Mine is actually to the side. The water off my hands seems to puddle down by the on/off control. With the older faucet it just pooled around where it is attached. The big thing I find is because of the high arc, everyone holds their hands, etc. high above the sink. So there is alot of splashing on the countertop and window.

I've never watered my arms. I've never really thought about it, but I guess when you're using it we know how to keep the arm under the arc and not under the spout, and draw it out of the way the same way...Or I just reach around from the other side. Like I said...I just use it without really thinking it through that much. Our control is also to one side, not straight out front.

We put our control in front to take care of the drippy hands issue. But like rhome410 says, you just learn to reach around the water. The splashing that housefairy mentions is much, much more of an issue. In our case even more so because our faucet is set so far back and has no reach so everything splashes back behind the sink. I'm constantly mopping up there.

Here is a link that might be useful: pics of our sink/faucet setup can be found here

I don't think we have any more splashing with the high arc faucets. Most of the water around our sink is from turning off the faucet with wet hands, which is an issue with any faucet. I am just happy to have the faucet spout up and out of the way of taller and bigger items, and the visibility is better. --And it looks good. :-)

I originally purchased a Hansgrohe high arc and almost immediately DH and I knew it was a terrible mistake! Like Housefairy said, you tend to hold you hands higher and everything splashes. While doing dishes the water velocity is stronger due to the longer fall and it splashed all over my mid section. I had to change my shirt everytime I did dishes.

Home Depot insisted that there must be something wrlong with that particular model because they never heard of the problem. I asked a few neighbors and found others hated their high arc faucets for the same reason.

We decided to take it out and since Home Depot claimed that there must be something wrong with it, they actually took it back! We would have taken the $350 loss anyway. We ended up replacing it with a more standard Hansgrohe faucet and are very happy.

Susan now you have me worried, because I have the hansgrohe like in the picture on order already! how deep is your sink? Our sink will be 10" deep. Surely it's not just this brand but all similar style faucets?

I truly think the non high arc hansgrohe will work better in every way, and practical. but too bad we both do not like the look.

I purchased 2 high arc faucets for our 10" deep sinks (undermounted) 3 1/2 years ago based on functionality---it had nothing to do with aesthetics since I didn't particularly care for the look (although, because they ARE so great, I've come around to loving the look.)

I would never go back to a low profile faucet again.

Splash: When my faucet is in stream mode, there is less force and no more splash than any other faucet (even with items held close to the faucet.) When in spray mode there is more force and more splash but that is what sprayers are designed for. I love being able have both hands free while the water is in spray mode while I scrub veggies or pare them. I tend to squirt myself when using a separate hand held sprayer a lot more often since it has to be handled constantly rather than being fixed.

Could the same model faucet have different splash factors in different houses based on the water pressure or is the differences in water pressure negated by flow restrictors within the faucet?

Reading over the above responses, it seems that complaints about splash has nothing to do with the distance the water is falling but more to do with people holding things up out of the sink (where the splash can be contained.)

I get wet arms once in a while. But I did with my old low profile 1960's or 70's Delta faucet too. I'll reach under a stream of water when I'm not thinking. I get a wet shirt when I do dishes but I did with the old faucet also. It has nothing to do with the faucet. It's because I get the strip of counter in front of the sink wet when I'm handling wet dishes and then I lean into that strip.

I hated manipulating my large pots around my old faucet. The low faucet also made bathing my babies in the sink difficult--once in a while they got jabbed by it. So for me, the high arc faucet design makes a lot of sense. Too late for baby bathing though since my kids are now teens.

And don't forget, if a faucet is making your life miserable, it's a relatively inexpensive and easy thing to change out. I realize every dollar counts and none of us want to create unnecessary waste, but you don't have to be stuck with it forever. Chances are you will love the high arc faucet when you have it (I'm assuming it has a pull down feature?)

