Preventing bad user experience with sensor faucets: 4 steps to keeping your bathroom functioning perfectly

Everyone who has encountered touchless electronic faucets in public places is familiar with the water activation dance - the one where you wave your hands all over the place in front of the bathroom faucet, flapping like a trainee magician in an often-futile attempt to get the water running.

Or perhaps you've activated a faucet only to meet with a water stream powerful enough to wash a car and come away with a soaked shirt just in an attempt to wash your hands.

This experience is not only frustrating for the user but also bad for your facility. Consumers equate a poor restroom experience with poor management and may lower their opinion of the company and how it cares for its customers as a result.

Protect your good name by providing a positive user experience with these four sensor faucet tips.

1. Change batteries regularly

The number one problem with a seemingly difficult faucet is that the batteries are dead. Make battery changes a part of your regular preventive maintenance schedule. T&S takes the guesswork out by including an LED to indicate when batteries need to be changed.

The batteries won't cause a slow response time unless they are completely dead.

Many sensor faucets, including T&S ChekPoint faucets, offer the ability for the faucet to be plugged in and run on electricity. Some may allow a daisy chain approach that allows multiple faucets to connect to one outlet for increased convenience.

Or select hydrogenator power, which harnesses the flow of water to generate electricity. These eco-friendly and easy-to-use devices require few daily activations to maintain an adequate charge, do not require batteries and will operate even when the power goes out.

2. Adjust settings

Another problem causing faucet activation issues could be in the settings.

At the most basic level, electronic faucets turn on when a beam coming from the sensor is interrupted. Ideally, that beam detects the interruption when hands are in a natural handwashing position directly beneath the faucet. But a highly reflective sink basin, oddly shaped sink or other factors can influence the activation.

T&S sensor faucets provide for adjustability on-site with switches to access and change various settings, including that activation range. If it's not set correctly, users might have trouble getting the faucet to activate at the right time.

Most activation response times are shorter than .5 seconds. But you should keep in mind that there is typically a power-saving sleep mode that activates when a faucet has not been used for 30 minutes, and it can take a faucet 1.5 seconds to wake up.

At installation - or afterward if a problem is encountered - adjust settings as needed to ensure activation range is set appropriately.

T&S offers step-by-step video guides for adjusting the sensor range on both above-deck and below-deck sensor faucets.

3. Choose outlet devices wisely

One complaint about faucets may be about the water pressure or amount of water being delivered. A trickle can feel ineffective; a torrent is overwhelming and can cause a mess when it splashes (and wastes water).

Select an outlet device that balances water consumption with effective rinsing.

Well-designed aerators can reduce water consumption to boost sustainability and save money while also creating a more forceful spray, which provides a better user experience for handwashing and rinsing. Think of it like putting your thumb on the end of the garden hose - the experience of the water spray isn't so much about the amount of water coming out as how that water is directed.

Also consider a vandal-resistant aerator to keep your faucet functioning as designed. Vandal-resistant aerators prevent users or maintenance staff from removing them in an attempt to increase water flow (potentially increasing water bills exponentially and running afoul of flow rate codes).

4. Invest in durability

Even a well-operated faucet can fail when subjected to the use and abuse of high-traffic environments. Because let's face it, no one treats public bathroom faucets with attentive care.

Residential-style faucets are not designed for the volume and conditions of commercial environments and will fail quickly, causing unsightly (and wasteful) leaks or other failures.

Commercial facilities should select commercial-grade equipment that is designed for durability and reliability under heavy use. The investment in high-quality products from T&S pays dividends in reduced maintenance, longer life and a positive experience for users.

Design the ideal sensor faucet for your facility with this guide to selecting the perfect electronic sensor faucet.