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Four Styles of Faucet Designs
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There are many different styles of faucets but there are only four different varieties as far as how the faucets actually work. There are cartridge, compression, ball and disc faucets. Of the four, only one of them has two sets of controls for hot water and cold and that would be the compression faucet. All of the rest have only one control that swings or turns left and right and up and down. Most types of faucets are designed so that the pipes just below the sink are bent in an 'S' shape. This is to keep the water from coming out too fast and blasting all over the walls and ceiling. This sort of water "speed bump" is necessary as the water can be pumped out of the well at high velocity, depending on the atmospheric pressure of the region.
Different Types of Valve Seals
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Compression faucets are the only type that actually use rubber washers to seal the valve when the water flow is turned down or off. The other three types of faucets use either a neoprene cap, a ball made out of plastic or brass or a tipping valve that opens or closes to manipulate the flow of water. With the compression faucet, you must screw down the handle to shut off the water and unscrew it to release the water. This is the oldest type of faucet still in use. A pair of flat discs are used in the disc type faucets, and they are set up so that one disc moves while the other is stationary. The movable disc raises and lowers and slides from side to side in order to regulate the flow of water.
Shut Off Valves Below the Sink
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In all the varieties of faucets a mechanism has to be manipulated in order to activate or shut off the water flow. Compression faucets are the most likely to leak as the gaskets wear out quickly from being so tightly pressed much of the time. All faucets feature a shut off valve directly beneath the sink which not only shuts off the flow of water in an emergency but also can regulate how much water is allowed to flow through the pipes. There will in fact, be two shut off valves, one for hot water and the other for cold. Both need to be turned off before any work is done on the faucet assembly.
eHow Article: How Does a Faucet Work?
