Collection: Plumbing

Plumbing Fixtures and Parts

Filtration is only one part of what runs through a kitchen or a bathroom. This collection covers the plumbing fixtures and hardware that carry the water the rest of the way: sinks, bar sinks, kitchen and bathroom faucets, shower heads, shower wands, and the accessories that go with them.

Faucets from established manufacturers such as Delta and Moen are built around cartridges and valve bodies that can be serviced rather than replaced whole, which is a large part of why they last. A dripping faucet is usually a worn cartridge or a hardened o-ring, not a failed fixture, and the finish tends to hold up long after the working parts have been changed once or twice. That serviceability is worth weighing when choosing between models.

Sinks and faucets have to be matched before either one is ordered. The number of holes drilled in the sink deck determines which faucet configurations will mount, since a single hole setup will not accept a widespread faucet without an escutcheon plate. Bar sinks add a constraint of their own, because a compact basin needs a spout with the right reach and height to be usable. Measuring the existing cutout and deck first avoids the most common mismatch.

Shower hardware follows the same rule in a simpler form. Shower heads and handheld wands thread onto a standard arm connection, so most upgrades come down to unthreading the old head, cleaning the threads, wrapping fresh tape, and threading on the new one. Flow rate and spray pattern are what separate one model from another.

Hard water leaves its mark on all of this hardware over time, as scale builds on aerators, spray faces, and valve seats. Fixtures downstream of a whole house or point of use filter generally need less descaling, which is one more reason the two categories tend to be shopped together.