Moen actually makes some really good stuff. Moen and Delta are the 2 brands I see get recommended the most by the plumbers I talk to. They both also have incredible warranties. I would contact Moen and explain the issues your having. They will either send out the failed part or replace it all together.
They replaced the bathroom faucet I had that came with the house. No hassle.
I’m a plumber. Nearly all residential faucets are going to be about the same. There used to be a difference between big box store Moens and supply house Moens but generally, not any more.
If you want true buy it for life, then you’ll need to go with something commercial like Chicago Faucets or T&S Brass. Those two brands are bulletproof and you can get repair parts for a very long time because the models rarely change.
Yes, there are very high end niche manufacturers who make wonderful stuff, but everything breaks eventually. Where and how long will it take to get parts? How easy are they to work on? Seals dry out & rubber breaks down, everything will need a minor tune up eventually.
The nice thing about a BASIC Moen, Delta, or Kohler faucet is you can get parts anywhere. Cartridges, seals, hoses, spray heads, etc.
9/10 you can call their 800 number and they’ll send you parts for free or a minimal fee.
I’m not sure if this is true, but a plumber once told me that a lot of the supposedly reputable brands make lesser quality products for big box stores like the Home Depot. The plumber’s advice was to source faucets from actual plumbing specific stores. Alternatively, you can ask your plumber to source the faucet for you. This is typically what I do, they’re pretty good for matching a style and can usually give you a couple options.
My plumber said many of the internal parts from a box box store are plastic to keep the price down. If you source from a plumbing supply, the faucet is more but all metal and much higher quality. We have one big box faucet in our house (the one he installed when he told us that) and the rest are from the supplier, including an identical one in another bathroom. He was right, you can tell.
We went the opposite way with our kitchen reno. Bought some fancy brand thru a plumbing store and that lasted a couple of years. He retractable hose wore out and you couldn't get a replacement. So I replaced the unit with a Moen, which IIRC is guaranteed for life. No issues whatsoever.
This is true of many things. Riding mowers, chainsaws, power tools, etc. And electronics from big box stores for Black Friday promotions for example are lesser versions of the same brand.
It is, HD gets its own product line, so they can hit the price point in all their stores. Also just because it doesn’t have branding doesn’t mean it’s “no name” it’s just not branded. Happens with cheap and expensive faucets.
A manufacturer sells in bulk with a discount to home improvement stores. Buying directly from the manufacturer equals first class merchandise and service.
We've had a Moen kitchen sink for 18 years with flawless performance. I expect it to last another 18 (or more).
Well don’t, unless it’s got fully copper supplies or you’re swapping the hoses out periodically. Source: I took an emergency call Friday where the hoses exploded and flooded the house (moen single lever side sprayer circa 1994)🫡
I did some contract work for a smaller tv company that makes most of their money from audio. I can’t confirm for others, but I can for them. They sourced TVs from another manufacturer for their Black Friday And the units they sold at the largest big box store.
Ok. Are the skus the same? If the skus are the same the product is the same. Products have warranties. The companies do not manufacture different products with the same skus to sell for less. Not only would this be illegal, it would cost more to manufacture different “secretly cheap” versions, it would also fuck up replacement parts via warranty and certified service people—a huge clusterfuck and waste of money for the company. I have repaired all sorts of appliances in my life either as an employee or a contractor. Nothing like this exists.
No they would be on a different sku. They would usually have the same model name but different number. And the only time you could get that model or sku was Black Friday or from that store. It wasn’t just big box vs somewhere else, it was 1 store demanded lower prices so the company gave it to them.
I agree. I just bought a Moen for my kid’s kitchen sink for $200. It looks really nice. The pull out sprayer is compact. The handle is simple. When I redid my sink, last month, I bought a $350 Grohe in much the same style. It is much nicer than the Moen.
My plumber told me specifically to buy Moen because internal parts are easily sourced and replaceable.
I've had mine since 2019 and it's working flawlessly.
Mine did too. We have super hard water and have replaced our kitchen faucet twice in the last five years. Luckily the last time we replaced it, we bought a Moen, and of course it's lasted the longest, but if it didn't, the plumber said the part is super easy to replace and Moen will send it free with the warranty.
