The Kohler Setra kitchen faucet in not only touchless but also responds to verbal commands.
Photo courtesy of Kohler
You come into the house from shopping and you want to clean your hands to avoid bringing any bacteria or viruses in – the touchless faucet is the perfect next step. This way you don’t have to touch anything until your hands are clean. In this time of pandemic when everyone is trying to stay safe, it makes a lot of sense to install touchless faucets in the home (as well as commercial spaces.) According to the NSF , sink handles contain more than 600 times more microorganisms per square inch than a toilet handle.
This sensor activated Beale Environment faucet is by American Standard.
Photo courtesy of American Standard
The market for touchless faucets is clearly growing. According to a recent survey commissioned by Kohler Co and conducted online by The Harris Poll among over 2,000 U.S. adults on Touchless Technology (June 2020) – 76% agree a touchless faucet would create a more hygienic kitchen space, and 65% agree that a touchless kitchen faucet is a crucial component to future upgrades for my home.
James Walsh, VP of Product Marketing at American Standard says “Since April, we’ve seen a 128 percent increase in searches on our website for hands-free products (compared with 2019)”.
Another way to avoid touching the faucet is with foot activation as this one from Grohe’s K7 model … [+]
Photo courtesy of Grohe
In addition to being a healthy aspect, touchless faucets are also particularly helpful in a busy kitchen when hands are full; having a sensor is a great convenience. According to Tom Tylicki, senior product manager of Moen, “From cleaning up after a family finger-painting session to washing a delicious – but sticky – bite of peanut butter and jelly sandwich from your hands, faucets with MotionSense Wave provide hands-free convenience when you need it most.”
A kitchen faucet with Moen’s U Smart Faucet.
Photo courtesy of Moen
Some of the newest hands-free faucet models are smart as well as sanitary and convenient – including voice commands. In addition to shutting off and on, they can fill a vessel with water and even recognize metric and US customary (or imperial) measurement commands. Some of the faucets, such as those by American Standard, have a switch on the faucet to change from sensor to completely manual.
All of the voice command faucets have multiple ways of operating the water flow. In addition to voice command, waves can be used, touching the faucet anywhere on the spout or handle to start and stop the flow of water and they can be manually operated using the faucet handle.The homeowner is required to have An Amazon AMZN ® Alexa®- or Google® Assistant-enabled device, home Wi-Fi and a power outlet under the sink, not connected to a switch (such as a garbage disposal switch).
A touchless faucet in a kitchen sink.
Photo courtesy of Moen
In addition, most of these faucets have an automatic shut-off when water is not being used. A wave will turn it on and another turn it off. However the sensor will turn off the water when it has not been in use. Some of the newest models have improved sensors to avoid accidental activation by pets.
Some models, such as those by Grohe also have foot activation, as seen in many commercial spaces.
A touchless faucet by Delta Faucet Co. with VoiceIQ technology.
Photo courtesy of Delta Faucet Company
Most of the residential hands-free faucets are designed for the kitchen. However some commercial bathroom hands-free faucets can be adapted for the home.These faucets come in a variety of styles from traditional to modern – to meet the demands of design preferences. Some of the faucets, such as some of those by American Standard and Grohe were designed to be used by do-it-yourselfers (DIY).
Anyone putting in a new kitchen faucet or remodeling their kitchen sink should consider installing one of these faucets protecting themselves in this current health crisis as well as for any future national or personal health situation.