Faucet Parts

The faucet may be the one we use the most, of all the working parts in a bathroom. The average person living in a city uses about 88 gallons of water a day. This includes washing hands, rinsing off fruits and vegetables, filling the tea kettle, or just having a glass of water. This alone is enough to understand the role faucets and faucet parts play in our lives.

Today, faucets are available at a wider range of prices than ever before. For example, you can buy a bathroom faucet for as little as thirty-five dirhams, or you can pay up to a thousand dirham for one. While it’s better to buy one that will last, that doesn’t mean it is going to last forever. At one point or another, you will have to fix some broken parts. This might be a small leak or a broken handle or a blocked spout. If you want to repair the faucet when the situation demands it, it is essential to have a basic understanding of various faucet parts.

Four major faucet parts

Recent advancements in materials and design have significantly increased the lifespan of faucets. Now it is less common for faucets to form leaks every now and then or to break off all of a sudden. But still, sometimes they will need some minor repairs. In those cases, it is more economical to replace the broken part of the faucet instead of replacing the whole faucet. We have compiled below a list of the four most important parts of a faucet. You will also find some fantastic tips that you can make use of while shopping for these parts online. Without further ado, let’s check them out. 

Spout

The spout is the part of the faucet that most people first notice. It’s the part that delivers water to the sink from the body and in its design can be distinctive between models. You might see spouts with a low profile, straight spouts, gooseneck spouts, and high-arc spouts. However, the design of the spout serves both function and style. It is the spout that helps in guiding the water stream to reach where it is required. There are also pull-out model spouts that have a retractable sprayer head that docks on the spout.

Valve

Today’s faucets use cartridge valves that enclose all the working parts in a single, easy-to-replace unit. That means no washers to change out. It is the valve that regulates water flow and temperature in a faucet. High-end valves use a pair of hard, smooth ceramic discs that are resistant to corrosion by hard water to seal the gaps and prevent leaks. If they snag some debris, the disks will break. At that point, you will need to replace the cartridge for the faucet to work. But keep in mind that the exact specifications of the cartridge vary depending on the faucet model.

Body

The body is where the hot and cold water mixes before going through the spout. The body usually consists of a one-piece casting. Oftentimes it is the same part of the faucet that houses the valves. In one or two-handle designs, there will be a separate housing for the valve mechanism. In a faucet with bridge configuration, there will be a pipe joining two different valves for mixing the hot and cold water. But this can vary in some models. There is a third type of faucet that features an extended body. In those models, the tubing where the hot and cold-water mix will be separate and will be concealed under the counter.

Mount

The mount basically means the place where the faucet is going to be attached. The most popular type of mount is a deck mount. In these mounts, the faucet will be on top of the sink. The benefit of this system is that it is easy to install if there is enough clearance between the sink and the wall. But it is necessary to have holes in the countertop or sink for the deck mount. A second alternative is to mount the faucet to the wall, which has the advantage of freeing up space from the countertop and enabling easier cleanup. But in cold climates, where pipes can freeze, this is not a good idea for exterior walls.