4 Types of Bathroom Faucets

There are many reasons to want to know how to identify and understand the different kinds of faucets available on the market today. Whether you are choosing what kind of faucets to install in your bathroom or trying to identify what kind of faucet you have already to better understand how to repair it, knowledge of the variety of types of faucets can be very useful.

The four main types of bathroom faucets are ball faucets, disc faucets, compression faucets, and cartridge faucets. But what do these different names mean for you? How do you tell the difference between these four kinds of faucets? What sort of advantages and disadvantages do these kinds of faucets have when used in your bathroom? What follows is a brief summary of the four main types of bathroom faucets which should help answer these questions.

Ball Faucets

Ball faucets are quite common and also quite easy to identify. You can figure out if a faucet is a ball faucet very quickly by looking at its handle or handles. If a faucet has one handle with a ball at the base that it rotates around, it is a ball faucet. Ball faucets are an older design. Because of this, they leak more often than many other models.

Disc Faucets

Disc faucets are similar in appearance to ball faucets; however, there are many notable differences between disk faucets and ball faucets, both in how they look and how they function. Disc faucets, like ball faucets, have 1 handle that connects to the base of the faucet spout. Instead of a ball, disc faucets have a cylindrically shaped body that they turn on, which only allows them to rotate from side to side. On the inside of the cylinder are two discs from which this kind of faucet takes its name. These discs rotate past each other and are used to regulate the flow of hot and cold water.

Disc faucets are very similar to ball faucets, but they are a more modern design. Disc faucets, as a result, are more reliable.

Cartridge Faucets

Cartridge faucets come in two varieties. one-handled cartridge faucets are quite simple to identify. Their one handle must be turned left to right to adjust the water temperature, but pulled up and pushed down to adjust water volume.

Cartridge faucets with two handles are easy to mistake for compression faucets at first glance, but it is still possible to tell them apart if you know what features to look for. Unlike compression faucets, cartridge faucets move smoothly and evenly and do not become tighter or more loose as they are turned.

Cartridge faucets are a modern design and are very reliable.

Compression Faucets

Compression faucets all have two handles. They function by letting out more water as they are loosened, and less as they are tightened.

Compression faucets are an older model of faucet. While there are updated versions of the basic design, they are still usually found in older buildings more often than not. They are prone to a variety of problems.