold or hot water, and it will be the set temperature. If there is no such possibility, choose between the remaining three. In most cases, choose a single-lever, then follows a two-faucet and closing – contactless.

Contactless are less popular firstly because they 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 a novelty in our country, there are few of them on the market and almost no specialists who install and repair them.

From what material

Before you choose a mixer for the bathroom, ask what it is made of. The best in terms of durability are brass ones. They do not rust, have a long service life. But even if you are told that the faucet is brass, you need to hold it in your hands: made of a normal alloy mixer will be heavy. Branded products are usually distinguished by their heavy weight. And this is one of the selection criteria.

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

What else can bathroom faucets be made of? From aluminum and its alloys, from silumin – a cheap substitute for aluminum. Some companies, to make the price lower, some parts are made of plastic. The whole product is then covered with a layer of nickel, so that externally you will not see any differences. The whole difficulty is to do nickel plating correctly, otherwise the coating after some time begins to fall off from the plastic parts – too smooth a surface on which the film simply does not hold.

Methods of installation

Faucets can be installed on the wall or on the side of the bathtub. Traditionally in our country they are mounted on the wall. In the past, the pipes were laid open, today they are hidden in the walls.

Faucets on the side of the bathtub are not often put in our country. Very unfamiliar it is still, and on the steel and cast-iron bath it will not put it – there are no holes for this and cut them without professional equipment is unrealistic. Acrylic bathtubs are optimal for installation of this type of equipment: in their sides holes are cut without problems.

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

Spout length

It is impossible to choose a mixer for the bathroom without deciding on the length of the spout. There are only two options – short and long. Traditionally, long spouts are used. This option was especially popular in Soviet times in small bathrooms. In this case, one “gooseneck” served both the bathtub and the washbasin located next to it. Today this is rarely done, but many people still find long spouts more convenient.

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

There are supporters of short spouts. When installing such a faucet, the water pours usually along the edge, creating a minimum of noise, but you will be able to draw water into the container only when using a shower head. And another argument in favor of a short spout – a more modern look and interesting models. With this, too, you can not argue.

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

The most reliable bathroom faucets

As usual, the best bathroom faucets are imported, and many people 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. Externally, they can be distinguished, but it is quite difficult – you need to know exactly what to look at (the quality of the engraving of the name, the color of the brass, the presence of the company’s logo on the crimp rings of the flexible liner, the thickness of the metal on the lever and the tap, etc.). Just in case, it is better to buy branded faucets or on the official website of the company, or in a large store and certainly not in the market.

Not bad reviews has Vidima (Vidima) 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 classic style. Ideal Standart products are somewhat more expensive, the model range is even wider, the look is more modern. In principle, both brands belong to the same corporation, only produced at different factories.

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

Even if you managed to choose a mixer for the bathroom, for its long-term operation requires water of normal quality. This means that in it, at least, there should be no mechanical impurities. Therefore, either in front of the faucet, or (which is much better) immediately at the entrance to the apartment / house put strainers. It is desirable to put two of them – with a coarse mesh in front and with a finer one behind it. In this case you can hope that the mixer will serve for a long time and without problems.