Mixers, rinsers, boilers, hoses, the kitchen tap is no longer just one thing

Grabbing all the vertical attention, the kitchen tap is the lead act in and around your kitchen sink.

You can pay anything from €30 for a quiet low-rise mixer to over €1,200 for the latest, articulated, top-branded beauties. Going beyond a happy conduit in a U, C or L shaped spout, there’s a world of new tap aesthetics and performance on offer as bathroom and kitchen faucets continue to hybrid.

Rinser taps have been a staple of the commercial kitchen for three quarters of a century. Pulled down into service, drawn up and out of the tap housing or counter, 360° rinsers can tackle the farthest corner of the filthiest pan while a standard, fixed tap makes a sad arc of half the bowl. With industrial credentials written large, rinsers have bloomed up from weedy 1970s hoses into scratch resistant chrome plated or stainless steel muscle men.

Such a piece of mighty architectural hardware can overwhelm even an extensive three bay sink, even if your bar pressure will support one. To tame this arrangement, choose a pull-up rinser streamlined into a more conventional spout, or install a no-nonsense, counter-mounted, side-sprayer in addition to your chosen mixer tap. Some models will just make a tap-action stretch further, while others offer a variety of spray modes. Hoses do perish over time and will need occasional replacing.

Manipulating and improving the water from your mains water supply starts with filtration. The tap goes on, and the supply is directed through an instant process, purifying and improving its taste using activated carbon. Without the slight bleachiness of the chlorine added to our mains water, a reduction in heavy metals, scale and potential toxins, tap water can be served up as fresh to the tongue as a babbling rural brook with a blessedly neutral pH balance.

Obviously, we don’t have to filter water used for everyday washing up and food rinsing, so an extra lever will be somewhere on the housing for your drinking water. The Brita Filter Triflo complete tap kit, with a discreet lever at the tap base for directing filtered water starts from around €275. www.kitchenfittingsdirect.com.

Boiling water taps such as the InsinkErator make a turn of the tap into a cup of tea in a stand alone unit. Deemed pricey spoilers ten years ago, boilers are becoming more the norm in a new fit kitchen as part of the central tap housing. They do a lot more than beverage duty, sterilising chopping boards and baby bottles and topping up pans for pasta and other dishes to go straight to the stove. InsinkErator HC1100 remains reasonable at €629 (www.kal.ie for suppliers) and is perfect for a retro-fit where a hot/cold tap is already present. It should save you around 20% of the equivalent energy of using a standard kettle.

Chilling plus boiling is the latest taste in designer tap skills. The Blue® Chilled and Sparkling models by Grohe include a filter, cooler and carbonater, delivering cold, fizzy water instantly on demand, right at the sink. You can even determine the depth of fizz. We love their new Minta EasyTouch mixers, which turns the supply off and on with a touch of the wrist or elbow when your hands are full. €495. www.sho.ie for stockists and further pricing.

Before we get carried away on this deluge of design, the temptation with any all-singing and dancing super tap is to get as water happy as a fire hose. There’s no shame keeping things simple, preserving the flow and electing for a simple top lever tap, setting you back no more than €25 for something like the Pyramis Accel (). The unit comes with an optional pull out spray design for a refreshing €90, but check that your water pressure is up to even this slender bit of detailing. Chrome or stainless steel, nickel or brass, the finish is simply up to you, but any slightly brushed finish will hide those fingerprints.

ESSENTIAL BUYING TIPS

* If you’re replacing sink-mounted taps and keeping the original sink, or have run out and bought a drilled-out sink in a flurry of excitement, the hole pattern of the taps and sink will need to match precisely.

* Aerating kitchen tap heads introduce enough air to give a pleasing appearance of pressure but reduce the actual amount of water you use.

* Always use a registered plumber if you don’t have the skills for the installation. It’s a straightforward job if all the fittings are supplied and the sink in place. The Association of Plumbers & Heating Contractors is a good place to start if you don’t have a recommendation. www.aphci.ie.

* Don’t forget to pick up a matching waste for your sink. Basket styles are ideal for sieving out small food particles and rubbish and simple push-stops. Put them on the list with any slide over and drop-in food preparation accessories.

* If you want a spray style tap, 0.3 bar pressure or more is generally a minimum requirement for a forceful performance over a weary arc. Check the specifications of any unit you’re considering to ensure it matches your working water pressure.

* Ceramic discs inside the cartridge are like the gearing of your tap and should last the lifetime of the unit, holding single levers in perfect position with a finger push.

* We’re not all mixer folk, but bridge designs require three holes, and really straddle the sink quite noticeably. Dual controls don’t have to be old fashioned, just keep it sleek and angular, step away from ceramic handles, and pose it all on a one-hole monobloc. We love the Bauhaus-styled Robo range from Caple — elegant, pure and discreet.

* Allow enough room and a power supply under the counter for extra features around the tap and sink area such as filtration, carbonation or a hot water facility as these housings will be bolted on from underneath and should be easily accessed.

* When choosing filtration, research how many litres can run through the system before it requires a change of filter cartridge and just how easy it is to do this you. Are there tools required? Change times can be several hundred to several thousand litres.

* When you’re up to your elbows in brown break mix and have to reach with one outstretched pinkie and an elbow, your tap must be easily operated. If your mobility is limited, some levers will be a help, while others will be too easily knocked on and off or unsuited to your joints — try the model out on the showroom floor.

* If you’re putting together your own tap/sink combination, ensure you limit the angle the tap can run over to prevent flooding the area beyond the drainer or even behind the sink.

* Ensure the nozzle will be set high enough to accommodate your largest pan if you’re a devoted foodie with a large arsenal.