Technology has come leaps and bounds in recent years. Unsurprisingly, the convenience of modern technology has merged with kitchen fixtures, such as faucets. Many top brands develop kitchen faucets with a touch feature to make the process of accessing water flow much easier.
While faucets with bells and whistles are excellent in some situations, they might not be convenient in others. So, regardless of why you need to disable the touch feature on your kitchen faucet, we’re here to help!
What’s The Difference: Touch Vs. Touchless
High-tech kitchen faucets are available in two very-confusable forms: touch and touchless. Since many people often confuse the two or use the terms interchangeably, we’ll start by explaining the difference.
Touchless faucets are precisely as the name implies: they don’t require physical contact with the tap. These faucets are considerably more expensive than their touch-tech counterparts, as they often have sensors picking up things like sound, motion, heat, or all three together.
On the other hand, touch-tech faucets require physical contact with the tap. The specific design and functionality of the technology depend on the manufacturer. For example, some touch sensors work similarly to a touch screen on your mobile phone, while others have a more sophisticated design. These faucets generally are cheaper than touchless faucets yet are still more expensive than your regular faucet.
The approach to disabling the motion sensor on touch-on and touchless faucets are usually pretty similar. So, even if you have a touchless product, you may be able to use this guide.
How Do I Turn Off The Motion Sensor In My Kitchen Faucet?
The way you can disable the motion sensor on your kitchen faucet is dependent on the type of faucet you have. Since Moen, Delta, and Kohler are three common faucet brands, we’ll look at how you can disable the motion sensor on each of their kitchen faucets.
How To Disable The Touch Feature On A Moen Kitchen Faucet
Disabling the touch feature on a Moen kitchen faucet is incredibly easy. This process works for Moen MotionSense Dual Sensor-Hands Free faucets. They have a solid black control box beneath the sink with three hoses branching off it.
You won’t need any tools to disable the sensors; all you need is your hands. Simply turn the handle to the on position, which is pulled out away from the faucet, then hold your hands over both of the sensors for five seconds.
The blue light on the lower sensor will blink a single time after five seconds, which tells you the lower front sensor is disabled. Once that’s done, turn the handle off.
Alternatively, if you want to disable both of the sensors, turn the handle to the on position and hold your hands over both sensors for ten seconds. The blue light on the lower sensor will blink after five seconds, then again after ten seconds, which indicates both sensors are disabled.
To enable the sensors, follow the same steps again. The lights will blink, indicating the sensors are active.
How To Disable The Touch Feature On A Delta Kitchen Faucet
Disabling the touch feature on a Delta kitchen faucet is more complex than Moen kitchen faucets. To bypass the solenoid, start by removing the batteries from the pack. Remove the spade clips from the solenoid valve.
After that, remove the electronics module, which is the black box. Then, take the battery’s positive terminal to the solenoid valve’s negative terminal. On the other side, take the battery’s negative terminal to the battery’s positive terminal just for a second. Once that is complete, the touch feature on your faucet should be disabled, and the tap should work manually.
How To Disable The Touch Feature On A Kohler Kitchen Faucet
Kohler kitchen faucets are pretty easy to navigate when disabling the touch feature. Disabling the sensor on these faucets is dependent on the type of faucet you have.
Some Kohler faucets can be disabled by turning on the manual override feature on the valve box. Locate the valve box beneath the sink, then turn the manual override feature clockwise to operate the faucet manually. The faucet should now work as a manual faucet.
Alternately, other Kohler faucets have a slit switch on the valve box. Find the valve box beneath the sink, then use a coin to turn the switch counterclockwise. This will disable the sensor, causing your faucet to operate manually.
Other Kohler faucets have a slightly different mechanism that will allow you to disable the sensor. Find the valve box underneath your sink. Then, locate the manual override feature on the solenoid valve. Turn the feature clockwise to disable the sensor and operate the faucet manually.
Alternative Methods For Disabling The Touch Feature On Kitchen Faucets
There are a few other ways you can go about disabling the touch feature. If you don’t have one of the abovementioned brands of kitchen faucet or simply can’t figure it out, try these methods:
- Remove the battery: One of the easiest ways to disable the touch feature is to remove the battery. Locate the battery pack, then lift the lid and remove the battery. It’s a simple, straightforward way to switch your touch faucet to a manual one.
- Pull the plug: Depending on the brand, your touch faucet may pull power directly from a plug in the wall. If that’s the case, pull the plug. There is no need to worry about pulling the plug, as these faucets only draw a small amount of energy.
- Turn off the valve panel: We mentioned control boxes beneath the sink when discussing each individual brand above. If your faucet has a valve box, there should be a manual override option, whether it’s in the form of a switch, slit switch, or a knob to turn. Flip the switch, turn the slit switch, or rotate the knob. This should allow you to bypass the touch feature.
- Remove the solenoid: If you would like, you can remove the solenoid. However, this process can be complex, so it’s usually not a go-to method. Delta touch faucets typically have a solenoid attached via blue removable clips.
Before you attempt to remove the solenoid, shut off the water supply to the sink. You may be able to restrict water to the sink itself via a shut-off valve beneath the sink, but if there’s not one, you’ll have to go to the main water shut-off valve.
To remove the solenoid, remove the clips. Then, remove the solenoid. After you remove it, you’ll need to connect the sprayer hose to the faucet outlet, which will allow your faucet to work with the lever handle, completely bypassing the mechanism since you removed the solenoid.
Can A Touchless Faucet Work Manually?
Yes, touchless and touch-on faucets can work manually. Generally, there is a way to disable the sensors that control the mechanism. Whether you complete the process of switching your faucet to manual mode by tinkering with the valve box or holding your hands in front of the sensors is dependent on the brand.
Most touchless and touch-on faucets have a manual sensor override mode that essentially allows the faucet to function normally during a loss of power.
hi. thanks for this. My touch faucet is made by Gappo. What info do you have there pls? Also interested in replacing the solenoid so as to not need to replace the faucet