I have no need for a pre-rinse. My dishwasher does a great job of getting off everything I throw in there. And I throw 98% of my kitchen items in there.

Do you need a pre-rinse?

I have a commercial pre-rinse plus a standard spout.

The high pressure spray of the pre-rinse is unsuitable for everything else you use a faucet for. But without that high pressure, it wouldn’t be effective at pre-rinsing.

I don’t think you can really combine the two. Ergo, I think residential “pre-rinse” faucets are just for looks.

Like @Kendrah, I throw everything in the dishwasher without pre-rinsing. I’ll scrape large chunks into the garbage can, but that’s it. Pots and pans get washed in the machine, too. Pretty much, only the good knives and wooden spoons get hand washed.

If you have a high quality dishwasher (Bosch, Miele), there’s no need to pre-rinse. In fact, the manufacturers recommend NOT to pre-rinse. Today’s machines and detergents do a better job of cleaning when the contents have food and drink residue.

I've got clients with a pre rinse, but we bought it for the looks. It's also a very handy rinse the sink faucet with a lot of range , especially a single bowl with a tight radius /corner.. That said, running water IS running water and no need for more for most any "rinsing".

Most dishwashers suggest NO rinse necessary and better function without a rinse..

Whether you do or don't rinse is up to you, you don't need "force" and the only reason I rinse is I tend to run the dishwasher on an every other day basis. I just don't like the idea of food scraps sitting in it. I live alone and any favorite pots/pans gets an immediate sink scrub and stow only because I might want one again before I run the d.w. and I don't have storage space for duplicates : )

Prerincse fo what ?? You do know the new DW detergents work best when you do not rinse your dishes that is what they are made for . Waht exactly is the difference between a pre rinse and a regular simple pull down spout with the proper reach for your sink. BTW it is less water use to wash 1/2 a load in the DW than by hand so run the darn thing befor you go bed and no smeel stuff sitting there . I have a huge sink in my new place but a great faucet that has the reach to rinse the whole sink and has a 2 speed rinse .

Why choose, why not have both?

I have a couple of the PFister pre-rinse faucets (one in the clean up sink and one in the main sink) and they are great!

These are the best of both worlds. They default to standard aerated stream until you press the button for the spray function. I usually use the aerated stream, but do use the sprayer sometimes. It also pulls out or unhooks - so again, both functions and I can easily reach everything with it.

They feel heavy and solid and I think are handsome. The spray head stays solidly in the holder until you unhook it - nothing flimsy feeling about it.

I think this is more a style issue than a functional issue, but the functional is very good.

And, as a bonus, I can have some serious water fights!

There are commercial faucets with a valve that allows you to choose between the two.

My brother, an engineer, who worked in the appliance industry for years, told me the same thing that Patricia stated… no advantage to pre-rinse., actually works better if you don’t. It’s hard for me to get out of that habit though. (OCD tendencies )

Regarding rinsing: I'm not buying the" It works better if you don't". I can see where it's not entirely necessary though. I just use it to knock larger stuff off.

But I don't think that's really the issue that the op asked about.

That commercial faucet belongs in a commercial kitchen, not in a residential kitchen.

I just realized the kitchen faucet in my new place has a prerinse setting with a more powerful spray I just thought it was great for cleaning the sink .

"That commercial faucet belongs in a commercial kitchen, not in a residential kitchen."

^^ This.

A good pull-down faucet is all you need.

I pre-rinse to get the bigger stuff off, I'm not comfortable putting gobs of food through the dishwasher. If the plates are too gobby, I'll scrape them off into the trash can instead. I also pre-rinse if I know I won't be running the dishwasher that day -- IME dried food doesn't come off as well, a quick rinse and then into a closed dishwasher keeps the residue from drying out too much and sticking. And yes, it happens occasionally, even with a good dishwasher and good detergent.

There's nothing special about how a pre-rinse faucet works. My sister has one in her new build and I find it unwieldy. I love our Kohler pull-down faucet.

I agree with Jake it is more about the style you want. Both will function as faucets and it depends on what you prefer style wise. I do like our pull down one and feel it is useful but I also like how it looks more.

Update: I went to the plumbing supply place and looked at both and decided I liked the regular pull down style better after all. We went with a Moen Arbor.

Just a comment about pre-rinse faucets (at least the one in our Kitchen):

We have a Moen "pre-rinse" faucet at the cleanup sink. One big issue, to me, is that if you remove it from the "holder", you must hold on to it at all times. You cannot let it "hang" down - it snaps back up without going back into the holder and, therefore, sprays water everywhere if you're unprepared for it or it slips out of your hand.

OTOH, it does have a cross-bar to hang the dish cloth on!

I put in a Kohler pull down faucet in our new island's prep sink - I much prefer it.

I will say that the other Moen pull-down faucets in the pantry & laundry room sinks also pop back up if you let them go, but at least they pop back into the stem and do not spray water all over.

I prefer having the option to let my faucet "hang down" without snapping back up. I just lift it up to the stem when I want it to re-mount on the stem. I usually keep it in the stem, but sometimes like to take it off to fill my electric tea kettle or to rinse the sink or rinse/wash veggies or fruit in a colander. (The Kohler faucet seems to be much better built than the Moen faucets in the rest of the house. The Moen faucets were put in by the previous owners.)