What is the difference between pull-down and pull-out kitchen faucets?

The ease of functioning in kitchens heavily relies on selecting appropriate fixtures, such as kitchen faucets. Regrettably, numerous individuals overlook their significance. They overlook the pivotal role that basic kitchen components play. Yet, with a closer examination of kitchen faucets, one can easily recognize their essential contribution to both the kitchen's operation and its visual appeal. Consequently, it's vital to balance functionality and style when choosing kitchen faucets, ensuring they not only serve their purpose well but also complement the overall interior design.

Kitchen faucet selection basics

Faucets are available in a wide range of designs and styles that can match any kitchen décor, whether traditional, classic, vintage, or contemporary. After finalizing the style that is compatible with the kitchen design, you must consider the ease of use of the fixture with respect to how you want to use it. It depends on how you want to make use of the sink like using it for dishwashing before and after meals, for food station related work, or for performing laundry. The type of tasks performed in the sink influences the choice of kitchen faucets, especially its style, by ensuring the amount of working space that would be available between the faucet spout and the sink.

You may need a tall faucet

If you want to wash large utensils in the sink, not only the basin must be large and have good depth, but the faucet spout must be located at a higher level than usual to maximize the usable space for washing in the sink. It means that the faucet must have a tall design instead of the traditional faucets of lower height. Choosing the right type of faucet will make it very convenient to use the sink for the purpose that you have in need.

Types of tall faucets

After knowing that you need a tall faucet, the next thing to consider is whether you could do with water flowing in a stream from the faucet or prefer to have a high-pressure water jet. If you choose the latter type, then you must go for special faucet designs that integrate the high-pressure sprayer inside. The sprayer is usually located inside the faucet head and there are two variants available – a pull down kitchen faucet and a pull-out kitchen faucet.

Pull-down kitchen faucets

Pull down kitchen faucet designs come with different spray options, which makes it very convenient for doing tasks like rinsing and filling. Moreover, if you are happy to work with a single fluid motion of the faucet that directs the spray downwards only directly into the basin, then the pull-down faucet is best for you, which is suitable for ergonomic reasons too. This type of faucet is most popular, as evident from its dominance in the market over the pull-out faucets.  But regardless of which kind of faucet you choose, make sure that there is enough vertical space available above the sink for installing it. 

Pull-out kitchen faucets are different from the pull-down faucets

Although pull-out kitchen faucets are similar to the pull-down type because both are tall, pull-out faucets are slightly shorter than pull-down type and require much less headroom, which makes it an excellent choice for kitchens with cabinet space above the sink. Since it has smaller spray heads than the pull-down faucets, the chances of water splashing are also less.  The difference in design between the two types of faucet might not be very evident, except for the variation in height. However, a distinct mark of difference between the pull-down and pull-down faucets is that sine the pull-down faucets spray water directly into the sink, these have shorter hoses. The faucet head of pull-down faucets is stationery, whereas for pull-out faucets you can turn the faucet head or sprayer towards you.

Sink usage influences the type of faucet you need

How you plan your kitchen work and intend to use the sink by considering the tasks you want to perform in the sink area is very important to decide whether the pull-out faucets or the pull-down type will be useful for you. However, going by the popular trend, pull-down faucets are miles ahead of pull-out types because this is what you will gather by looking at the extensive offerings of the pull-down faucets in the market. If popularity is any indication about the usefulness of faucets, then the decision making becomes very easy as you will generally find huge stocks of pull-down faucets in the market available in various finishes and styles.

See how it works

Despite gathering enough information about the faucet types, you might still not be confident about your choice, and to clear the confusion, you can either seek professional guidance by visiting a showroom. By looking at the demo of the faucets, it will be easier to understand what you can expect from it and how useful it will be for you. Which type is more flexible than the other will become clear on having a feel of it by looking at the demonstration that explains all the functionalities and features of both types of faucets. Matching your experience with your expectations can only ensure that you make the right choice.

Dealing with small sinks

If you are looking for a tall faucet for your kitchen but worried about the small sink size, then pull-out faucets are the only choice because of its flexibility. While the high-arc design of the faucet ensures enough space between the faucet head and the sink, the faucet has a swivel arrangement that can rotate between 180^o and 360^o. The maneuverability of pull-out faucets is an advantage for using it in smaller sinks by positioning the longer hoses conveniently that ensures tidy working in the sink and even stretching it to the countertop to compensate for small sink size.