From the kitchen to the bathroom, the faucet is an indispensable furniture item. It not only brings convenience to life, but also affects our health, so it is very important to choose reliable, water-saving and durable faucets!
1. The structure of the faucet
The faucet is roughly composed of "main body" + "spool" + "bubbler" + "plating layer":
By understanding the structure of the faucet, we can judge the pros and cons of the faucet in many ways.
2. How to choose a high-quality faucet?
Look at the subject
The main material not only affects the service life of the faucet, but also is closely related to our health. The main materials on the market include cast iron, plastic, zinc alloy, copper, and SUS304 stainless steel. Let's take a look at their characteristics:
Through their characteristics, it is not difficult to see that stainless steel and copper faucets will be more durable. So, whether to choose stainless steel or copper?
In fact, copper with a purity of more than 99.5% is soft and difficult to cut, so it is not suitable for making faucets. Most of the copper faucet products on the market are copper-zinc alloys, also called "full copper". Remember that "full copper" does not mean "Pure copper". So merchants say that pure copper faucets are flickering.
As for the claim that lead in copper faucets can be poisoned, the lead content of <1% that meets the national standard can ensure people’s water safety. When buying a faucet, you will see that some businesses write "Lead-free faucet" "Or "lead-free faucet", "net lead" and "lead-free" means that the lead content is very low, lower than the domestic standard. Therefore, it is most important to choose a regular copper faucet. The stainless steel faucet should be made of 304, preferably with the SUS304 logo, so that it has strong rust and corrosion resistance.
Look at the spool
The most critical part of the faucet, the direction of the faucet, and the flow control are all realized by the direction control and pressure control of the control spool. Common types of spools on the market are:
For high-quality spools, you can see:
★Turn on the faucet at your house, and feel it with your heart when the amount of water is increased from small to large, and see if the whole movement is smooth.
★Open the handle of the faucet halfway, then turn up and down to increase the amount of water and turn off the water respectively to see if the force used is the same, if it is the same, it is better.
★ Use your hand to gently boil the handle to the left or right to see if there is any inflexibility, looseness, or heavy feeling. It is good.
Look at the bubbler
It is to allow water and air to be fully mixed to produce a foaming effect, so as to achieve the purpose of easing the flow of water and saving water.
Bubbler function:
When choosing a faucet, you should pay attention to whether the bubbler is easy to disassemble and assemble. Some faucets have a plastic foam shell, which can’t be used after being pulled once. Some are iron, which is rusty and difficult to remove and clean. So, we are When buying a faucet, it is best to choose these two faucets with aerators!
★Built-in bubbler with opening seam
This kind of bubbler can be opened with a coin, which is simple and convenient, but it must be noted that sometimes the coin cannot be pried off, it may be too serious if it has not been cleaned for a long time, so it is best to remove it for cleaning every few months a bit.
★External aerator with outer wire
Under normal circumstances, this kind of bubbler can be removed by hand without the aid of any tools. Even if it is badly blocked, it can be unscrewed by wrapping it in a towel and using pliers or a wrench.
Look at the surface technology
Good electroplating can make the faucet look better, and it can also enhance the abrasion resistance and corrosion resistance of the faucet.
The nickel layer has an anti-corrosion effect. The nickel material is soft and the color is dark. Therefore, a layer of chromium is plated on the nickel layer to harden the surface and improve the brightness at the same time
Low-end electroplating faucets generally have a nickel-plated layer of about 5 microns and a chrome-plated layer of about 0.1 microns. The nickel-plated layer of high-quality faucets is about 15 microns, and the chrome-plated layer is about 0.3 microns.
Identify high-quality electroplating:
The surface coating of a high-quality faucet should be as bright as a mirror. When purchasing, it is best to place the faucet in a well-lit place for inspection. The surface of the faucet has no oxidation spots, no pores, no leakage of plating, bubbles, and burnt marks, and the color is uniform and no burrs. Good products are those with sand, and after pressing the faucet with a finger, the fingerprints will spread out quickly and there is no trace, and it is not easy to adhere to dirt.