HomeHomePfister Lita Pull Down Kitchen Faucet with Xtract Review

Pfister Lita Pull Down Kitchen Faucet with Xtract Review

The Pfister Lita Pull Down Faucet with Xtract GT529-FLS features a clean, contemporary design with pull-down functionality and GE’s 2x HighFlow water filtration system built right in. The Lita Pull Down can really enhance both the look and usability of your Kitchen without tearing the house apart.

Replacing the Kitchen faucet is a relatively simple home improvement upgrade that you can complete in little time with basically no technical knowledge. You don’t necessarily need to work with the windows open either so it makes for a great upgrade project any time of the year.

Although we will not be including the installation in our review, replacing your Kitchen faucet isn’t rocket science. Installing the Lita with Xtract GT529-FLS pull down faucet was a snap. All the parts and pieces were smooth and simple to install.

Pfister has provided the Lita with Xtract pull-down kitchen faucet as a courtesy so that we could provide first hand review coverage of the unit to our readers. Let’s take a look at the features.

Pfister Lita Pull Down Kitchen Faucet with Xtract Review
Pfister Lita Pull Down Kitchen Faucet GT529-FLS

Aesthetics

The Lita is engineered with a very clean minimalist design that provides everything you need, including the water filter system that is installed through a single hole kitchen sink system. The Lita will accommodate a 3-hole sink but it does not come with a 3-hole stainless plate. You can however purchase a matching stainless 3-hole plate separately. Pfister provides instructions for installation with an adapter plate should you already have exposed holes in your sink.

For us it’s still all about brushed stainless steel and the Lita does not disappoint. The stainless steel is easy to clean and does resist spots relatively well. All the edges are rounded nicely for that smooth appearance.

The look is modern enough to feel like an upgrade but conservative enough so it doesn’t feel like it came from the MOMA. Keep the industrial-modern stuff for the trendy bars in the city. In a residence, we’re looking for modern elegance.

Pfister Lita Pull Down Kitchen Faucet with Xtract Review
Pfister Lita Pull Down Faucet Spray Head seated

Notable Specs

The Lita pull down faucet features a nice water flow-rate of 1.8gpm at 60psi and 1.0gpm in filtered mode. Engineered with Pfister’s proprietary “advanced ceramic disc valve technology” called Pforever Seal which includes a never leak guarantee!

Pfister Lita Pull Down Kitchen Faucet with Xtract Review
What’s in the box – Pfister Lita Pull Down Kitchen Faucet with Xtract GT529-FLS

This product is ADA/ANSI A117.1 compliant for all disabled persons, Water-Efficient CEC compliant (California Energy Commission), Meets NSF 61/9 Annex G Lead Requirements for Cal and VT, Meets/exceeds CalGreen requirements to reduce typical home’s water use by 20%.

Pfister Lita Pull Down Kitchen Faucet with Xtract Review
GE 2X Highflow Water Filters

GE Xtract Water Filter System

This Lita model number GT529-FLS integrates GE’s 2X Highflow Filtration System. The increased flow rate is very nice and it doesn’t take forever like many typical water filters do. We found GE’s high performing dual replacement filter pack online for $50.

More importantly the high-performance filtration system reduces contaminants such as pharmaceuticals, chlorine, lead and cysts from your drinking water and is very convenient to help you save on potential sink space and/or fridge space.

Pfister Lita Pull Down Kitchen Faucet with Xtract Review
Pfister Lita Pull Down Faucet GT529-FLS plumbing under the counter

The filter system was simple to install, filters are readily available online or in-store virtually everywhere and does a great job of scrubbing the water. Our tap water tastes that much better. Does it make the water like spring water? No we can still tell it’s tap water but it did seem to improve the taste a bit. Initially the filter was creating lots of water bubbles causing the water to look cloudy. It wasn’t once the air bubbles all settled. However after just a few uses, the water comes out clear as the system purges out any air bubbles in the line and the filters are fully saturated.

The Pfister Lita is also available in a touch-free Pulldown faucet with React for hands-free operation.

Pfister Lita Pull Down Kitchen Faucet with Xtract Review
Operating the Pfister Lita with Xtract Filtration System

Functionality & Operation

Operating the Lita with Xtract Pull down kitchen faucet is smooth as silk. The control arm is very smooth and pleasant to operate, it just feels nice. Enough resistance to feel like it’s made well and smooth enough to operate without straining. Pushing the control arm forward engages the water filter and provides a very satisfying on/off click.

Pfister Lita Pull Down Kitchen Faucet with Xtract Review
Pfister Lita Pull Down Faucet spray head buttons

A single control arm handle operates the hot/cold water as well as the filtered water. On the pull-down handle are two buttons; 1 to engage the spray and another button that toggles the stream back to normal flow. If you press and hold the normal flow button it will pause the water. This can be quite a useful feature as the pulldown makes it easier to fill up containers or pots without necessarily placing them inside the sink.

For those of you with kitchen islands with a sink, the neck rotates a full 360 degrees in case you want to turn it around and fill up a bucket without dirtying your sink.

