In message , Mike Barnes
writes
Ian Jackson :
Apart from the direction of turn, and the red and blue colour coding
(of the top, and of the bottom rubber seal), is there any difference?

I'm asking this because my wife and I both prefer the taps to turn the
opposite way to the 'standard', which is, when off, with the handles
jutting forwards, across the sink bowl. We much prefer the handles to
be parked folded pointing outwards (-o and o-).

Same here. I don't understand the "standard" - it makes no sense to me,
on any level. Anyway I swapped the inserts round in our downstairs loo
about a day after the plumber left. They've been fine. The handles are
separate from the mechanism so there's nothing on the insert itself to
indicate hot or cold.

Well, I'm glad to know that I'm not the only one who's a bit odd, and
out-of-step with society!

To me, the obvious way is to have the tap handles parked in the
folded-back position.

But if this is a 'user option', why do the manufactures colour code the
sealing washer (at the bottom end of the inserts) red and blue? Is the
way the taps turn a buildings standard, like normally having the hot tap
on the left, and the cold on the right? Or is it simply to prevent
mistakes during production, or to prevent you from buying the 'wrong
one' if you need to fit a replacement?
--
Ian