"Honestly, I think a lot comes down to brand quality and luck."
Couldn't agree more—seen ceramic cartridges last decades or fail in months. Brand matters, but sometimes it's just dumb luck. Still beats chasing down those ancient washers though... talk about a wild goose chase.
- Had a similar experience recently—installed two identical faucets, same brand, same model.
- One's been flawless for years, the other started dripping after just a few months. Go figure.
- Makes me wonder if it's manufacturing tolerances or just random luck of the draw...
- Still, beats the old days of hunting down obscure washers at the hardware store.
"Makes me wonder if it's manufacturing tolerances or just random luck of the draw..."
Probably a bit of both. Recently replaced the faucet in my kitchen and learned a lot more than I ever wanted to about cartridges and ceramic discs. Turns out even tiny imperfections in the ceramic surfaces can cause leaks pretty quickly. And yeah, at least we're past the days of digging through dusty bins at the hardware store for the right washer...though sometimes I wonder if that wasn't simpler in its own annoying way.
Had a similar experience with my bathroom faucet last summer—thought I'd save a bit by grabbing one on clearance. Big mistake. It leaked within days, and after pulling it apart, found out the ceramic discs weren't seated properly. Makes me think manufacturers sometimes cut corners in quality control to push costs down... which ends up costing us more in the long run. Kinda miss the simplicity of swapping out a rubber washer now and then, honestly.
Had a similar issue myself. Bought a cheaper faucet online thinking I'd save money, but ended up spending hours troubleshooting leaks. Turns out the internal cartridge was faulty right from the start. Switched back to a basic washer-type faucet after that—simpler design, easier fixes, and fewer headaches overall. Sometimes newer isn't always better... especially when it comes to plumbing.
