I've had mixed luck with ceramic discs myself. Last year, our kitchen faucet started dripping, and I thought, "Hey, ceramic discs are supposed to last forever, right?" Famous last words. Turns out ours had cracked somehow, and tracking down the exact replacement was a bit of a scavenger hunt. It wasn't super expensive, but definitely pricier than the old-school washers I used to swap out in five minutes flat.
On the upside, once replaced, it's been trouble-free ever since. But honestly, I miss the simplicity of just grabbing a cheap washer from the hardware store. Maybe I'm just old-fashioned or overly frugal (probably both!), but there's something reassuring about knowing you can fix stuff quickly without special-ordering parts.
Speaking of faucet adventures... has anyone else ever accidentally bought the wrong cartridge and stubbornly tried to make it fit anyway? Or is that just me being overly optimistic again?
"Speaking of faucet adventures... has anyone else ever accidentally bought the wrong cartridge and stubbornly tried to make it fit anyway?"
Haha, guilty as charged. When I first moved into my place, I confidently grabbed a cartridge that looked "close enough" from the hardware store. Spent an entire afternoon trying to force it in, convinced I could MacGyver it somehow. Spoiler alert: nope. Learned the hard way that faucets are annoyingly precise little beasts—lesson definitely learned. Now I triple-check model numbers before buying anything plumbing-related...
Honestly, I've found that sometimes the "close enough" cartridge actually can work if you're willing to tweak things a bit. Maybe you just got unlucky? I've managed to swap out a few parts that weren't exact matches, and they're still holding up fine...
"Honestly, I've found that sometimes the 'close enough' cartridge actually can work if you're willing to tweak things a bit."
Yeah, I've had similar experiences. A while back, I was helping my uncle fix an older faucet—couldn't find the exact cartridge anywhere locally. Ended up using one that was pretty close, just had to file down a couple edges slightly and add a thicker O-ring. It's been about two years now and still no leaks. Sometimes a bit of improvisation goes a long way...
I've run into similar situations myself. Had a customer with an older Moen faucet—exact cartridge wasn't available locally, and ordering would take days. Ended up modifying a slightly newer cartridge by carefully shaving down the plastic tabs and using plumber's grease to get a snug fit. Worked perfectly, no callbacks yet. Curious though, did you find the modified cartridge affected water pressure or handle operation at all? Sometimes subtle differences can cause unexpected issues down the line...