Like a lot of things it might just be giving yourself time to adjust to a new style and how best to make use of it. If I turn it on too hard, and its starts to splash, I turn it down a bit. If I occasionally hold my hands or an item up too high, I adjust and lower them and the problem goes away. It just isn't something you are used to yet and when you are, it really isn't a problem. My old faucet was a REALLY old style, LOL:

{{!gwi}}

And if I turned it on too hard, it splashed, too. Esp. after I had to take the aerator off because the hard water corroded it. :)

Anyway, If it will annoy you to give yourself some period of time to adjust to the style, go for another one. But don't assume it is a design flaw. If you hold things down in the sink, no splashing, if you don't, you will have splashing, same thing with washing your hands.

Sue

I never had splashing problems with a standard faucet, and DH and I tried very hard to live with the high arc. The consensus from other people who shared my experience proved to me that it wasn't our "washing technique".

Since the new sink is 9 or 10 inches, which is deeper than the old one, having a standard faucet gives me plenty of room for any size pot. I also prefer to turn the water on and off over the top, rather than getting my arm wet reaching underneath. It's the method I am used to.

As you can see from the various opinions in this forum, we all have different experiences. I would recommend asking around a lot and maybe even try to see one in a kitchen and try it out for yourself. Good luck! Susan

As with Sue_Ct and others, I discovered the splashing is not caused by the faucet design...rather it's a user issue.

If you're used to the lower profile style of faucet, then you're probably used to holding your hands, dishes, veggies, etc. close to the faucet head b/c the faucet head is so low. But, you're still inside the sink area. There is plenty of splashing, but the splashing is contained inside the sink.

Fast forward to your new high-arc faucet...initially, you will most likely to the same...hold your hands, dishes, veggies, etc close to the faucet head b/c that's what you're used to doing. The same splashing is occurring but now you're hands are above the sink so the splashing is no longer contained. That's what causes the perception of more splashing. You have to train yourself to hold the items inside the sink at the same level you did w/your old faucet.

In actuality, most likely there is somewhat less splashing b/c the water pressure of the high-arc is probably slightly less due to the water having to travel up the arc and then out. If you're on city water, most likely you will not notice the difference, but if you're on well water w/less pressure in general, it can be noticeable (like for us!)

But, if you don't want the hassle of training yourself and others (and depending on how flexible each person is, the learning curve will be shorter or longer), then by all means, get one of the lower profile faucets. High-arc faucets are not really a "must have", they're more of a "nice-to-have" if you like them! We have a pullout lower profile faucet at our prep & a high-arc pulldown at our main sink...both are fine. But, when I fill the taller pots at the prep sink, I do tend to fill them on the counter since there's not as much room in the prep sink b/w the sink bottom & the faucet head. (I prop the pullout faucet head on the pot and let it go.)

Hi, thanks for sharing your experience it is much appreciated, unfortunately at the prices of these nicer faucets it is too easy to regret something, it is no longer a decision of $49.99 faucets!

I think one can always turn the lever a little lower to reduce the pressure :)

The hansgrohe that I am getting has a pull down function, and I think you have to press on the button to keep the water going, if you let go it will stop (dead mean switch). I don't know how this control isn't dictated by the faucet lever anymore when you pull it out..

This seems to make sense to me because you don't want to just leave it going when you have it pulled out? But seems like some of yours can be locked on even when pulled out?

Actually, I prefer that it stay "on" when it's pulled out..spray or stream. I can maneuver the faucet head around w/o worrying that the spray will shut off (or even the water altogether).

One thing I wish my faucet did do, is allow me to shut off the flow of water via a switch on the head...but it would be rarely used, just a "nice to have". The spray/stream "lock" is much more important to me!

The inch or two more fall in a high arch is going to add nothing to the velocity of the water compared to the pressure in the pipes.

There may be some splashing due to the angle it hits the sink bottom or the pressure in your system, especially if you've removed the flow restirctors, but the actual inches mean nothing.

I've had [and loved] high arch faucets for years, no noticeable splashing.

If this were a common problem, they'd be off the market by now.

Those experienceing splashing can restrict the flow by partially closing the valves under the sink. It will take a little longer to fill the sink, but might be worth it.