The Life Changing Magic of My New Kitchen Faucet
I sound like such a drama queen, but it's so true. My new kitchen faucet is life...for my kitchen that is. Thanks to Gerber for gifting the faucet for a blog review. All opinions are my own based on personal experience.Think about how many times you use your kitchen faucet throughout the day - prepping food, cleaning dishes, cleaning up after cooking, or just washing your hands. You easily use your kitchen faucet dozens of times throughout the day. This fixture is NOT where you want to skimp in your budget. I have fixtures installed regularly for my client's kitchen renovation projects, but personally using the fixture regularly is completely different. To experience a well made product firsthand is truly life changing. It's like cutting a piece of steak with a butter knife v. a steak knife...what a difference the right tool makes!Let's take a quick look at the icky faucet that was pre-existing.WARNING: it's NOT pretty!It was an old unit, at least 14 years old from what we were able to deduce. It was an inexpensive Moen unit that had seen better days. As you can see from the photos below, it never cleaned up well. I purposely didn't try to clean it up for this BEFORE shot. The hard water stains around the handle connection would not clean up no matter how hard I tried to scrub it. It was so bad that I could barely turn it from one sink basin to the other. I had to literally push it hard to make it move. The base of the unit was also really gross and could only be cleaned up so much. It was the rust from ongoing leaks that kept oozing out. Although this had a pull-out spray, I could never use it because there was a hole in the hose that would leak whenever I tried to use the pull-out and water would drip back into the shaft. This was especially challenging when I cleaned the sink. I couldn't use the pull out spray to wash down the sink...arrghh!
My Kitchen Faucet Before...
Removing it was a challenge. It had rusted parts so unscrewing it deemed difficult and poor installation also added to the challenge of removing it.
I was so excited to get a new faucet thanks to Gerber.
What a beauty this Wicker Park Single Handle Pull Down Faucet is. The stainless steel finish is very attractive. The sheen is very similar to a polished nickel.
I was not kidding when I said my kitchen faucet had life changing magic.
My Kitchen Faucet After
First of all, I love the modern lines of this faucet. It instantly elevated the look of the kitchen. It's a tall unit at 16-3/4'H from deck to the top of arch so it really takes center stage.
Second, the weight of the fixture is very sturdy. You can tell the quality by how it handles. The pull out spray is sleek and strong and snaps back into place quickly. Compared to the previous unit, this has oomph with real stainless steel construction. The other unit was very light so probably very thin metal construction. It felt like plastic with metal plating.
Lastly, although it takes some getting used to, the water pressure is incredible and the front handle is awesome. Although this is not a sensor or hands-free unit, it's the next best thing. I can literally turn on the faucet with my pinky finger and turn off the faucet with the back of my palm. Very handy for those icky hand situations.
I really do love my new faucet and if your faucet has seen better days, I would recommend your considering the Gerber Wicker Park Single Handle Pull Down Kitchen Faucet. You have a choice of chrome or stainless steel finish. Gerber also has other styles available. I just really liked the clean, modern aesthetic of this one. The less detail, the easier it is to clean! Go get yourself some magic!
Feedback and Review from the Installer:
Pros: The connection screw mount was very easy and a great quality. The weight for the spray spout was also really easy to install. The slider connection versus connecting with little tiny screws was a great addition.Cons: The hot and cold lines were switched (not sure why). Also, the perm mounted supply line length for the hot and cold lines could be longer. We needed to add a 4 inch extension to the hot side.This post was in partnership with Gerber, but all opinions are my own based on my experience.
