When you’re redesigning your bathroom, there are a lot of elements to consider and getting these right has the power to make or break your bathroom experience.
Bathroom taps can easily be thought of as an accessory, but the truth is that there is more to think about than just how they look – although the finish is of course important for the overall design and style you’re going for.
Mixer taps have become the go-to in many bathrooms and with good reason. So, we thought we’d run through the three best reasons to pick a mixer tap for your bathroom refurbishment. Before we get to that though, we should answer one important question…
What is a mixer tap?
A mixer tap, as its name suggests, mixes hot and cold water in a single outlet. However, although the water comes out of a single spout that doesn’t necessarily mean you have a single control.
While some mixer taps allow you to alternate between hot and cold water using a single lever, others have one outlet for the water, but two separate tap heads – one for hot and one for cold.
Now that we’ve explained what mixer taps are, let’s look at why they’re such a good option for bathrooms.
1. Improved temperature control
This is often one of the main reasons people choose mixer taps over standard taps. A mixer tap allows you to better control the temperature of the water you’re using, which makes it safer as you’re better able to prevent scalding hot water from coming out of the tap.
For families, this is a great option because it means your kids will be less likely to accidentally run the hot tap while washing their hands and potentially hurt themselves in the process.
The recommended bath temperature for babies is 38 degrees C. However, for many hot water will come out of the tap hotter than this – generally it’s not recommended that hot water flows exceed 50 degrees C in the UK.
A mixer tap will give you more control over the temperature of your running water in your bathroom, making it safer for everyone in your family.
2. Ease of use
Another reason why mixer taps are popular is that they are very easy to use – and easy to adjust. This means if you have it set all the way to hot, only to find the water is coming out of the tap almost scalding, you can quickly tap it to cold.
As most mixer taps work with a simple lever design, you don’t even need your hands to nudge it in the right direction – you can use an elbow to tap it left or right, for instance. This can be very handy when you’ve got dirty hands and want to avoid making more mess.
3. Space-saving design
Many of us don’t have the luxury of having large bathrooms, which means mixer taps which only require one spout can be a great choice if space is at a premium. They look sleek and stylish and they work well on small basins or large baths alike.
Even if you have room for a full-sized bath, a mixer tap can mean that you don’t need as much room at either end for the plumbing, giving you extra space around the edge of the bath and potentially making it more comfortable to recline in your bath.