Look, no hands! Touchless taps gain popularity as we focus on hygiene

Where's the sensor? Dornbracht uses a hidden high-frequency tech for touch-free use of the tap. Photo: Dornbracht/dpa

In yet another surprise outcome of a year of unprecedented hygiene awareness, high-tech taps and soap dispensers controlled by sensors are poised to take kitchens and bathrooms by storm.

Touchless taps are already familiar from public bathrooms but only now, more than a year into the pandemic, are they becoming an everyday reality at home, says Dennis Jaeger, who edits SBZ, a trade journal.