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fatcatz

Touch/touchless faucet vs manual

3 years ago

Hello fellow Houzzers,


I'm replacing my kitchen faucet and love the idea of touch/touchless. I read the most recent Houzz discussion I could find (the last post was 2020). So now a few years later, maybe technology, reliability, pricing, opinions have changed. I'm also curious as to why most of the "luxury" brands don't offer this technology. Your thoughts?

Comments (10)

  • 3 years ago

    Instead of a touchless faucet, I purchased a Tapmaster. It is hands free system that is controlled by your foot. with no batteries or electricity. I love it and it has held up so well to heavy use in our family. The are made for the medical industry and I am surprised that they don't advertise more to the residential side. You can use any faucet with them and they are relatively easy to install. People used to talk about them more when Houzz was Garden Web, not sure why they fell out of favor.

    fatcatz thanked kiniyagirl
  • 3 years ago

    mxk, i agree, more technology is more to break. I already find it awkward to turn on my kitchen faucet with my elbow and I imagine it will be more so with the smaller handle on the new tall "arced" faucets that will replace my old one. So touch/touchless - if it works - would be great. If it doesn't work, the faucet still the "old fashioned" way (unlike in public restrooms).


    kiniyagirl, thank you for the suggestion. It sounds great - I'm going to look into it!

  • 3 years ago

    If a manufacturer makes the same faucet in both a regular and touchless version, you will see the reviews for the regular one are good, and the same faucet, but in the touchless version has poor reviews.

    My sister has a touchless faucet in her kitchen - it came with the house. It is annoying because the water will go on when you are just near it, but you haven't tried to turn it on.

    fatcatz thanked M Miller
  • 3 years ago

    I looked at the TapMaster. Everyone seems to love it. But I don't understand how it works. It looks like the TapMaster merges hot and cold water lines and then opens a valve (or something) to release the water when you tap. If that's the case, how do you change the temperature? It seems like it wouldn't be possible to adjust the ratio of hot:cold water that is coming through the Tapmaster line.


    I read that Grohe has an add on foot pedal that makes their faucets hands free. Does anyone know it that's the same mechanism that TapMaster uses?

  • 3 years ago

    I think I would always have wet sleeves with a touch less from reaching across.

    fatcatz thanked Kate
  • 3 years ago

    WE LOVE OUR TAPMASTER!!! You change the water temperature the same way you always do — using the handles. The Tapmaster will release the water at the temperature and pressure set by the handle(s). So, it’s not that you never touch the faucet, but you don’t have to touch it if you can work with the setting it is on. It is so easy to stop the water while scrubbing dishes or veggies so water is not just flowing down the drain while you scrub (you just shift your foot slightly). And, when washing raw chicken hands, the faucet stays clean. My hubby thought I was crazy and now he raves about it.

    fatcatz thanked blueskysunnyday
  • 3 years ago

    I'm glad to hear that your husband warmed up to the Tapmaster. Maybe there's hope for my husband! It seems like a great solution. I haven't heard one negative thing about it.


  • 3 years ago
    last modified: 3 years ago

    I wouldn't hesitate to do touch free. First off, if they really had that many problems they would not have as many options nor be on the market IMO. I have had a Delta Cassidy Touch-Free for the past 10+ years and only issue I've ever had was batteries dying when using it. Other than that, not a single issue. So much easier to turn on and wash your hands without getting anything dirty.

    fatcatz thanked J Hack
  • 3 years ago

    Se have a Kholer touchless faucet and really like it. we have had it aboit one year and have not had any issues. Steam will set off the sensor so if straining pasta, we just turn the handle off. i was hesitant to get it because of the concern that it is just another thing to break, but so far so good.

    fatcatz thanked Michael