Top tips for choosing taps
It’s amazing what a difference the small details can make to a bathroom refit or renovation like picking the right taps.
With a vast choice of styles and designs on the market, choosing the right taps for your bathroom can be quite difficult. First of all, the taps you select will depend on the style of your bathroom. Is it a traditional finish or are you going for a slick, contemporary look? Whatever your bathroom design or your budget, there is a style, shape and price to suit you.
The right tap is very important for a number of reasons, not least that it is one of the most important functional aspects of your bathroom. Taps feature on your basin, bath and, often, on your shower as well. You need to be sure there is a good flow of water, that they don’t drip and that they suit your bathroom lifestyle.
The age and location of your house can impact on your choice of taps as the water pressure in your bathroom may mean that you are limited in style or type. The best way to determine the pressure is to run your existing taps and see how powerful the flow is. Then, when you go to buy, ask your retailer for advice on which ones are best for your bathroom.
Another thing that might influence your decision straight away is how you prefer to turn the water on and off. Some taps operate with a classic twist on and twist off for the hot and cold faucets whereas modern styles can have a lever which lifts and lowers to regulate the flow and the temperature of the water. Neither type is better or worse than the other; it is just personal preference.
Some taps provide hot and cold water from separate faucets and others mix the flow of water and stream it from a single outlet. If you are replacing existing taps on your bathroom suite then you will need to look at your fixtures and fittings to see what they look like and what you need to buy. You need to replace like for like in terms of how many taps you need for your fitting, for example a single mixer tap or separate hot and cold, as your bath or basin will have a certain number of holes in for them to fit on to.
Bath taps can also have a shower attachment fitted to them if you opt for a combined bath and shower unit. This mixes the flow of water to the shower but can still leave a separate hot and cold faucet for filling the bathtub.
There are lots of finishes and styles to choose from but, though it may seem like a small part of the bathroom, taps are very important as you use them for everything – bath, shower and basin – and whether it’s stainless steel, chrome or brass, proper cleaning and maintenance will significantly add to their longevity. When you use the bathroom at home, work or out and about, think about what you like and what’s best for you and you’ll make a switched on choice of tap.