Before Replacing a Kitchen Faucet: Pull Down vs Pull Out

My original sad looking pull out faucet had lost its connection integrity

Oh, it was just another day in paradise here in Kailua-Kona, thinking about replacing a kitchen faucet. When it comes to home improvement projects, I have developed over the years a strong affection. My husband might call it an obsession. It’s like a sickness or disease. The same affliction that causes my addiction to Sacramento real estate and my concentrated focus on providing excellence service as a Sacramento Realtor. Plus, both of those things are intertwined.

Those of you who regularly act on strong impulses to remodel know what I’m talking about. Those of you who are related to people like us also know what I’m saying.

I set off for Lowe’s, which is only a mile from our house in Hawaii. How lucky is THAT? I own stock in Lowe’s and dumped The Home Depot. Not to mention, The Home Depot threw a lot of money at Trump. Sometimes it’s best to go directly to the store rather than stare for hours at limited information online. I expected my project of replacing a kitchen faucet to go smoothly. Besides, I had questions about pull down vs pull out faucets.

OK, I know better than to expect answers from a clerk at a home improvement store, but I tried anyway. I had done enough research to suspect that when it came to pull down vs pull out faucets, I would lean toward pull down. The clerk stared blankly. He had never heard the terms. Being the kind of person I am, I showed him the differences.

A pull out faucet comes off with most of the head and handle in your hand. It is often attached horizontally. Which is why my kitchen faucet needed to be replaced. It no longer attached securely to its base, and just sort of hung its head in shame. Over time, this is what happens. This malfunction must be so ubiquitous that some manufacturers promote its “magnetic” strength on the boxes, but I don’t believe it.

A pull down faucet is released by pulling down vertically on the faucet head. The movement is also more ergonomically correct. When you couple a pull down function with a pre-rinse faucet, it means the faucet head rests in a clasp.

Consider replacing a kitchen faucet with a pull down pre-rinse faucet, like my new faucet shown here.

The other thing I discovered is when you have a 3-hole sink and do not want to cover all 3 holes with a plate, because that’s so 1990, what the websites don’t properly explain is all of the faucets tend to come with a plate cover even though the faucet is depicted as without. If your sink surface is gunky and damaged under the cover, you can install the cover in the box. Alternately, you can buy round plugs for the holes, or install an air gap or soap dispenser. You’e got choices. Much cleaner look without the plate.

I often advise my sellers who are preparing a home for sale to consider replacing a kitchen faucet, especially the white faucets, with a new stainless steel pull down, pre-rinse. It adds new life and functionality to the kitchen for very little money. One of the benefits to working with this Sacramento Realtor is the fact I have done many home improvement projects, not much I can’t do with my own two hands, and have developed a good eye for detail.

I leave you with these words of encouragement. If you look at your kitchen every day and wonder if it’s worth replacing a kitchen faucet, yes, go buy a new faucet. They are inexpensive. Easy to install. And you can always hire a plumber, like I did yesterday — hey, I am on my wor-cation in Hawaii, why do I want to install a faucet myself when I can pay for the end result — it will cost about $100 for the install.