Why is it that a faucet tends to always leak soon after replacing a new part these days? For us, the battle is with washers. Plumbers blame the high water pressure that causes washers to go. But I had a pressure regulator installed to handled the pressure problem. Guess what? Our faucet still leaks frequently.
Replacing old style washers and seats over time for a faucet will cost more because you’re replacing them every few months. The problem might be people cranking the handles too hard to stop every last drip. This tears up the rubber washer and damages the metal seat, which cost about $3.50 to replace yourself–more if a professional does it. But I was told faucets made with ceramic disc cartridges will be cheaper in the long run to use.
We have Central Brass faucets. They do not have a lifetime but a one-year warranty on their faucets with ceramic disc cartridges. However, Kohler, American Standard, Price Pfister and many others have lifetime warranties, which sound like they expect they won’t fail.
Tell me what which do you prefer washers or ceramic discs for a faucet?
Time for a new plumber if your faucet leaks every 3 months. Ceramic cartridges are the worst and cost quadruple over its lifetime. Almost any washer type can be fixed without a trip to the supply house. You pay for me to travel. Considering they now makes 10k different cartridges it’s almost a guaranteed trip. Not to mention they cost about 20x the cost of a washer.
Faucets today have a 15 year life. Yet I’m still changing washers In faucets 50 years old. That in itself should tell you how much better washers are. It’s the manufacturer that decided they weren’t making money on the repairs. So they came up with cartridges which guarantees income on repairs.