Need a new kitchen faucet-what to buy?

[Neil Gaskin]

Delta faucet hands down for value.

[Jim Koepke]

One thought comes to me in all of this. In our old home the faucets and toilet valve had to be repaired or replaced regularly. In our current home the toilet valves used to be the ball float type and have both been changed once. The kitchen faucet developed a leak and SWMBO wanted it replaced instead of fixed. The only real difference is we used to be on a municipal water system. Now we are on a well.

How much do all the chemicals and other additives required in 'city water' mess with faucet washers and seals?

jtk

[Roger Feeley]

Maybe you ought to mount your toilet on the kitchen sink......

Regarding California and low flow toilets: I read some time ago that San Francisco had gone too far with their water saving measures. They found that there was insufficient water to fully move the solids through the sewers. At the time of the article, they were exploring the idea of periodically flushing the sewers with water at strategic points.

[Kev Williams]

Every silver lining...

[Nathan Johnson]

The plumber told me that the original purchaser ,with a purchase receipt, gets a lifetime warranty with a Moen product

About a year ago, the Moen faucet in our bathroom began dripping pretty bad. I believe it was original to the house in 1992, which we purchased in 2011.
I called Moen, and even though I was not the original purchaser and had no receipt, they immediately mailed me a new cartridge. I thought that was pretty great.

Ultimately, the cartridge did not resolve the issue. I contacted a plumber my brother subs work to, and he stated that if you’re going to buy a faucet at a box store, the only one to look at is Delta. According to him, Delta is the only one putting quality materials into the box store options, whereas everyone else is subbing in cheaper components to meet the price point. I bought the faucet at Home Depot, and had the plumber install it. Since the original install had copper all the way to the fixture, I had him install new lines with shut-off valves and do the faucet at the same time.

I’m not saying this plumber is 100% correct – I have no idea – but it is what a professional conveyed to me.

[Yonak Hawkins]

Moen & Delta are safe bets because the parts are readily available, but the quality of both is pretty poor.

I don't know if they still back their faucets as well these days but the Moen faucet I got for our kitchen has a lifetime warranty. I've called them several times in the last 19 years and they send the replacement parts out quickly, no hassles.

[Myk Rian]

We bought expensive Grohes for the kitchen and bath remodels. Seperate handles and a spigot in the bath, a pull out hose with the kitchen. The kitchen faucet has been nothing put trouble. A plastic ring inside keeps breaking, then it leaks. Even fixed it twice with parts sent by Grohe. I replaced it with a Delta that has been great.
The Grohe has been in a box for 5 years.

[Lee DeRaud]

Regarding California and low flow toilets: I read some time ago that San Francisco had gone too far with their water saving measures. They found that there was insufficient water to fully move the solids through the sewers. At the time of the article, they were exploring the idea of periodically flushing the sewers with water at strategic points.

That's a win as far as water conservation goes: they don't need to use potable water for that process.

[Mike Null]

I'm a Moen fan. They have a no hassle lifetime warranty and if you step up in price their quality is pretty good.

[Ronald Blue]

We went with Delta at our kitchen sink. Single handle pull out sprayer combo unit. The counter top company said go with Delta. The spray head is held in with magnets and the others use a friction retention method. The counter top guy said as soon as they get a some usage the spray head won't stay in "home" position and then dangles. The magnet method works the same regardless of how much it's used. So far so good here.

[John K Jordan]

Same here - we put in a good Grohe when rekitchening in 2004. As for the lifetime warranty, twice I've called and twice they have sent out parts immediately, no discussion.

JKJ

[Brian Elfert]

About a year ago, the Moen faucet in our bathroom began dripping pretty bad. I believe it was original to the house in 1992, which we purchased in 2011.
I called Moen, and even though I was not the original purchaser and had no receipt, they immediately mailed me a new cartridge. I thought that was pretty great.

Ultimately, the cartridge did not resolve the issue. I contacted a plumber my brother subs work to, and he stated that if you’re going to buy a faucet at a box store, the only one to look at is Delta. According to him, Delta is the only one putting quality materials into the box store options, whereas everyone else is subbing in cheaper components to meet the price point. I bought the faucet at Home Depot, and had the plumber install it. Since the original install had copper all the way to the fixture, I had him install new lines with shut-off valves and do the faucet at the same time.

Moen makes some lines of faucets that are big box retail only. The Moen faucet I wanted for my bathroom remodel the plumber could not get as it was only sold at big box stores. My contractor ended up going to Menards and buying the faucet for the plumber. I'm pretty sure that not all Moen faucets at big box stores are special big box only models. Both Home Depot and Menards are selling a lot of Chinese faucets with their own brand names on them. I doubt you will be able to get parts for them if required.

I probably should have chosen something else, but the faucet is still doing fine four years later.

[Mel Fulks]

I'm sure you guys are right about some companies having two tiers of products. I don't like advertising that seems to
indicate it's all great stuff. GM never tried to tell you the Cadilac and Corvair were equal.

[Jim Koepke]

I'm sure you guys are right about some companies having two tiers of products. I don't like advertising that seems to
indicate it's all great stuff. GM never tried to tell you the Cadilac and Corvair were equal.

Some of this can be described as consumer's demand for lower pricing. As the big box stores wrestle with manufacturers for lower prices, they also try to convince consumers the $1.98 item is just as good as the $4.98 item sold at competitors.

Consumers start to judge their purchases on price over quality. It becomes a vicious cycle of dropping quality to meet a price.

Some may remember a time when many products were made in the U.S. of A. Things like towels were a high quality product. Then one retailer continually pushed for lower prices. Eventually manufacturing had to be moved overseas to meet the price demand. Loss of jobs and lowering of quality, but the prices are good.

jtk

[Bob Grier]

In 2014 I installed a Delta touch faucet. The one I chose is single handle with pull down spray head. Magnets are used to hold the spray head in place when not pulled down. The solenoid gave up the ghost in 2018 and the faucet reverted to having to use the handle to turn on and off. When I called the help line to determine exactly what was wrong, Delta walked me through diagnostics and then said they would ship me a new solenoid that day. It was easy to replace and they sent along a larger batter pack. I didn't install the larger battery because the original batteries (AA) lasted for years. When they go dead, I may choose to change out for the larger capacity battery pack.

I really like the touch technology. I haven't tried the touchless faucets. Just thinking about it I think the touch would be easier and quicker than using the touchless technology. I don't think I would be happy going back to the ones where you have to use the handle to turn a kitchen faucet on and off. Maybe the touchless might be better for a bathroom.