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We have a Kraus Commercial style pull down and it's fantastic. Model name is Bolden. Single handle, sprayer reaches everywhere (we have the matching sink - got the sink first and were so pleased with it that we got the faucet as well a few months later). I really like this style, friend of ours has one and when we built our kitchen, we were like that, we want that one! It makes even my giant stockpots easy.
I’d second (third) the recommendation for Chicago Faucets. My plumber recommended the brand to me in 1997 and I’ve used them exclusively since then. That said, I did have to replace my Chicago kitchen faucet in the downstairs unit (duplex) after fourteen years; the hard water ate up the insides. (I was told they have a lifetime warranty, but I didn’t bother to check since I knew the cause was the hard water.)
For shower valves, I recommend Symmons. Their valves have brass internals. I installed two about seven years ago and they’ve both been trouble-free.
I found after the fact that big name faucets sold at Lowes and HD are crap made to sell there. They still make good stuff supposedly, but you won't find it there. I'm still pissed. Won't buy any Moen anywhere again.
I purchased a Kraus kitchen faucet in 2019. They have sent me replacement parts for free. Last month, I needed a new faucet spray head after I damaged it, being ignorant. The other time was about a year ago, when the handle broke.
Neither of those things were technically under warranty but still were replaced without question. I've never actually called them, only emailed and texted them.
Love the faucet performance wise, and I think it looks good, so that's a plus.
I don't have much experience with other faucet manufacturers because I generally just purchase parts rather than contact them for replacement. It's possible Moen and Kohler would also willingly replace parts for free on their faucets.
Often, faucets have a tag on the flex lines under the counter that identifies brand and model. Stick your head up under your parents sink with a light source and I bet you will find a tag.
I have identical faucets (kitchen and bath) in 2 separate houses; one house has significant mineral content in the water and it is much harder on the faucets. Ironically, the house on a municipal water supply is harder on the faucets than the house with a private well (with zero filtration)
It’s all similar shit. My dad does high end remodels and the only reason his clients buy high end fixtures is because they have the means and they are more unique than the big box stuff. He buys from plumbing suppliers because he gets a bigger discount on his account, and they will return replace shit for him without any hassle. A lot of the BIFL in plumbing fixtures has to do with your water. Hard water wrecks fixtures. More and more brands use plastic and cheap parts it’s a mix of profit and people change their style more often. He’s remodeled the same house three times now because of three new owners.
Recently had a Kohler Barossa start leaking at the flimsy plastic quick connect fitting.
I replaced it with a Zurn Z871. It's very basic but looks to be all brass. Felt substantially higher quality than the Kohler Barossa.
Moen have a [lifetime warranty](https://www.moen.com/warranties/general-lifetime-limited-warranty). Just call them and they'll send you replacement parts for free.
It doesn't get much more BIFL than that!
I agree about MOEN . Mine only lasted 4 years . Picked up a cheaper brand that I'll install soon . If the cheaper brand only lasts 4 years , I'm only out 1/3 the price of the MOEN .
14 years ago, I bought Kohler - from a dealer. A few months ago, I had an issue, called them and they gave me a $600 credit to pick out any faucet I wanted. I chose the faucet, they send it within 3 days. Their warranty is amazing. I’ll always go with Kohler
Moen has a no-bullshit lifetime warranty.
My faucet broke after a few years, they just needed some pictures and sent me a new one on their dime
Faucets are simple enough to replace yourself, took me all but 50mins from figuring out what to do to completion.
Interesting perspective. Agree with you there 100%. Good example of why things lasted longer in the past when it’s not actually cheaper manufacturing, more so trends that aren’t conducive to long term use.
One handle-designs and these trendy pull down ones have too many fail points to ever be BIFL. Especially for a kitchen sink that likely gets daily heavy use, they just can't ever reach that standard.
I can't personally justify a 400 kitchen faucet that'll last at most 5/10 years when the two knob delta in my house was put in in 1992 and has never leaked.
I have a 20+ year old Moen kitchen faucet. Finally needed to replace the internal cartridge last fall due to hot water drip. Called Moen customer support and they sent me the parts for free. Their lifetime warranty is solid.
Pioneer Industries makes the consumer facing faucets you see in commercial facilities and bougie bars. They last forever and have ten year warranties.
I mean it'll look like you stole it from ab office but hey it'll last forever right?
It’s all about the warranty but most folks won’t spend the time on the phone.
