Anybody using touchless faucets?

10 years ago

We're looking at replacing the vanities, sinks, and faucets in both bathrooms, and I'm really interesting in sensor activated on/off. We've all been in public restrooms with sensor faucets where you end up waving your hands around until someone might think you were practicing to conduct the symphony. Don't even get me started on the paper towel dispensers! I don't want that kind. I want the kind where you stick your hands/toothbrush under the faucet, the water comes out, you remove your hands, and the water goes off. Simple in theory, but does anyone actually have one installed they are pleased with? I might like one with an easily accessible temp control like the Sloan, but it might be a long time hanging out under the faucet before the warm water arrived. Thoughts? Here are two models I've seen online that might be interesting.

A Sloan model that looks as if it has a large sensing area:

and an American Standard:

Featured Answer

mdln

10 years ago

I so dislike them at work and other public places, I'd never put them in my home.

Was recently at airport and power was out to that area - guess what, could not flush toilet or use sink. YUCK!!!

This post was edited by mdln on Sun, Feb 9, 14 at 18:48

Comments (7)

palimpsest
10 years ago
We have these in one of my workplaces, and they don't work flawlessly.

The operatory sinks will sometimes not go on even if you are waving your hands like crazy. Then they will go on spontaneously at full blast when you aren't anywhere close. There is no manual override.

The toilets do not flush automatically all the time either. However, they do have a separate push button, luckily.
One restroom though, every single toilet or urinal would flush as you walked through the room: I used to skirt the wall trying to see if I could get by without it happening.
enduring
10 years ago
In my house I'd have to wait a long time for the hot water to come. Do they have small tankless water heaters for these units? Then you could put one in below the sink and not have to wait for the hot water to clear the lines.

There is the Delta (I think) that has a tap on feature, then you tap to turn it off. But you still have to touch the faucet.
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suzanne_sl
Original Author
10 years ago
And those are the ones I want to avoid! Surely somewhere there are home faucets that work as designed. Or maybe not, but you'd think with water savings and sanitary issues this would be a no-brainer. Anyone?

P.S. I may not get the image of the 5 toilet salute out of my head anytime soon :(
DreamingoftheUP
10 years ago
I can't imagine installing them in a home after having to deal with these frustrating things at the office (not those particular models, but the Sloan Optima). I don't see any reason why those particular models would work any better. At least the Sloan is light powered. What happens when the power fails with the American Standard model?

Modern, quality faucets are maintenance free for years. Why add a (expensive) complication like that?
weedyacres
10 years ago
The problem I see with them is that the water temp is pre-set. So I want cold water to brush my teeth and hot water to wash my face, but I can only pick one-temp-fits-all.

You might consider putting one in the powder room, as all people do in there is wash their hands. But for bathrooms where sinks are used for multiple tasks, I'd stick with the manual, fully-adjustable ones.
divotdiva2
10 years ago
until the technology improves dramatically, I would go with a regular faucet. Whether electrical or battery-operated, sooner or later it's not going to work. The toilets usually have a manual button, I haven't seen them on faucets.