A faucet that all germaphobes want to get their hands on
Delta's Pilar faucet uses Touch2O technology to turn on and off when you touch it anywhere and with any part of your body
Did you own a touch lamp? You know what I'm talking about--the type that turns on by touching it anywhere along the body? I've never owned one, but I vividly remember my great grandmother's.
I used to visit my extended family when I was a kid, and even though they made a sincere effort to stock their houses with enough toys to keep us occupied during our stays, I still remember getting bored. It was then that I discovered the touch lamp, and I remember wasting time pretending that my great grandma's house was inhabited by ghosts, bumping into the lamp and feigning surprise when it turned on. It was also then that I came to the conclusion that touch lamps were created for the sole purpose of entertaining children.
The touch feature is something that hasn't shown up in many kitchens as of yet (imagine the suits filed against the company who develops the touch stove). But after the appearance in the House Beautiful Kitchen of the Year of the Delta Pilar, a faucet that turns on and off by touch, things may be about to change.
Kitchen designer Christopher Peacock joked that he wasn't much of a gadget person, unless the gadget is "justifiably good." His design is simple, classic, and for the most part, leaning more toward the traditional than to the technical side. However, like most of the elements in Christopher's design, the Delta faucet is high tech for a reason.
In order to turn the faucet on, you can literally touch it with anything and at any point along the fixture, using a technology called Touch2O. This means that you can easily turn on the water with your elbow when you're cooking with chicken while avoiding contaminating the faucet handles, and you can also turn off the water quickly to be conservative when you're washing dishes.
The Delta Pilar's head is also detachable, and can be pulled away on a flexible hose. This part of the faucet is not touch-sensitive, so you can avoid the confusing on-off cycle that ensued when I first approached it and was unaware that it turned on by touch. It also uses a diamond coating called Diamond Seal, which prevents leakage.
The faucet will retail for between $500 and $550 in September of this year. You can also check out Delta's other designs here.