I don't mean this to be flippant. Use a facecloth instead of leaning over and splashing water on your face. That solves the water going everywhere problem.

no no, I didn't take it the wrong way and I appreciate you taking time. Wash cloth route - I then have to find a suitable space to dry them. I used to use the weaved disposable cloth - they were small and i loved them - but market has moved onto different kind of disposable face wash wipes and I don't like those.. Perhaps I need to give washcloth a try again. Thank you!

I have the same problem and it worse When a faucet is low and too far back in a sink.

I would also avoid vessel sinks because splashing occurs ourside of face washing, cleaning around them sucks.

I don’t like facecloths, so I used kitchen depth counters in my bathroom with large under-mount oval sinks to solve this problem. Now I get only a little water around the sink (if any), and it’s easy to wipe away.

I have the same problem, any sink. I get water running all down my forearms and off my elbows - that's where the mess comes from in my bathroom and I'm pretty much convinced that at this point I just need absorbent sweatband on my arms like 80s aerobics video girls. Or maybe just a trough.

(But farmhouse is "in" these days, yeah?)

I wash my face with the bathtub faucet. Just lean over the bathtub edge.

ah never thought of that - when i get the new bathtub installed, i'll see if that is feasible. thank you!

Kitchen counter - i need to look into the dimensions. I noticed my sister's old house had a glorious set up - large and wide everything. But I can't get the measurement and it was in a different country.

arms - ! you are so right Rebekah! Didn't think of that either. sweatbands - lol. It's a problem when I stay at someone's house and have to use their tiny guest bathroom - no counter space and all the water on the floor.

I share your problem. i just keep a sponge or wash cloth to dry up my counter. I think the sweat bands would help.

If this is helpful in any way…
My husband & I both keep a folded “accent” washcloth on the counter to wipe up any water splashes/toothpaste splatter, etc.
This helps keep counter, mirror & faucet tidy in between cleaning.
I use baby facecloths for face, as they can be gentler & in white to bleach wash away any makeup/mascara.
Counters are higher in this home at 36“. Previous home we had lower counter.
Either way without using washcloth I too would bump forehead on faucet, create more water mess :/ …and thus changed my routine.

Oh, boy. Same here with the water running off my elbows. It's not that I'm splashing. I don't know the answer. Previous master bath was an integrated sink in a generous vanity. I'd fallen in love with a gooseneck bar faucet in pearlized black and used that. Water down my arm onto the floor.

There is a comfort height vanity in the master of this house. Or, it would be comfort height if I was 5'11" and I'm not, but I'm getting used to the height. Under mount sink. Same thing. Water down my arm and elbow, onto the floor but also onto the cabinet front here. I just wipe it up with a spare washcloth and lay the cloth out edge of sink to dry over night. Then it goes into the hamper. I wash a lot of wash cloths ;0)

My problem was solved when I remodeled and got the higher bathroom vanity. Because of the increased height if I lean over there is physically just less distance from my hands to my face.

I used to have water splashing all over in my old bathroom which had the old fashioned lower cabinets - and I am relatively short. My mirror would get splashed; the surrounding counter and water would pool behind the faucets.

I do have white washcloths that I bought on amazon which are inexpensive and I keep a pile of them by the sink. I use them to dry my face because I like having a clean towel to dry my face for sanitary reasons and if there are any stray drops after I use the wash cloth, I just swipe it along the counter but there is generally only a drop or two anyway.

ETA - Any undermounted sink will be easy to clean as there is no "rim" to catch gook and generally build up crud. Everything is just swept from the counter into the sink just like a kitchen counter although obviously I am not recommending large items be swept down the drain :-).

I have a custom bathroom vanity with an undermount sink - 36" high - and my splashing problems were solved. I think the undermount sink probably helps because any stray drops are just swabbed back into the sink since there is no elevated rim to trap water.

I can relate. I think it's worse when the faucet doesn't project out far enough into the sink. Now that I think about it, the water splash/wrist drip was significantly reduced when I moved into a home with a high-arc faucet. Maybe that's the solution?

I don't know Sarah. I had the goosenecked faucet in our previous bath because I loved the shape and color, and it wasn't any better for the water down the arm, off elbow, onto floor. I've never had an issue with mirror or behind sink, but I've never had a smaller sized sink, either. The sink in the 7 1/2 vanity in my bath now is an elongated silly 35"! Very contemporary but older Kohler.

