When the time comes to install a new faucet in your kitchen, you have the opportunity to enhance that fixture to whatever you may want it to be. This is the chance to take advantage of the latest developments and features available in the faucets on the market, increasing your kitchen's convenience and ease of use.

Here's a look at a few features to consider and discuss with your plumber before you choose your new faucet installation.

Hands-Free Faucets

When you're looking to reduce the frequency with which everyone in the house comes in contact with your plumbing fixtures, which reduces the spread of germs, you should consider installing hands-free faucets. These units come with an integrated sensor, much like the ones you find in public restrooms, so that the water is turned on when something trips that sensor. This allows you to use the water without having to touch faucet fixtures repeatedly and risk spreading germs.

Tap-To-Flow Faucets

If you don't like the look of faucets with the levers or the knobs on either side, you might want to consider something more streamlined, such as a tap-to-flow faucet. These require you to just make contact with the faucet anywhere on the metal and it will activate the flow of water. You do the same to turn it off. Many of these are even configured so that if you tap on one side, you get cold water, and if you tap on the other, you get hot. You can tap the center to get warm water. 

Smart Faucets

Another fixture that's gaining popularity is the smart faucets. These faucets are designed to integrate with your home's smart speaker systems, allowing you to control your faucets with your smart speakers. You can tell your smart home system to activate the faucet and dispense a specific volume of water, or to run the water at a specific temperature. The level of control means that you can do virtually anything with these faucets with nothing more than voice commands.

Pull-To-Spray Faucets

Many newer faucet fixtures incorporate the sprayer function directly into the faucet head itself instead of as an added fixture beside the faucet. You simply pull down on the head of the faucet to disengage it and the faucet head turns into a sprayer. You can usually control the spray with a button or other control fixture on the faucet head.

No matter what you're looking for from your new kitchen faucet installation, consider these options and talk with your plumber to see which would be the best fit for your kitchen.