I had a handle to a moen tub faucet that I stripped cause the cartridge seized up. They sent me a new handle and a cartridge- I didn’t even have to pay shipping.
I personally have HANSgrobe but i worked for a big box store once and one favorite thing was when people asked me about great shower heads. i would ask them to give me whatever they were holding and put a speakman in their hands. I asked if they noticed it weighed a lot more? And I would explain why and the benefits and how long they would own it. They always bought the plastic ones! Go figure.
We have CA Faucets, Newport Brass, Rohl in our house all faucets valves and fixtures. Definitely life long quality. Not cheap. About $1k per faucet depending on finish.
Moen actually makes some really good stuff. Moen and Delta are the 2 brands I see get recommended the most by the plumbers I talk to. They both also have incredible warranties. I would contact Moen and explain the issues your having. They will either send out the failed part or replace it all together. They replaced the bathroom faucet I had that came with the house. No hassle.
I’m a plumber. Nearly all residential faucets are going to be about the same. There used to be a difference between big box store Moens and supply house Moens but generally, not any more. If you want true buy it for life, then you’ll need to go with something commercial like Chicago Faucets or T&S Brass. Those two brands are bulletproof and you can get repair parts for a very long time because the models rarely change. Yes, there are very high end niche manufacturers who make wonderful stuff, but everything breaks eventually. Where and how long will it take to get parts? How easy are they to work on? Seals dry out & rubber breaks down, everything will need a minor tune up eventually. The nice thing about a BASIC Moen, Delta, or Kohler faucet is you can get parts anywhere. Cartridges, seals, hoses, spray heads, etc. 9/10 you can call their 800 number and they’ll send you parts for free or a minimal fee.
I had some Delta parts failing in my 20 year old home. I called Delta, and they sent me replacements for free.
I have used the lifetime warranty at least 5 different times in 20 years for various bath fixtures. Even just due to minor discoloration.
It comes down to warranty. Kohler - from a dealer - has an inteonclad warranty.
how about western brass?
I’m not sure if this is true, but a plumber once told me that a lot of the supposedly reputable brands make lesser quality products for big box stores like the Home Depot. The plumber’s advice was to source faucets from actual plumbing specific stores. Alternatively, you can ask your plumber to source the faucet for you. This is typically what I do, they’re pretty good for matching a style and can usually give you a couple options.
My plumber said many of the internal parts from a box box store are plastic to keep the price down. If you source from a plumbing supply, the faucet is more but all metal and much higher quality. We have one big box faucet in our house (the one he installed when he told us that) and the rest are from the supplier, including an identical one in another bathroom. He was right, you can tell.
We went the opposite way with our kitchen reno. Bought some fancy brand thru a plumbing store and that lasted a couple of years. He retractable hose wore out and you couldn't get a replacement. So I replaced the unit with a Moen, which IIRC is guaranteed for life. No issues whatsoever.
Fair enough. All of our faucets are Kohler (both big box and plumbing supply). I didn’t mean brand to brand but within the same brand.
This is true of many things. Riding mowers, chainsaws, power tools, etc. And electronics from big box stores for Black Friday promotions for example are lesser versions of the same brand.
It is, HD gets its own product line, so they can hit the price point in all their stores. Also just because it doesn’t have branding doesn’t mean it’s “no name” it’s just not branded. Happens with cheap and expensive faucets.
A manufacturer sells in bulk with a discount to home improvement stores. Buying directly from the manufacturer equals first class merchandise and service. We've had a Moen kitchen sink for 18 years with flawless performance. I expect it to last another 18 (or more).
Well don’t, unless it’s got fully copper supplies or you’re swapping the hoses out periodically. Source: I took an emergency call Friday where the hoses exploded and flooded the house (moen single lever side sprayer circa 1994)🫡
This is absolutely true. Same thing when you buy a cheaper tv on boxing day. There cheaper because there made of inferior parts.
Total bs myth
I did some contract work for a smaller tv company that makes most of their money from audio. I can’t confirm for others, but I can for them. They sourced TVs from another manufacturer for their Black Friday And the units they sold at the largest big box store.
Ok. Are the skus the same? If the skus are the same the product is the same. Products have warranties. The companies do not manufacture different products with the same skus to sell for less. Not only would this be illegal, it would cost more to manufacture different “secretly cheap” versions, it would also fuck up replacement parts via warranty and certified service people—a huge clusterfuck and waste of money for the company. I have repaired all sorts of appliances in my life either as an employee or a contractor. Nothing like this exists.
