Confused by all the different tap options when upgrading your kitchen or bathroom? Here’s your go-to guide to the most common types of taps used in Singaporean homes.
Despite their seemingly insignificant size, taps play an important role in every home. They help control the water flow and impact the daily lives of people. They help people wash their hands and keep themselves healthy, rinse utensils and maintain a sanitary environment, and more.
Taps also play a role in the aesthetics of homes, by virtue of their finish and appearance. For instance, bronze-plated taps complement bathrooms with dark coloured tiles and walls. On the other hand, using chrome finish taps in the sink makes your space look modern and sleek.
With respect to function for example, two way water taps with a chrome finish are ideal for bathrooms. That’s because they can be connected to the bidet and be used to wash hands, respectively.
As you can see, each type of tap is suited to a particular space. Let’s explore more about the different types of taps you can use in each of the spaces below.
Basin Taps: Ideal for Bathrooms
When choosing a tap for your bathroom, focus on taps that don’t take up too much space. This will ensure that you can design the other parts of your bathroom accordingly. Two of the most popular options are pillar taps and mixer taps.
Mixer Taps
Mixer taps refer to those taps wherein you can get both cold water and hot water from one spout. You can turn their lever either to the left or right for cold and hot water, or vice versa.
In the case of dual lever mixer taps, you have two levers for hot and cold water, respectively. However, if you’re looking for a space-saving mixer tap, you can opt for monobloc mixer taps.
You could opt for filter mixer taps if you want a supply of clean water.
Mixer taps can also be equipped with thermostats, converting them into smart water taps. This would allow you to heat or cool the water as per your preferences. You could use these taps during the winter for a warm bath and summer for a refreshing one.
Pillar Taps
Pillar taps are one of the most common types of taps that you can find. They are mounted on top of basins and cold and hot water, depending on which way you turn the lever. They are a classic choice if you’re looking for something timeless.
These taps also come in a variety of design styles, depending on your available space and preference.
Kitchen Sink Taps: Practical and Functional
Your kitchen represents the area of your home where you spend at least an hour daily while preparing food. So, having a proper tap that is not only functional but looks great is important.
That’s why you can consider pull-out spray taps, sensor-based taps, and swivel spouts.
Pull Out Spray Taps
These taps look like standard taps, but have an additional hose attached to them. These hoses can be pulled out and used to wash items like vegetables, fruits, and utensils easily. You can control the water flow rate of these taps with the help of either a lever or a button.
You can choose between twin or single lever pull-out taps, pull-out taps with pot fillers, and multiple flow pull-out taps. The single or twin pull-out spray taps have one or two levers for controlling the water flow.
Pull-out taps with pot fillers are great if you want to clean pots effectively. Multiple flow pull out taps refer to those that have variable flow patterns and speeds.
Sensor-Based Taps
Sensor-based taps are useful since they will help you maintain hygienic practices. In other words, you won’t have to touch the faucet and simply wave your hand for the water to flow. This is due to the virtue of infrared technology.
These taps will also help you save water since they will not disperse water when not in use. Sensor-based taps or smart water taps also make your home look high and feel high-tech. If you want, you might also be able to find voice-activated sensor taps.
Swivel Spouts
Swivel spouts refer to taps whose spouts can be swiveled or turned around their base. This maneuverability makes them ideal for washing your sink or cleaning multiple utensils in your sink.
It also makes them useful for space-saving homes.
Depending on your choice, you can choose between a stainless steel finish vs a chrome finish. A chrome finish looks great and modern, but is prone to spots. However, a stainless steel finish is ideal since it is corrosion-resistant and hides unnecessary spots.
That’s why stainless steel finishes are preferable for the humid climate in places like Singapore.
Wall-Mounted Taps: Space-Saving Design
Wall-mounted taps are ideal for people who like to save space and also achieve a clean look. These taps are generally mounted on the wall, which makes it easy to clean your sink and basin areas.
However, you have to spend a little more when making any plumbing repairs. That’s because these taps’ pipes are located behind the wall. You can pair these taps with wide or cylindrical basins for an aesthetic look.
Depending on your preferences, you can choose between movable spout wall-mounted taps or fixed wall-mounted taps.
Bidet & Shower Mixer Taps
The average person spends more than 810 days in the bathroom during their lifetime. So naturally, using taps that guarantee a pleasant bathing experience is what they prefer. That’s where bidet and shower mixer taps come in.
Bidet taps refer to those two way taps that can be found near the base of the toilet seat or similar positions. These taps have two outlets and two levers. One of the outlets can be connected to the bidet, while the other remains open for hand washing.
Shower mixer taps, on the other hand, let you enjoy the mixture of cold and hot water, as well as a shower. These taps have two to three levers. You can use these levers to control the flow of hot and cold water.
The third lever controls the hand shower or the flow of normal water, depending on your preferred setup.
You can opt for thermostat-enabled shower mixer taps to enjoy a comfortable bath if you want.
Outdoor Taps: For Gardens, Car Wash Areas & Utility Balconies
Outdoor taps are commonly used in gardens, car wash areas, and utility balconies. You will find taps like spigot and hose bibs, anti-siphon valve, and freeze-proof faucets.
Spigot and hose bib faucets utilise the same principle as a compression valve. They close when you turn left, and open when you turn right. So they are useful for gardening or washing your car. You can attach a pipe to the outlet and water your plants or wash your car.
Anti-siphon faucets can be used for gardening since they direct the water flow in a single or linear direction.
Water-Saving Taps
Finally, we come to water-saving taps, or auto close water taps. These taps operate with the help of infrared sensors. When you wave your hand in front of them, the water starts flowing.
Once you remove your hand, the water flow is stopped, as the IR detectors sense the motion and the lack of an obstruction.
These taps are useful if you have elderly people in your home. That’s because they can avoid damaging their hand by forcefully opening the faucet.
Wrapping Up
From classic basin taps to smart kitchen mixers, every type of tap has a role to play in your Singapore home. You should choose by considering factors like the available space, style, and water efficiency.
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