The Plumbing Upgrade Your Kitchen Deserves

Whether you're constructing a new kitchen or renovating your current one, one of the most important aspects to consider is the plumbing. Along with being vital for getting clean water to your sink, kitchen plumbing and fixtures can go beyond the basics to provide additional convenience, streamline your cooking experience, and bring an element of style. A pot filler is one plumbing upgrade that will do all of these things.

Installed on the wall above your stove or range, a pot filler is ideal when you use a large pot for cooking — one of the hacks for making pasta you need to know. Large pots don't always fit under kitchen faucets and even when they do, the pots can be heavy to move from the sink to the stovetop, which makes cooking big meals more strenuous if you have mobility issues. Because of that, the main benefit of this kitchen upgrade is that you can fill the pot while it's on the stovetop: Just pull the faucet's extended arm away from the wall and over the pot. And, since the flow rate of a pot filler is more than double that of a traditional kitchen faucet, it won't take as long to fill a large pot with water.

While some experts believe pot fillers are among the pricey kitchen upgrades that aren't worth it, Jon Wade, a real estate expert and the broker owner at The Steamboat Group in Colorado, explained to our sister site House Digest, "I do think that it's a worthwhile investment, as it's the kind of finishing touch that appeals to buyers who want optimal convenience." As Wade noted, "You'll find that houses with a pot filler in the kitchen can sell for between 1.5% and 3.2% more than those without one." This is good to know, because Wade also shared that "this addition will cost around $1,650, but if you need to add new plumbing, you're looking at closer to $3,500."

To Wade, it's still worth the investment for the convenience: "You can use a pot filler for more than just filling heavy pots when you're cooking a big meal." A pot filler is also ideal for adding water to sauces, soups, and other recipes while cooking — such as when creating more fond in your pot (the caramelized goodness leftover from browned food) or when you cook taco meat with a seasoning packet (especially when cornstarch is included to create a sauce). Rather than moving hot cookware from the stovetop to the sink while cooking (or preparing a separate measuring cup with water), you can just pull the faucet over the cookware and add the water that you need.

Aside from cooking convenience, a pot filler can be used as a water source to fill any manner of large items that won't fit under your kitchen sink faucet, such as espresso machine reservoirs, tea kettles, fish tanks, humidifiers, mop buckets, plant watering cans, and vases. 

Static Media owns and operates Daily Meal and House Digest.