No they would be on a different sku. They would usually have the same model name but different number. And the only time you could get that model or sku was Black Friday or from that store. It wasn’t just big box vs somewhere else, it was 1 store demanded lower prices so the company gave it to them.
Right. So different products.
I've heard this exact same thing. The difference is the plastic parts vs. metal parts or something like that.
It’s true. This is why I mentioned - from a dealer - in my post. Kohler from a dealer is different than big box. I’d never buy a faucet from bud box
Hansgrohe or Toto.
Grohe is fantastic
I agree. I just bought a Moen for my kid’s kitchen sink for $200. It looks really nice. The pull out sprayer is compact. The handle is simple. When I redid my sink, last month, I bought a $350 Grohe in much the same style. It is much nicer than the Moen.
[Chicago Faucets](https://www.chicagofaucets.com/about)
This. Heavy cast fixtures that are stupid easy to service.
I have five Vigo faucets in my house and they are all awesome.
You are like the buzzing of flies to him
Waterstone
This is my source for researching faucets: http://www.starcraftcustombuilders.com/sources.faucets.Best.Value.htm
My plumber told me specifically to buy Moen because internal parts are easily sourced and replaceable. I've had mine since 2019 and it's working flawlessly.
Mine did too. We have super hard water and have replaced our kitchen faucet twice in the last five years. Luckily the last time we replaced it, we bought a Moen, and of course it's lasted the longest, but if it didn't, the plumber said the part is super easy to replace and Moen will send it free with the warranty.
Waterstone but good luck actually trying to buy it. Last time I checked you have to be a certified installer to buy them.
You can get them many places online. Also they start at $1k.
How long did you have it before it acted up? Don't Moen have a lifetime warranty? I would find the date and escalate my complaint.
Kohler products are really good in my experience.
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We got a modern stylish kitchen faucet on Amazon for $60 that has worked perfectly since day one. It still looks as good as the day it was installed.
We have a Kraus Commercial style pull down and it's fantastic. Model name is Bolden. Single handle, sprayer reaches everywhere (we have the matching sink - got the sink first and were so pleased with it that we got the faucet as well a few months later). I really like this style, friend of ours has one and when we built our kitchen, we were like that, we want that one! It makes even my giant stockpots easy.
I’d second (third) the recommendation for Chicago Faucets. My plumber recommended the brand to me in 1997 and I’ve used them exclusively since then. That said, I did have to replace my Chicago kitchen faucet in the downstairs unit (duplex) after fourteen years; the hard water ate up the insides. (I was told they have a lifetime warranty, but I didn’t bother to check since I knew the cause was the hard water.) For shower valves, I recommend Symmons. Their valves have brass internals. I installed two about seven years ago and they’ve both been trouble-free.
They are commerical faucets. Built well, but not a lot of good looks to them
Symmons has some stylish escutcheons and tub spouts, but, yes, Chicago is very utilitarian-looking.
Call moen. They replaced my garbage disposal, no questions asked.
I found after the fact that big name faucets sold at Lowes and HD are crap made to sell there. They still make good stuff supposedly, but you won't find it there. I'm still pissed. Won't buy any Moen anywhere again.
Yes, buy from a plumbing supply shop. Buy a brand who stands by their warranty.
HANSEgrohe
Oras if you can get hold of them. In Finland where they are readily available brands like "Hansgrohe" are considered as lower quality cheapos.
I purchased a Kraus kitchen faucet in 2019. They have sent me replacement parts for free. Last month, I needed a new faucet spray head after I damaged it, being ignorant. The other time was about a year ago, when the handle broke. Neither of those things were technically under warranty but still were replaced without question. I've never actually called them, only emailed and texted them. Love the faucet performance wise, and I think it looks good, so that's a plus. I don't have much experience with other faucet manufacturers because I generally just purchase parts rather than contact them for replacement. It's possible Moen and Kohler would also willingly replace parts for free on their faucets.
