Make Sure Your Kitchen Sink & Faucet Get Along

Published by Inge on Wednesday, June 23, 2010

    No, I haven’t witnessed any big fights between my kitchen sink and faucet. They really don’t even argue, to be honest, despite the fact that my matchmaking skills weren’t on good display when I first introduced them to one another.

    When I moved into my new home a few years ago, it had nice stainless steel appliances, paired with a decidedly low-end stainless steel sink, and the least expensive (and least user-friendly) kitchen faucet that the builder could find.

    Since I’m the type of person who doesn’t like to delay any gratification that might involve reading instructions, doing research or anything most intelligent folks would do, I went out and bought the sink that I wanted. I knew enough to know that the gauge of a stainless steel sink was one indication of its quality, so I made sure that I picked a low-enough gauge to satisfy my aesthetic criteria (and my pocketbook). It had a nice, deep bowl on one side that would serve me well, since I like to cook, which means scrubbing lots of pots & pans. The other side was shallower, and would nicely accommodate a standard draining rack. At the time, I wasn’t yet sure what kind of faucet I wanted, so it was a couple of weeks later that I found a great, single-handle faucet in a nice, chrome finish, with a great pull-out hose that would eliminate the need for a separate sprayer. And since my sink had an extra hole, I also went in for a handy soap dispenser, which is the best thing ever!

    Unfortunately, it wasn’t until after my new sink and faucet were both installed that I realized that I should’ve done a little more homework or talked to a professional, or both. The design of the sink (deeper bowl on left, which is also bigger in length/width dimensions) requires that the faucet be mounted over the right-hand bowl, rather than centered between bowls. When I started to wash my first sinkful of dishes (I’m the wash-under-running-water type) – my lack of planning quickly manifested itself with a nagging, sore feeling in my lower back. 

    For people who are taller than 5’5” this might not be a problem, but since I’m not, the faucet that I’d chosen was too “short” to reach a comfortable level over the middle of the deeper side of the sink, making me bend a bit to reach the stream while washing or rinsing the dishes. It isn’t much of a bend, but apparently it’s enough to awaken the back muscle demons who are raging opportunists.

    So now, every time I do dishes, I’m reminded of what it means to do your homework before making decisions that have long-lasting implications. I may end up replacing the faucet before long with one that has a longer reach. And while I’m at it (thanks to a nice IRS refund), I may also splurge for an instant hot water dispenser, so I can throw away my rusty old tea kettle.

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