Top Reasons for Not Installing a Pot Filler in Your New Kitchen Design?

Wall-mounted faucets that are installed near or above the stovetop to fill your pots and pans with water are called pot filler faucets. Also known as a pasta arm or kettle faucet, Pot Filler Faucets have an articulated arm that lets the faucet swing out over the burners allowing you to fill large pots right where they will be heated. The ‘arm’ of these pot fillers swings out when you need it and tucks back in when the pot is full.

It doesn’t get more convenient than this! Pot fillers help you save precious time when cooking. They are available in hot and cold, only hot and cold-water settings. They make kitchen time easy by eliminating the need to pick up water-filled, heavy pots from the sink.

Do You Actually Need a Pot Filler Faucet in Your Kitchen?

We know that a pot filler faucet is a useful gadget for the kitchen. However, is it a must-have item, or is your kitchen better off without it? Let’s compare the pros and cons of having one and reach a final verdict.

Pros of a Pot Filler Faucet

1. Eliminates Heavy Lifting

Imagine a long and tiring grocery run and coming home, only to lift a heavy pot full of water from the sink to the stove. Cooking is a labor-intensive task, and having to do it daily can feel like a cumbersome chore. Add to it lifting heavy pots and pans, and you are in for a backache, cramps, or strained muscles. Wall-mounted pot fillers are a life (read: back) saver as they let you fill your pots right over the stove, reducing your lifting tasks.

If you’re prone to accidents and falls or have a back or knee issue, installing a pot filler faucet is one of the best gifts you can give yourself. With a pot filler, you can say goodbye to hauling heavy pots and pans to the sink daily.

2. Multitasking and Streamlined Workflow

A major selling point of a pot faucet filler is its ability to let you multitask. You might be thinking, delegating multitasking to a faucet now, are we? Yes, we are! How about filling two pans of water simultaneously? Or avoiding wasting time on multiple trips to the sink? How about when you need to run cold water over boiled pasta, but the sink is full of dishes? Use the pot filler faucet directly over your stove for some quick action!

It streamlines your workflow, and if you have a countertop opposite the stove, constantly switching between chopping vegetables, stirring the pots, and plating up food becomes easier. Furthermore, you can perform multiple cooking tasks at once without having to go to the sink repeatedly.

3. The Convenience of Having a Water Source Close By

A pot filler increases the functionality and convenience of your kitchen. It fills the pots directly over the stove while simultaneously tackling multiple cooking tasks, such as boiling water and making a stew. You may be cooking for a big gathering, and your bigger pot might not fit into the sink. Just pop it over onto the stove, turn on your pot filler faucet and enjoy the fact that the pot is heating and filling up at the same time!

In terms of the functionality of your kitchen, don’t let its name fool you! You can use the pot filler to fill kettles, cans, vases, jars, and other containers. You can even swing it to its full length to fill your coffee maker or espresso machine. Just this reason alone made me get mine!

4. End of Clutter

Pot fillers free up space in the kitchen sink for washing dishes. It further reduces mess by allowing two people to work alongside without having to bump into each other on their way to the sink and stove. A dedicated pot filler faucet speeds up the cooking and cleaning processes. Not just this, pot fillers also reduce the spillage on the kitchen floor and countertops.

5. Effortless Installation

A contractor or plumber, whichever one you hire, can install a pot filler in less than 30 minutes. Yes, it is that easy! But what’s even easier is that if you have the right plumbing, you can install one yourself too! Granted, it’ll take more than 30 minutes (or less, what do we know? You might have a natural talent for plumbing!), but you’ll be able to install it successfully by following the manufacturer’s guidelines for your specific faucet.

6. The Aesthetic Element

When adding aesthetics to the kitchen, remember they don’t just make the visit to this room a visually pleasing one, but they will also increase the resale value of your property. Pot fillers are an instant enhancement to your kitchen’s aesthetics and increase the room’s charm. Pot filler faucets come in silver, golden, bronze, and black and can easily match your kitchen theme. Like wall-mounted ovens, pot fillers add a wow factor to your kitchen, making it the talk of the town (or at least your friend or family’s!)

An already installed pot filler faucet will bowl over a cooking enthusiast as your potential buyer because they won’t have to go through the trouble of changing the plumbing to install one. Also, a pot filler matching the kitchen aesthetics will make for an attractive feature.

Cons of a Pot Filler Faucet

Some people who have installed pot filler faucets in their kitchens feel they are not worth the hype and are too much of a hassle. For specialty design accessories, the cons sometimes outweigh the pros. Even with the major advantage of eliminating the need to move heavy pots from the sink to the stove, these faucets have some major disadvantages, making one reconsider installing one in their kitchen.

1. A Potential Leak Over the Cooking Range

An extra tap attached to additional plumbing translates to more chances of dripping. Imagine coming home to a kitchen full of water. Water on your stove, in your oven, within your walls, and on the floor… Because there’s no sink underneath to collect it, the dripping water will continue to spill all over the kitchen until you can call a plumber to fix the leak.

2. Heaving Hauling – Not Completely Eliminated

You filled your cooking pot on top of the stovetop using the pot filler faucet. Great! But… you still have to carry the heavy pot full of water AND pasta off the stove and back to the sink for straining, so you can either strain your back and do it or have a heavy-weight lifter friend of yours on speed dial!

3. Additional Greasy Fixture to Clean

A fixture this close to the stove is bound to collect grease and require extra cleaning for the arm, tap, and joints. The design and placement of these faucets do not make the cleaning process easy. Reaching all the way to the backsplash for deep cleaning will make this a challenging task.

4. Unnecessary Expenditure

Before opting for a pot filler, consider how often you whip out your big pan to boil lobster or pasta or make a huge pot of stew. For casual cooks who use the faucet only a few times a year, it does not make sense to spend money on an additional gadget in the kitchen that won’t be used much.

Final Verdict

Continuing from the last con, if you spend up to $1200 on a faucet with shut-off valves and then use it only on special occasions, it might not be worth going to all the trouble of installing one in the first place. Holding a heavy pot once or twice a week does not seem to be that arduous a task. However, carrying a heavy pot through your kitchen can be difficult if you are a home chef without a prep sink or a large kitchen. Also, a pot filler might be a worthy and smart investment if you cook large quantities of soups, stews, or pasta regularly.

In short – pot-fillers can be classified as good-to-have, not must-have. They are for convenience and beauty, but that’s about it. Whether you consider it as a helpful device or a style statement for your home, see which of these attributes are higher on your priority list and decide if you need a pot filler faucet in your kitchen or not.