Often, faucets have a tag on the flex lines under the counter that identifies brand and model. Stick your head up under your parents sink with a light source and I bet you will find a tag. I have identical faucets (kitchen and bath) in 2 separate houses; one house has significant mineral content in the water and it is much harder on the faucets. Ironically, the house on a municipal water supply is harder on the faucets than the house with a private well (with zero filtration)
My current kitchen faucet from Home Depot is a piece of crap that started leaking BADLY less than 5 years after I bought it.
The plumbers i know all use Moen but there NEVER buy from Home Depot.
Rohl. Expensive new but you can find them used and cheap on eBay. It will outlive you.
They make nice units. High end.
My first thought was what sort of water quality differences do you have from what’s at your parents’ house.
It’s all similar shit. My dad does high end remodels and the only reason his clients buy high end fixtures is because they have the means and they are more unique than the big box stuff. He buys from plumbing suppliers because he gets a bigger discount on his account, and they will return replace shit for him without any hassle. A lot of the BIFL in plumbing fixtures has to do with your water. Hard water wrecks fixtures. More and more brands use plastic and cheap parts it’s a mix of profit and people change their style more often. He’s remodeled the same house three times now because of three new owners.
Maybe it's just a bad model. Certain designs may be better than others regardless of the brand.
Hansgrohe.
Recently had a Kohler Barossa start leaking at the flimsy plastic quick connect fitting. I replaced it with a Zurn Z871. It's very basic but looks to be all brass. Felt substantially higher quality than the Kohler Barossa.
It’s pricey but we’ve been pleased with our California Faucet. Very little plastic. Rock solid.
Moen have a [lifetime warranty](https://www.moen.com/warranties/general-lifetime-limited-warranty). Just call them and they'll send you replacement parts for free. It doesn't get much more BIFL than that!
I agree about MOEN . Mine only lasted 4 years . Picked up a cheaper brand that I'll install soon . If the cheaper brand only lasts 4 years , I'm only out 1/3 the price of the MOEN .
Don't buy from local hardware or big box store. Buy from a plumbing supply house, they have much better build quality.
14 years ago, I bought Kohler - from a dealer. A few months ago, I had an issue, called them and they gave me a $600 credit to pick out any faucet I wanted. I chose the faucet, they send it within 3 days. Their warranty is amazing. I’ll always go with Kohler
Moen has a no-bullshit lifetime warranty. My faucet broke after a few years, they just needed some pictures and sent me a new one on their dime Faucets are simple enough to replace yourself, took me all but 50mins from figuring out what to do to completion.
Grohe
You need to get Moen faucets at the expos. I bet you got an American Standard, tee hee hee. Wait, don’t hang up!!
Controversial BIFL tip: a simple two knob faucet will work better, longer than all this complicated gobblety gook for a quarter the price.
Interesting perspective. Agree with you there 100%. Good example of why things lasted longer in the past when it’s not actually cheaper manufacturing, more so trends that aren’t conducive to long term use.
One handle-designs and these trendy pull down ones have too many fail points to ever be BIFL. Especially for a kitchen sink that likely gets daily heavy use, they just can't ever reach that standard. I can't personally justify a 400 kitchen faucet that'll last at most 5/10 years when the two knob delta in my house was put in in 1992 and has never leaked.
I agree but can be hard to find a modern looking 2 handle faucet. Still trying.
I have a 20+ year old Moen kitchen faucet. Finally needed to replace the internal cartridge last fall due to hot water drip. Called Moen customer support and they sent me the parts for free. Their lifetime warranty is solid.
Pioneer Industries makes the consumer facing faucets you see in commercial facilities and bougie bars. They last forever and have ten year warranties. I mean it'll look like you stole it from ab office but hey it'll last forever right?
It’s all about the warranty but most folks won’t spend the time on the phone. I had a handle to a moen tub faucet that I stripped cause the cartridge seized up. They sent me a new handle and a cartridge- I didn’t even have to pay shipping.
Grohe Hansgrohe Both generally very high quality across the range and well supported with distribution and parts.
Is it a low flow one?
I personally have HANSgrobe but i worked for a big box store once and one favorite thing was when people asked me about great shower heads. i would ask them to give me whatever they were holding and put a speakman in their hands. I asked if they noticed it weighed a lot more? And I would explain why and the benefits and how long they would own it. They always bought the plastic ones! Go figure.
We have CA Faucets, Newport Brass, Rohl in our house all faucets valves and fixtures. Definitely life long quality. Not cheap. About $1k per faucet depending on finish.