Pull the handle outward to the right to turn the water on, towards you is hot, straight up is cold. To operate the filtered water, simply push forward/away from you starting from the off position. An icon printed near the base of the handle shows this but it’s nearly impossible to see unless you lean forward and over the top. There also do not seem to be any noticeable hot or cold markings but it’s easy enough to memorize.

Pfister Lita Pull Down Kitchen Faucet with Xtract Review
Lita Pulldown faucet measurements

If we HAD to complain about something it might be that the arc on the spout side of the faucet could be slightly shorter. The flow on the spray is powerful, almost too powerful as it splashes water all over the place. We are finding that either our sink is too shallow or the arc is slightly too long. What’s nice is the spray can be maintained even below 50%, so it’s easy enough to just lower the water power to compensate.

Also the head doesn’t quite seat as smoothly as some of the other pull down’s we’ve tried like the Moen Anabelle Pull-Down Kitchen faucet. The Lita’s spray head requires you to guide it back into the arc section with just a tiny bit of conscious movement. Once you do guide it back in, a notch on the rear (in line with the buttons) aligns the spray head to center and it seats perfectly. An integrated magnet keeps the two married confidently along with the weight that resides on the main hose under the counter.

Warranty

The Lita w/ Xtract doesn’t come with a soap dispenser but it does come with a Pfister Pforever Warranty that covers the finish and functionality for life. That’s a nice warm fuzzy that is hard to ignore especially if you’ve invested in one of these expensive pull-downs in the past, only to have it break on you shortly down the line.

Pfister Lita Pull Down Kitchen Faucet with Xtract Review
Pfister Contempra Soap Dispenser

Contempra Soap dispenser

The Lita with Xtract doesn’t come with a matching soap dispenser but we found the Pfister Contempra Soap dispenser in stainless steel finish which compliments the Lita with Xtract very well.

Pfister Lita Pull Down Kitchen Faucet with Xtract Review
Pfister Contempra Soap Dispenser nozzle angle

The Contempra Soap Dispenser is a very nice addition to the faucet and is made with a stainless steel push head and dispenser arm so it feels great too.The angle of of the dispenser spout is perfect and shoots the soap angled outward so you don’t end up with a pile of soap on your sink’s edge.

Pfister Lita Pull Down Kitchen Faucet with Xtract Review Simply Beautiful

The Pfister Lita pull-down kitchen faucet with Extract water filtration system is an absolute beauty. We are impressed with the clean design as well as the nice functionality. Overall one of the nicest pull down faucets we’ve tried. The contemporary design is clean and minimal with a wealth of functionality that is sure to enhance your experience in the kitchen.

UPDATE

9/2/2021: After 4 years of virtually flawless functionality the faucet head developed a pinhole leak that would shoot water off to the left when you pull-down the faucet head and the sprayer toggle was getting stuck on the spray position. We somehow also developed a hairline crack in the Xtract filter base that the filters attach to. Pfister support was great, they immediately sent us out a replacement head and Xtract base FOC!

The faucet head is relatively easy to replace, use a kill valve to shut off your water temporarily, pull down the faucet head, gently grip the neck with a towel and pliars and rotate the head to unscrew it off (don’t forget: Righty-tighty, Lefty-loosey). Run the water for a few minutes without the faucet head on to clear out any debris that may have built up from your pipes, then screw the new sprayer head on.

When replacing the Xtract base, it is necessary to remove both the inlet and outlet hoses without damaging them. The inlet hose ‘end’ appears to be plain, but the outlet hose has a proprietary bushing type of ‘end’ so it cannot be cut and reused. The easiest way to remove the inlet/outlet hoses with the Xtract base still screwed into the wall (assuming you have the clearance). You’ll need to push the exposed portion of the receptacle ring around the hose insertion point inward to loosen the grip, while pulling the hose outward (technique is more important that brute strength here). The hoses attach with a Sharkbite type of coupling to make things easier, it just took us a little while to figure it out.

Pfister Lita with Xtract Pull-Down Kitchen Faucet GT529-FLS MSRP $675.00

www.pfisterfaucets.com

Our experience with the Pfister Lita Pull-down has been a very good one. Installation was a snap, instructions felt thorough and were easy to follow. Performance has been virtually flawless for 4+ years. We recently had a couple of issues but Pfister's Lifetime warranty and customer support flew in like the heroes to save the day with replacement parts. The Lita Pull-down is a beautiful faucet and has performed extremely well over time.

REVIEW OVERVIEW

Easy Installation
Enjoyable to Use
Lifetime Warranty
Aesthetics
Performance
Functionality
Our experience with the Pfister Lita Pull-down has been a very good one. Installation was a snap, instructions felt thorough and were easy to follow. Performance has been virtually flawless for 4+ years. We recently had a couple of issues but Pfister's Lifetime warranty and customer support flew in like the heroes to save the day with replacement parts. The Lita Pull-down is a beautiful faucet and has performed extremely well over time.Pfister Lita Pull Down Kitchen Faucet with Xtract Review