Which Faucet Finish is Easiest to Clean?
Faucet finishes can add elegance and theme to a well-designed bathroom or kitchen. However, adding such a faucet fixture is half the battle won. The other half is maintaining it to ensure continuous aesthetics in the bathroom or cooking area for a long time.
So, considering a faucet finish that has low maintenance processes is worthwhile. It’s a no-brainer that there are faucet finishes that are easy to clean and maintain than others. This can be due to the type of material they’re constructed in. You can’t possibly know which one to go for at face value.
Therefore, it’s essential to always go for solid finishes than a plastic faucet. Before answering this critical question, let’s look at different types of finishes for bathroom and kitchen faucets, plus some of their maintenance, cost, and durability.
What Is a Faucet Finish?
Faucet finishes are an outer coating usually applied on the faucet’s surface. They serve two functions; firstly, they play a design role just like faucets. These finishes improve the aesthetic of the faucet to make it attractive.
Secondly, it serves as a protective element. The coating will protect the faucet from external harmful substances like rusting or corrosion. They come in various metals and colors to match various bathroom and kitchen designs.
With many types on the market, it’s obvious that these faucet finishes are different from each other in one way or another. You’ll therefore need to purchase the same finish, faucet, and accessories from a particular company to ensure they match.
Moreover, if you’ve never gone finish shopping, it’s highly recommended you talk to a professional designer before picking any type. Now that you have a basic idea of what faucet finishes are Let’s look at different types.
Different Types of Faucet Finishes
Apart from the style and design of your faucet, the kind of the best bathroom faucet finish you choose will impact the overall interior design of the room. Depending on your vision for your bathrooma and the bathroom styles, it’s important to look at various faucet finishes and their pros and cons to determine which one best suits your dream bathroom style. Here are some common bathroom faucet finishes.
Chrome Finish Faucets
Known for their attractive silvery polished shine, chrome faucets will make your bathroom area stand up. They’ll easily become your bathroom’s striking feature regardless of style. Chrome-finished faucets are made from an alloy metal chromium, which is quite durable and lightweight.
The durable finish is corrosion-resistant and made from the cheapest finishing materials. It’s also easy to clean and maintain. However, the chrome finish will tarnish over time. Moreover, since the polished surface is attractive, the bathroom faucet finish will show fingerprints and water spots more profoundly.
The good thing is that the polished chrome finish is easy to clean. All you’ll be required to do is wipe the faucet with a damp cloth and soap occasionally. Polished chrome suits any bathroom style but is common in modern, Scandinavian, and industrial styles.
Oil Rubbed Bronze Finishes
Most bathroom faucets with oil-rubbed bronze finish have slightly brown shades. They’re usually chemically darkened to look like old bronze. Therefore, the oil-rubbed bronze finish is perfect for a vintage or antique bathroom interior.
The best part about oil-rubbed bronze is that they’re quite durable. Plus, their dark nature makes fingerprints and water spots less visible on their surface. If you’re on a budget, then the oil-rubbed bronze finish is something to shy away from, as they’re drastically expensive.
Moreover, oil-rubbed bronze requires high maintenance. You’ll have to clean and polish them regularly. In any case, the cleaning process is however simple. The oil-rubbed bronze has a 10-year lifespan; afterward, you’ll need to replace it. The faucet finish will still maintain its beauty even if you don’t replace it.
Nickel Faucet Finishes
Nickel faucets are another common bathroom faucet finish that uses nickel metal to attain a silvery sheen. They come in two categories; polished and brushed nickel finishes. Let’s look at these two types in detail.
Brushed Nickel Finish
To attain such a durable finish, bathroom faucets are coated with nickel and then brushed over with a wire brush. Afterward, the surface is coated with a lacquer protective layer. The end result is a brushed nickel finish capable of resisting wear and tear.
Brushed nickel is the most durable faucet finishes. Unlike their polished nickel counterparts, brushed nickel has a matte finish. It’s created by the abrasions caused by the wire brush.
The matte surface ensures that water spots and fingerprints are less visible on the surface. More importantly, brushed nickel can last longer than chrome or oil-rubbed bronze finishes.
In addition, you’ll not have to worry about brushed nickel not matching other fixtures in your bathroom. However, they’re more expensive when you compare brushed nickel with chrome. But quite affordable when you compare them with oil rubbed bronze finish.
