Is it Brass or Stainless Steel?

**hills** · 02-10-2018, 07:44 AM

There have been some trends in faucets over the last 20 years. The real cheapos are made of plastic and plated with chrome. There's an issue with brass because the lead in the alloy leaches out into the drinking water. The EPA has made such a fuss about all brass fittings that it's probably illegal to manufacture a brass faucet now.

It used to be that a faucet was intended to last a very long time. Plumbers had the repair parts and knew how to replace washers, cartridges, and even valve seats. It took a bit of skill and specialized tools to install a faucet. That's all changed now. Maybe you get five years of use and then replace them with the ones from the big box stores. The faucets have been redesigned. They're not hard to change out. It's a lot more time efficient ( and profitable ) for a plumber to swap one out than it is to fiddle around with repair parts that might or might not get the job done right.

Point being: You're less apt to see brass faucets these days. More likely something else once you scratch the surface.

**hobo finds** · 02-10-2018, 08:45 AM

Originally Posted by hills

There have been some trends in faucets over the last 20 years. The real cheapos are made of plastic and plated with chrome. There's an issue with brass because the lead in the alloy leaches out into the drinking water. The EPA has made such a fuss about all brass fittings that it's probably illegal to manufacture a brass faucet now.

It used to be that a faucet was intended to last a very long time. Plumbers had the repair parts and knew how to replace washers, cartridges, and even valve seats. It took a bit of skill and specialized tools to install a faucet. That's all changed now. Maybe you get five years of use and then replace them with the ones from the big box stores. The faucets have been redesigned. They're not hard to change out. It's a lot more time efficient ( and profitable ) for a plumber to swap one out than it is to fiddle around with repair parts that might or might not get the job done right.

Point being: You're less apt to see brass faucets these days. More likely something else once you scratch the surface.

Yep they say the plastic ones are the only faucets that are lead free...