Highest Rated Kitchen Faucets

Highest Rated Finishes

• If you’ve undertaken a kitchen renovation in the past, you know that the dizzying array of faucet finishes grows by the year. Brass, glass, nickel, chrome—and then you have to decide between matte and shine. The choice is made for you if you’re matching metal colors, but if not, a brush finish gets the highest marks for the best chance of staying scratch-free. That stated, if you’re more worried about corrosion than scratches, choose chrome. If you must have bronze, “Consumer Reports” gives a thumbs up to bronze faucets with a PVD finish.

Highest Rated Brands

• Perhaps you already love a top-notch brand that’s worked so well that you’re not looking elsewhere. If so, skip this section. Otherwise, follow the advice of Plumber’s Director.com, and go for these best sellers: Delta, Elkay, Grohe, Kohler and Moen. That stated, Price Pfister is the number one pick of Mark Silver, writing for Bestcovery.com, followed up by Delta, Grohe, Moen and Danze Parma, a brand that could be hard to track down since it’s so exotic. Looks like Delta, Grohe and Moen share the honors, so if you prefer narrowing down your choices to just three, make it these.

Highest Rated Engineering

• Bet you thought your decisions were limited to shape, price and finish, but as a savvy shopper, you may also want to compare “washerless” and “compression” faucets. The first, as you probably surmise, has no washers, because a cartridge and seals substitutes for these time-honored rings. Parts last longer on a washerless faucet, and there’s less friction and wear. Compression faucets feature conventional engineering, so washers are required. Plumber’s Directory.com compares compression-style faucets to three types of washerless faucets: ball, disc and cartridge. If you want the highest-rated model, opt for a washerless disc model, considered the faucet of tomorrow.

Highest Rated Designs/Features

• Single-handed faucets are easy to use—unless there’s a side-mounted handle requiring you to use your soiled fingers to turn on the water. Side mounted faucet handles are also known to bang up knuckles, because there’s usually less space between the handle and backsplash. Experts recommend walking right by those straight-spout faucets at the home store—even though they’re cheap—in favor of gooseneck designs with high clearances. Oh, and make certain you don’t let all of this rating business stop you from matching up your faucet with your sink size. A gigantic gooseneck over a mini-sink is going to look so awkward that ratings will be the last thing you worry about.