The Best Single-Lever Faucets

Buying Guide

Your home faucets likely get a lot of use daily. In the kitchen, your faucet helps you wash your veggies and clean your dishes, and it might provide your drinking water. You need a kitchen faucet that offers a steady, strong stream of water, but it’s also important to make sure you have enough clearance for your tallest pots and pans.

For the bathroom, appearance is important, but functionality is an even bigger priority. You might not need as strong a stream as you will in the kitchen, but it’s still important to have a steady stream of water. In both the kitchen and bathroom, there’s value in having one-handed operation of a faucet. In recent years, the dual-knob bathroom faucets of the past have largely been replaced by faucets that require only one hand to control the temperature and stream.

Of course, no matter where your faucet will be going, compatibility is key. Pay close attention to the number of holes that have been drilled into your countertop and find a faucet that supports that design. You’ll also need to measure the distance between the center of the left and right holes, as well as measuring the distance between the hole and the wall behind it. You’ll want to make sure the faucet allows you to turn the knob easily without the wall getting in the way.

• Water flow can vary dramatically between faucets, and it can be tough to measure that until you have your faucet installed. Your water pressure will also factor into this, but if you install a faucet and the water flow is dramatically different from the faucet that was there before, the faucet itself is likely to blame.
• In the kitchen, a sprayer can come in handy. At one point, these were installed separately, but today’s kitchen sinks often have a piece you can pull away from the main spout to use for cleaning out the sink itself.
• You’ll also need a drain plug if your sink doesn’t already have one. Most kitchen faucets don’t include this, but some bathroom faucets provide one that matches the spout.
• One-handed operation is helpful, especially in the bathroom where one hand is often occupied with items like toothbrushes.
• There are various types of handles on spouts. Many are designed with a single lever that controls both the temperature and the water pressure. With some, you’ll push up or down to go from cold to hot and pull outward to control the pressure.
• Touchless faucets can come in handy, but they can be pricier than traditional faucets.