Several years ago we had our kitchen remodeled, and a year or so after that, our bathrooms remodeled. It all turned out very well, and we're happy with how they look and the work that all the contractors did. But the weird thing is that we've had all kinds of trouble with the various new fixtures that we had installed, like faucets, faucet handles, and shower heads. We bought these things from a variety of places, like a specialty shop (which we were told had higher quality items), big box stores like Home Depot and Lowes, and even Amazon. Here's a rundown of the issues:
Master Bath shower head
A few months after the bathrooms were remodeled, the shower head in the master bath started making a constant, high-pitched sound when taking a shower. I put up with it for a while, but it got really annoying to hear that noise right by my head every. single. morning. Since it was brand new, I didn't think the holes in the shower head could be clogged, but I tried cleaning them anyway. It didn't help. Finally, I called the specialty store we bought it from and explained what was going on. Bizarrely, they couldn't find any record of my order in their system, even though I still had all the order information from the receipt. But they sent me a new shower head regardless (free of charge) and it's worked fine ever since. (Knock on wood)
Hall Bath sink faucet
In the hall bathroom, we had a new sink and faucet installed during the remodel. Over time, the hot-water handle slowly got harder and harder to turn. The cold-water handle was totally fine. Wendy mainly uses this bathroom, so I wasn't aware of how bad it was getting. Eventually, the handle got impossible to turn, so for a while she just stopped using hot water. Around this time, we had guests planning to come visit, so that provided the motivation to get it fixed. I called the manufacturer this time, and they sent me a new handle free of charge. After painstaking effort, I managed to get the stuck handle off; the new one installed easily and all was well. I wish I could say it has worked fine ever since, but I noticed recently that it's now harder to turn than usual. Sigh.
Hall Bath tub stopper
We also got a new bathtub during the remodel, and it came with a neat drain stopper that clicks closed when pushed, and clicks open when pushed again. I really liked it because it seemed fancy. Unfortunately, after a while it fell apart, and despite my best attempts I couldn't put it back together. The specialty store wasn't any help, so I turned to the internet. But no matter how much I searched, I couldn't find an exact replacement anywhere. Bummer! So I bought a cheap drain stopper from Home Depot. And then, after a few months, it broke. And then I forgot that it broke. So during all this time, which was many months, if not years, we couldn't take baths because we didn't have a working bathtub drain stopper. A few months ago I rediscovered this whole problem, and started investigating it all over again. This time, I found an online supply store in Canada with the exact push-to-click drain stopper we had originally. I bought it, and it's been working great ever since. We can now take baths again!
Kitchen sink faucet
Now it's time to talk about the kitchen. We got new cabinets, a new sink, and a new faucet. After a couple of years the faucet started making a horrendous squeaking/scraping sound when it rotated. It truly sounded awful. So I contacted the manufacturer through their website, and uploaded a video of the problem. I just realized as I'm typing this that I still have the video. Here it is. Enjoy!
Since it had a lifetime warranty, the manufacturer sent me a new faucet, which I installed myself (and I was quite proud of that). Thankfully, the new faucet rotated without a sound. I was so glad it was fixed.
A year later, though, the new faucet started leaking. It had a pull-down spout, and whenever the faucet was turned on, water sprayed out of the hose connected to the spout.
So, I went back to the manufacturer's website and uploaded some photos. They sent me a new faucet again (which I installed myself again).
However! One year later, the finish on the handle started to peel. A lot. And it looked disgusting. So I contacted the manufacturer a THIRD time and uploaded a photo:
This time they just sent me a new handle. But that presented a whole new problem because I couldn't remove the tiny screw that held the old handle in place! It was all rusted over due to the peeling. Frustrated, I went online and discovered many reviews of this faucet with the same peeling problem. Enough was enough, so I cut ties with that manufacturer (Pfister) and bought a different faucet made by a different company. It's working great.
Kitchen sink
And finally, the kitchen sink. We got a new stainless steel sink as part of the kitchen remodel. Last year, we noticed it had cracked. I kid you not:
It wasn't a big crack, but it was definitely a noticeable one. In a stainless steel sink, of all places. I don't know about you, but in my experience, cracks tend to get worse over time, not better. So I contacted the manufacturer via their website and uploaded pictures. A few weeks later I got my one and only response from them: a shipping notice that a new sink was on its way.
I was not confident that I could install a new sink by myself, so I hired a plumber to do the job. He said he'd never seen a crack in a stainless steel sink before, and that it looked like a manufacturing defect. That was small comfort when it came time to pay his bill.
If memory serves, those are all of the plumbing fixture issues we had. And with any luck, that will be the last of them. But I'm casting a wary and disapproving eye towards that faucet handle in the hall bath that's getting harder and harder to turn.