New faucets can give your kitchen and bath a fresh, modern look. New faucets can make your life easier too, especially if you choose a motion-activated faucet. Here are some benefits of a touchless faucet and how a plumber can install them in your home.

How A Touchless Faucet Works

A touchless faucet is motion-activated, so it turns on automatically when it senses movement. This is done with the help of one or more sensors located on the faucet. Some faucets can also be operated manually, so you can use your sink even when the power is out and the batteries are dead. However, many motion-activated faucets don't have handles at all. This gives your sink a sleeker appearance and makes it easier to clean.

How A Touchless Faucet Benefits Your Family

The main benefit of a touchless faucet is it keeps down on the spread of germs. You don't have to worry about germs from raw meats, for example, getting on faucet handles since you can wash your hands without touching any handles. Plus, there are no faucets to harbor germs from sick people in your family, and this might cut down on the spread of colds and the flu.

Kids and elderly family members can use a motion-activated faucet much more easily since it's not necessary to twist knobs or reach all the way across the sink to turn on the water. You also won't have to worry about kids wasting water by leaving it running after washing their hands. A touchless faucet shuts off automatically in addition to turning on by itself.

How A Motion-Activated Faucet Is Installed

This type of faucet is installed much like a traditional faucet, except the faucet requires a control box, too. The control box turns the water on when motion is detected. The box might plug in with an AC adapter, or it might run on batteries, depending on the faucet model you buy.

If you buy a touchless faucet without handles, you don't have to worry about the extra two holes in your sink since the base plate has only one hole and will cover any additional holes. When you shop for a new bathroom or kitchen faucet, you always want to buy one with the same or fewer holes than what you already have in your sink.

To install your new faucet, the plumber removes the old faucet parts and then inserts the hoses for the new faucet through the hole on top of the sink and connects the hoses to the water supply under the sink. The control board is mounted under your sink near the hoses and attached to a battery pack or plugged into an outlet if there is one under the sink.

Once the hoses and control cables are attached, the plumber will test the faucet and make sure it and the pull-out sprayer works. The water temperature is also checked to make sure it is set where you want it so the water won't be too hot for kids.

To learn more about your options, contact a resource like Arnold & Sons Plumbing, Sewer & Drain Services.