I started a section on hostel sinks in the Start a Hostel guide.
I think that the best kind of sink faucet has a single faucet and single control for both hot and cold water. If there are two faucets -- one for hot water and one for cold water -- you can't get warm water. If there is a single faucet, but a separate knob for hot water and cold water, it's more difficult to adjust the balance than with a single control that is pushed to the right or left to control the temperature.
What do you think?
(Feel free to add your thoughts to the Wiki, or reply here and I'll update the Wiki.)
15 years
What about the motion sensitive faucets? They are more expensive to buy and install but save water in the long run, makeing them more eco-friendly. Some sinks also come with the built in hand soap pump, these are also eco-friendly because it has a refillable container. It helps to save money because the GM can buy hand soap in bulk and the container is easy for the HK to refill.
15 years
What about the motion sensitive faucets?
I've never used those at a hostel, but whenever I use them in a public restroom 1/2 of them seem to be broken. I wonder what the upkeep costs are on them.
15 years
It is not perfected technology for sure, The AH&LA set up a camera in a bathroom and found the faucet kicked on and off at random, when there was nobody in the bathroom! Since there is no control the guest can not change the temp of the water. I do not know the maintenance costs involved, or if there is even any saveing`s in water/energy consumption. As a former HK I know that guest do not always remember to turn off the faucet when they are done.
15 years
Here are some photos of the sinks I mentioned in the Wiki:
I like this kind of faucet for sinks and showers because it's easy to control everything with one handle -- water pressure +/-, and hot/cold:
Photo c. project hotsauce
It's harder to adjust the temperature with 2 faucet handles:
Photo c. Manzabar
The most frustrating type of faucet to use (in my opinion :)) is the double faucet because you either get very cold water or very hot water but nothing in between:
Photo c. justinlai
15 years
I never understand why so many countries dont provide sink plugs. It must waste a lot of water and heat. In Britain a plug is almost always provided. A sink without a plug is like a door without a handle. In the US and some other countries there are mechanically adjusted plugs (based on a lever) which are almost always faulty.
If there is no plug, then the mixed temperature taps are OK. But in a sink like the last one above, the hot water (if too hot) is useless.
[ You probably say: carry your own. OK, after many trips with problems, I bought one. And I left it at the 2nd hostel, because remembering to take away a plug just does not occur to me. And they dont work if, for example I want to wash a few clothes -- they just slide sideways.]
15 years
I never understand why so many countries dont provide sink plugs.
On my first trip (trying to travel around the world with $2500 in 1999) I couldn't afford to pay for laundry so was just using plastic bags to plug up the sink. It wasn't perfect, but it worked in an emergency :)
Ideally hostels should provide the plugs. I think many hostels don't though because they don't want people doing laundry in the sinks.
15 years
Yeah, the one handle design is the best, we had them in some of our bathrooms. I agree with UK a sink plug is simple and a cheap way to save water, yet many US hostels do not have them!
15 years
In Japan, its very common to see a variety of different types of sinks and faucets. I've stayed at places which had large metal troughs to places with tiny sinks and just cold water.
You'll find a lot of automatic ones as well in Japan in the public bathrooms and they sometimes have a button to switch from cold water to warm (40 degrees) but one bad point about these is that you have to stick you hand under consistently if you want running water.
The single handled model would be the easiest to use for most guests. As for plugs, most commercial sinks have a built in plug where you can pull the metal lever to open or close the plug. They also have a overflow outlet so no chance of overflowing your bathroom.
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