What Is The Thing Next To My Kitchen Faucet?

There is no doubt that a kitchen faucet is a very important element of your kitchen. Whenever you use a faucet, you might notice a small thing next to it. No surprise, one question might pop into your mind, what is the thing next to my kitchen faucet?

If you are someone among them who is clueless about that little thing, I will reveal its identity to you in this article. Want to know more? Read on!

What Is The Little Thing Next To My Kitchen Faucet?

If you are a detail-oriented person, many times you may notice that there is a little thing next to the kitchen faucet. Most people don’t have any idea about that thing. So, what is it? Is it significant for the kitchen faucet?

The little thing located next to the kitchen faucet is known as the dishwasher gap. It is a very crucial element of the plumbing of your tub.

Typically, it is designed with few chambers in it. The key duty of the dishwasher gap is to create an obstacle for contaminated water so that it can’t flow back into the pure water system again.

This air gap is quite important for disposing of dirty water. Otherwise, the contaminated water might flow back into the fresh water to make it contaminated.

What Is A Kitchen Sink Air Gap?

The kitchen sink air gap is a specially designed vertical area located between the plumbing fixture’s height and the water outlet. Now, the approved water level for safety purposes in an air gap varies from country to country.

To give you a proper explanation, let’s go through this hypothetical example. Just imagine that there is a gap in the area where the faucet outlet and sink rim are located. If you think about the space between this chosen area. It is called the air gap.

This gap makes the water flow from the faucet to the sink one way. The water will not be able to travel back. So, no dirt or contaminated water can’t reenter the water system due to the backflow prevention of the air gap.

So, I can say that the kitchen sink air gap has a very significant role in the entire water management system of your home. If your kitchen faucet doesn’t come with this small air gap, the dirty and contaminated water might mix up with the pure water which is unexpected.

How Does A Dishwasher Air Gap Works?

To understand everything properly, you can take your faucet and sink as an example.

If for any reason any clogging occurs in the sink drain, the water will back up into the area where the sink is located. But, under any circumstances, the water will not reach the faucet outlet.

The main reason is there is an air gap located between them. You may have already noticed that the sink rim is situated quite lower than the faucet outlet. Due to this air gap, the water supply remains pure as the backed-up contaminated water can’t reach the faucet.

When you talk about the dishwasher air gap, the working principle is quite the same as the air gap.

I already mentioned above that it is the little cylinder located next to the faucet. When the dishwasher washes your dishes, the dirty water is usually transported to the air gap from the dishwasher.

Like the air gap setting, the outlet from the dishwasher hose is situated higher than the drain hose opening from the device. So, when dirty water is transported to the air gap, it will move to the garbage disposal via the drain hose.

So, the dishwasher air gap mainly prevents the dirty water from being reentered in the dishwasher. That is how your washed dishes remain safe from contamination.

Is An Air Vent Necessary in a Sink?

Any kind of air vent in any system plays an important role in the proper functioning of the system. But, is the air vent needed for a kitchen sink? The answer is yes. To ensure the proper functioning of the water flow system, the kitchen sink must come with an air vent.

Otherwise, you will experience some issues in the system like drain overflow, imbalance in the water pressure, etc.

Besides, in the absence of an air vent, in the drain pipe air will get trapped and there will be a lack of an effective drainage system to drain out the contaminants. That’s why an air vent is necessary for a kitchen sink to drain the contaminants properly.

You may find vertically operating metal or plastic cores in some of the single control variants. On the other hand, some kind of metal ball with rubber seals is used in another type of faucet.

What There Is A Rubber Thing In The Sink?

There is a rubber thing in every sink which is known as a splash guard. This small thing has great significance in a sink because it prevents water and food from being disposed of easily. Let me explain it in more detail.

Many of us have a garbage disposal machine in our kitchen. It is an excellent way of treating waste materials in the kitchen. In this process, the food waste is shredded and small particles are created by this machine.

Typically we wash those small pieces of waste in our sink so that they can be easily disposed of. But, it is quite harmful to your sink. That is why you need a good cover to protect the sink.

In that case, the rubber splash guard works perfectly to protect the sink. One of the interesting facts is the guard is completely removable and replaceable. That means you will be able to replace it after using it for some months so that you can get better performance.

Wrapping Up!

There is no denying the fact that a kitchen faucet is one of the most important parts of a kitchen. You just can’t imagine a kitchen without a kitchen faucet.

Now, there are many parts of a kitchen faucet. Every part or element of a faucet is built for a specific purpose.

Sometimes we notice a small metal thing next to the faucet. Many of us remain clueless about that. So, what is the thing next to my kitchen faucet? This question pops into many people’s minds.

In this article, I tried to explain everything about that little thing which is known as the dishwasher gap. It mainly prevents dirty water from flowing back into the pure water. Thus, this air gap helps in preventing water contamination.