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delilah66

Do your faucets splash much?

Delilah66
13 years ago

A friend has a tall Kohler faucet with pull-down sprayer. I really don't like how much it splashes and think it's due to the distance from the head to the bottom of the sink. I'm replacing countertops, sink and faucet in my kitchen. I like the functionality of my current cheap "low rise" faucet, but not the looks. Does anyone have any words of wisdom for selecting a faucet that has the sleek look of the tall faucet but not the negative splashing problem. TIA!

Comments (14)

  • fly964
    13 years ago

    Not sure if I can offer you any words of wisdom but after reading this great forum, I just bought Grohe Alira stainless steel faucet for my main sink which is on the center island. I originally wanted a nice looking tall faucet like ladylux, etc. but those who have in this forum said that they use more papertowels than before to wipe their counters. Not a big problem but I went for functionality over looks since my sink will be on the island with no backsplash. You want to look at each spec. sheet to determine the height and reach of each faucet which I did. Good luck!

  • rhome410
    13 years ago

    I have a Kohler Simplice, which a tallish, high arc faucet with pull-down sprayer. I only have splashing problems if I hold something up too high toward the faucet head, which is easy to do at first when you're getting used to a higher faucet...It hasn't been the faucet's fault. ;-) I truly don't have any more splashing around my sinks than I had with other styles of faucets.

  • plllog
    13 years ago

    It's not the distance to the sink that matters, but the angle of the stream and the shape of the sink. This is a matter of geometry and physics.

    I have an arched faucet with an angled stream and a flatish bottomed sink. It splashes so little that I can clean the bottom of the sink with a sponge wearing long, blousey sleeves with the water on full without my sleeves getting wet. I don't even think about my sleeves anymore, then I'll notice as I'm turning off the water and marvel.

    {{!gwi}}

    My Kohler Karbon faucet doesn't splash in the curved, shallow (a couple inches) trough of my prep sink whether it's high or low (in the photo, it's in the middle), though a tiny bit of mist jumps up an inch. Same with My Elkay high arch in my deep, slightly curved laundry sink. Not enough to splash in either.

    {{!gwi}}{{!gwi}}

    My friend's old fashioned, flat faucet with his very rounded sink splashes like crazy.

    Unfortunately, I don't have any great advice on how to achieve this. I just lucked out. Just don't dismiss your favored pretty faucet just because it's tall.

  • gypsabelle
    13 years ago

    I have the Grohe Ladylux Plus and a deep Franke sink. We have more splashing than I did with my old inexpensive sink and faucet. Even though the sink is deep, I end up wiping the countertop almost every time I turn on the water. I'm not sure yet if it's a matter of depth or where the stream of water matches up with the drain. After that last message, I'm wondering now if I can find a replacement aerator that might helf with the problem. My DH wasn't really into lowering the water pressure so I'd get less splashing.

  • attygirl
    13 years ago

    I went with the extra deep sinks and am really happy I did this. The sides of my sinks are wet all the time, but I happily can report that I do not get any water on my counters. While I am not thrilled with the wet-sink look, I love the extra height on the faucet and would never give up that convenience for the dry, super shiny sink.

  • steff_1
    13 years ago

    My tall faucet doesn't splash at all either. It seems to be the direction of the water, the aerator that keeps the stream of water very even, and the deep sink. I do have to keep the dishes down in the sink or water will splash from the dishes onto the counter around the faucet. This was a problem with my old standard faucet as well.

  • amysrq
    13 years ago

    I have a very deep sink and a Grohe Ladylux Plus. The splashing is really a pain. Counters, window, sills....arrrgh! I don;t understand the physics really, or how the heck we are supposed to figure this all out without trying all of our elements, installed in the same configuration we plan to use in the final kitchen. I bought this faucet to replace the piece of carp my builder installed (and charged me an upgrade price for) and while it looks beautiful, I am really disappointed with the tsunami effect.

  • twosit
    13 years ago

    I have a very deep sink and a Delta pull down faucet. It tends to splash, but I just turn the volume down and get no splashing.

  • formerlyflorantha
    13 years ago

    We got a Delta Waterfall (sidespray) that moves in an arc and can perfectly positions spout right over the sink drain. It's great. The sidespray isn't everyone's fave, but that's what we have and we use it sparingly, perhaps because we have such a remarkable faucet.

    Think about garden hose and putting your finger over end when watering. I think that spray bouncing is a factor of water pressure and as noted, angle of usage. If you want strong pressure, you gotta learn to control it. We've had threads about people thwarting the pressure control so they can have MORE pressure. I suspect that spray mess is an unfortunate result they have to learn to live with.

  • sparklekitty
    13 years ago

    Plllog - What is the brand/model of your regular faucet? I have a Grohe Concetto, which is part of a more value priced Grohe line and I can not believe how much splashing I have. I even had a deep sink.

    Maybe it is user error, maybe I hold things too high. I have gotten used to it sort of, though I am always damp... I am thinking of replacing and would consider yours Plllog.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Grohe Concetto

  • crozzroad
    13 years ago

    We have a Kohler Simplice and a fairly deep Blanco sink. So far no issues with splaishing. I think it is just a matter of getting used to it at first

  • davidro1
    13 years ago

    If house water pressure in the supply pipes is high pressure, some areators let too much flow through, and some aerators limit flow to be the same as if the pressure was lower. Just f.y.i. I have no idea how to find out more about anyone's faucet except to harass the manufacturer for them to answer this question. I am a bit sick of uncovering more and more variables and unknowns in the faucet business, and also discovering that Consumer Reports has never turned this into a hot topic. Faucet manufacturers all try hard to reveal as little information as possible. I emailed Kohler to ask them to be more specific when they wrote about one faucet saying it was made of "metal". All I got was one more word from them. Over the last year I have emailed or phoned several manufacturers to ask them if the dual-spray function required me to maintain finger pressure on the button or if the toggle switch only required a one-time touch to activate the alternate spray pattern.

    If you ask the same question on two different days, you get contradictory answers. Some people just say anything "in good faith" and they can't be fired for giving the wrong answers. Others go get the answer and still come back with the wrong information. I once received two responses to a single email, and each person responding was unaware of the other employee responding. Guess what : their two answers contradicted each other totally !!

    Coming back to aerators:

    Key words for a web search: "neoperl aerator" http://www.neoperl.com/products/aerators/default.asp

    hth

  • kevinlee33_komkast_net
    13 years ago

    Plenty of the newer kitchen faucets use NOT an old fashioned aerator at the output, but they use a laminar flow control device instead. -See link attached- This fact and the fact that most of them put out 2.2 gallons/minute(that's a full milk jug in 27 seconds!), and the shape of your sink and under what conditions your splashes occur...all of these can play a factor. As for me, my problem shows up when washing/pre-rinsing plates, bowls, silverware. Hav to be sure not to flip the handle on all the way. THE FIX??---> Mine is a Kohler Forte series. Unscrew the little fixture at the faucet end and take it to Home Depot or the like and replace yours with a lower flow version of the same thing. Common sizes are 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.2 gallons per minute, but you CAN order intermediate sizes. Hope this helps! Need to email me? Change the K's to C's.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Laminar flow fixtures