Okay so your original faucet stopped functioning. It's time for a new one. But before you run off to the shop it may be wise to look at the different types of faucets that are on offer. Go and detach your current faucet (or have a professional do this), or find the original box in which it came, and look at the description. Is it a disc faucet, or ball faucet? Or perhaps another type. The compression type faucet is used in most households. It's a rather simple design but offers the functionality a basic household requires.

Now if you could not find that original box your faucet came in (wouldn't be surprising, most faucets can last 15+ years!) and actually detached the faucet then let's look at some of the characteristics. A disc faucet has a lever over its cylindrical body. The flow of water is controlled by several ceramic discs that are integrated in a cartridge. To control the flow of water these discs slide over each other. Disc faucets are a bit more reliable than ball faucets, there is less leakage.

That is not to say that ball faucets are useless or unreliable. They are mainly used in kitchen sinks. A single handle moves over a cap in the shape of a round ball directly above the base of the spout. Again, we are not saying they are completely unreliable, but they do have more leakage.

Compression faucets have a lot of history. They have been around for a long time. No wonder they are not the most efficient faucets you can get these days. They require you to tighten the handles down to stop the flow off water. After a long time in use these handles can become less effective. People who don't have much strength in their hands may wish to look at other types of faucets which don't require as much force to close off.

These aren't the only types of faucets, but the main ones in use these days in households and/or small commercial enterprises. So remember that besides having an aesthetically pleasing faucet you also need to look at itsfunctionality, and whether it fits your personal requirements. A faucet for your bathroom may have completely different requirements compared to the one you have in your kitchen.