My solution was found on Amazon, they carry super soft flannel “baby” washcloths, packs of 12 I think. No more water splashing and running down my arms. I only use them on my face.

I have square sinks and a short faucet in both. No matter how careful I am washing my face, I have to wipe up the water on my counter with my hand towel each time❣️

I'm quite the splasher, but never seemed to have much trouble after this remodel:

There wouldnt be a cabinet to wipe up with this style…

How about using a sponge or small face towel to wash face ??

Other than a trough sink, I don’t know how to solve this. I also keep a washcloth at the sink just to wipe up all my water drips from washing my face. I let it dry on the bathtub faucet all day.

mdin: great post on that faucet❣️I am a retired nurse/ Captain of the US Air Force and that faucet reminds me of ones in a hospital: the eye flushing feature in particular.

I can relate to this as well. The water down the forearms especially. (Hairbands can solve this issue.) Hate it so much that I decided to try cleansing my face with cold cream rather than a cleanser and water. Wipe it off with a clean damp washcloth. My skin actually prefers this method so that's one issue solved. Now I just need to find a spot to hang the mesh bag that receives the damp washcloths. :P Thinking of an S-hook off the towel bar.

These are the kinds of daily details I want to get right in my bathroom remodel as well. I do think a built-in sink/counter is the easiest to wipe or clean. What could be easier than one smooth surface?

I so understand where you are coming from. Water everywhere! We just remodeled. The water thing was a major factor in how we changed our set up. It seems to have worked. First, big (really big) sink. Mine is 27” wide; standard build is usually 19-21”. Opt for rectangular rather than oval. We chose a tall goose neck faucet (with one handle) to allow room for hands to get under the water stream. Lastly, raise the height of the vanity. Standard height can be as low as 31”. We opted for 36”. So far, so good. I get a bit of water on the deck when I turn off the water, but literally a drop or two.

If your sink is as low as the one in the photo, I’m not surprised you get water all over the place.
That sink is crotch-high to a girl (even lower to a man) and she has to double over to be near the sink. I like my counters waist-high and I am an average-height woman….I like a 36” high counter with undermount sinks.

@mdln - thank you for the photos! I am seriously contemplating a trough basin - it may be a tough sell aesthetically however. I don't really need a bit of a counter ledge in front of me, do i - ? Although that sure will look nicer.

I bet if I washed my face over laundry sink (which I do not have!) I won't have a problem.

@pamela_ruhl - Can you tell me what brand your sink is? I think you are right! My sister's old sink was very wide and enormous. Had a detachable shower handle for the users to wash/wet hair over the sink. Nice feature.

Haha…..a kitchen sink would be perfect for no splashing……30x19 with bowed front so elbows would stay inside the sink….kinda like a trough but deeper from front to back :) Seriously though, why wouldn’t this be ”allowed” in a bathroom. Nice flat bottom to put messy bottles on and plenty of room. Space permitting, I don’t understand why bathroom sinks need to be so small.

I think the further the reach of the faucet, the better it keeps splashing from going towards the back wall. As far as dripping elbows go, I hated that and simply got used to placing a folded hand towel along the front edge of the counter and then I just lean my arms on it when I wash my face…all the drips go onto the towel.

Splasher here.

I don't think any sink can contain me.

Ask my (exasperated) husband.

I've had all the options - lower vanity , higher vanity , short faucet. tall faucet, etc etc...

The lower vanity actually was the best out of all of them because I had to bend further over the sink and my elbows were up higher. Some splashing but not terrible. Once I moved to the higher one with the faucet that stuck out further, that was a mess. The faucet was in my face so I had to stand up a little more which made the water pour down my arms!

I have resolved myself to rinsing with a washcloth and it has been the only thing to solve the problem ( although my shirt gets a bit wet! ).

It is nice to see that others have this struggle!

Perfect 😂😂😂

This has always been a problem and a wash cloth not an option for me due to super sensitive skin. Maybe a big enough sink that you would be able to keep your elbows inside?

I hate it but for now I use a bath towel across the front of the sink and put my elbows on it.

I put the hand towel lengthwise along the countertop , between the sink and myself. This catches all the water dripping off my elbows. Then I dry any remaining drips around the sink. Throw that towel in the laundry and put out a fresh one. This forces me to change it out every day. I keep a stack of towels in the vanity.