Touchless taps and other faucet surprises
That bit about waving your hands like you’re casting spells over the sink made me laugh—been there more times than I care to admit. I’ve got a touchless in the kitchen, and honestly, it’s a mixed bag. On good days, it feels like living in the future. On bad days, I’m standing there with sticky hands, waving around while nothing happens, and my wife’s rolling her eyes from the other room. Usually turns out there’s a crumb or something on the sensor. Once, it was just a low battery, but there was no warning light, so I spent half an hour thinking it was broken before I figured it out.
I totally get what you mean about missing when a faucet was just a faucet. Less to go wrong, and you didn’t need to troubleshoot every time it acted up. But I do like not having to touch anything when I’m dealing with raw chicken or whatnot.
About those hybrid models—I actually went for one in our downstairs bathroom because I was nervous about guests not knowing how to use the touchless feature (my dad’s not exactly “tech-savvy”). It’s been surprisingly decent. There’s a little toggle for switching between modes, but sometimes I forget which one it’s set to and end up doing that awkward hand dance. Still, having the manual handle as backup is a lifesaver when the batteries die or the sensor gets finicky.
One thing I noticed: the hybrid wasn’t much more expensive than the regular touchless, at least when I caught it on sale. I’m always looking for ways to avoid unnecessary repairs or replacements, so having both options feels like cheap insurance. Only downside is, more parts means more things that could break, but so far, so good.
I do wish they’d just add a simple battery indicator or something obvious. Even some kind of beep would be better than nothing. Until then, I guess I’ll keep a stash of batteries in the freezer—just in case that trick actually works one day.