Brushed nickel finishes don’t go well with stainless steel. Therefore, be on the lookout while accessorizing the bathroom. Other than that, brushed nickel is an excellent fit for any bathroom design.
Polished Nickel Finishes
Unlike brushed nickel, polished nickel is achieved by brushing a nickel-plated brass on bathroom faucets to attain a highly reflective shiny finish. These types are easy to clean and can last for a long time. The drawback of polished nickel is that they’re highly reflective, meaning water spots and fingerprints are visible.
This means you need to clean the polished nickel surface regularly. However, the cleaning process is easy, just wiping with a soft cloth and soapy water. Just like oil-rubbed bronze, polished nickel is quite expensive.
They look great in traditional, Victorian, and modern bathrooms.
Brass Finishes
They basically use brass in their coating. Since brass is a copper alloy, you’ll notice most bathroom faucets with brass finish have a reddish tinge. They are also divided into two; polished brass and solid brass. Let’s take a closer look at both of them.
Polished Brass
It’s among the most classic bathroom faucet finishes. Polished brass is attained by polishing solid brass and then finishing it off by coating it with lacquer. Some manufacturers take a different route to attain polished brass.
Usually, they produce polished brass faucets by using metal alloys than brass. The alloy is electroplated before adding the protective layer-lacquer. These polished finishes are durable and don’t tarnish. The best part is they go well with any design and other bathroom accessories.
Polished brass is, however, on the expensive side of things. They also have an attractive surface and would likely show water spots and fingerprints. The lacquer will also dull as they age.
Satin Brass Finishes
Another type of finish from the bathroom faucet finishes is the satin brass. They have a textured finish to give off that matte finish look. Unlike polished brass, the satin brass finish easily hides water spots and fingerprints.
It’s, however, very difficult to find matching accessories and other fixtures that can go well with a satin brass finish. They’re simple yet sophisticated. Its burnished brown-gold color will breathe fresh air into your bathroom living space.
Stainless Steel Finishes
If you’re trying to find an affordable yet durable finish, then stainless steel faucet finish is your best bet. Stainless steel faucets are resistant to rust and corrosion. These metal finishes are iron-based and highly reflective.
They’re pretty much the same faucet as those of the metal silver but the affordable and durable version.
The stainless-steel finishes are easy to clean. All there is to it is wiping them with a damp cloth to remove water stains. These metal finishes are, however, not cheap compared to other finishes.
The scratch-resistant finish will match so well with an industrial, modern, and contemporary bathroom fixtures style. Moreover, the stainless-steel finish will look good with marble and wood countertops.
If you’re thinking of using them in your bathroom or cooking area, a stainless-steel faucet finish will elevate everything to elegance.
Matte Black Faucet Finish
To get the alluring matte black faucet finish, one has to coat stainless steel, iron, or brass with powder. The resulting product is either a satin or dull finish. Matte black finishes are easy to clean and easily conceal smudges, fingerprints, and water spots.
Just like stainless steel, matte finishes are considered trendy and modern.
So, they’ll match well with other fixtures that take the art deco, modern, eclectic, and minimalist bathroom design.
Custom Made Faucet Finish
If the above finishes are not what you’re looking for, then don’t worry; you can still go the custom-made route. Other metal finishes you can opt for include; satin bronze, satin nickel, silver, simulated copper finishes, pewter, and zinc. Moreover, you can also go for powder- and paint-oriented finishes.
There are also others made from ceramic and glass finish, which are glazed to match other fixtures in the bathroom area.
The Best Finish for Bathroom Faucets
While they’re myriad finishes you can opt for depending on your needs, the best faucet finish generally is the brushed or satin nickel. They’re more durable than enamel and plastic faucets, ensuring minimal chance of replacing them. Other favorites include; solid brass, satin bronze, and oiled rubbed bronze. They’re easy to clean and maintain.
On the other hand, chrome and stainless steel are popular and affordable options. They’ll, however, need you to clean regularly. If your faucets are a little jaded, consider reaching out to Infaucets Manufacturers. It has everything you’re looking for when it comes to faucets and other bathroom fixtures.
More importantly, the type of faucet might have a lifelong warranty you may not know about. It comes in handy in terms of saving on costs, as you’ll not have to install a new faucet altogether.
Want to know more about faucets? Please select Infaucets.