Faucets: You Probably Don't Really Care

So, I got the bright idea to paint two of our three bathrooms. I was smart and left the third untouched so I would have a place to pee and brush my teeth. Can't put nothin' past me.

One thing followed another and if I was painting, well, it made sense to update the lighting and the hardware. And the flooring. And the shower curtains (there's 2 in one bath, but that's another story).

Fine.

Except it wasn't.

See this faucet? It was misbehaving and being rather jerky when you wanted to precisely regulate the water temperature. Obviously we needed a new one. A poor faucet shouldn't be expected to perform flawlessly for 2o years, for heaven's sake.

Off I go to the big box home improvement (ha!) store. Have you seen the price of faucets lately?

Good God. A little piddly chrome one - not fancy brushed nickel or brushed somethingorother - is $45. And only one to choose from. Everything else is $89 and up. And most have two handles - you know the kind where it takes a scientific chart and 15 minutes to get the correct temp.

I much prefer the ones with the one knob. Anyway - I purchased 2 such faucets (45x2=90). I know! Talk about expensive.

Now, it doesn't end there. Go get a cup of tea.

Anyone who knows about decor, and god knows I do, all your hardware in the bath has to match - finishwise. If the faucet is chrome then all the towelracks, the toiletpaper thingy, the showerhead, the light fixture, the mirror...need I go on?

So, I wisely purchased chrome everything. I had to sit down on a display of toilet wax rings (yes! a display!) when I saw the prices of brushed metal stuff. Those brushing factories must be making a mint.

I haul home my haul. $380 worth (including tax). And this did not include mirrors, nor shower taps and heads. I had to draw the line somewhere, don't you think?

WonderHusband says: "Chrome? Isn't here something nicer? We had chrome when I was a kid. What about that brushed stuff."

Three days later we (he) installed all the chrome. WH went on a shopping trip and discovered....well, discovered what I had earlier.

Oh, so why the faucet photo you ask? Because we took back the chrome faucets! We're going to parlay that money into mirrors (WH doesn't know). WH fixed the old faucets. Now, that is reusing, or recycling or regifting, well something, but I know it's green.
He cleaned out all the grime and goop and calcium and now they slide around and get the correct water mixture like they were lined with silk.

Happy. Happy. Now I need to go scrub the old/new faucet. It looks like hell.

(ps: FabDaughter: if you read this - he fixed your faucet too!)