Do you regret your brushed brass taps? Lovely or a complete PITA?

[BluGreenBlu]

I'm about to replace some basin taps in my bathroom. I keep eyeing up the brushed brass ones, does anyone else have these? I'm pretty careful, but it seems like its pretty easy to damage/tarnish them; I was just wondering what others experience had been like? TIA!

They damage like anything and very quickly.

We had ours taken out and replaced with chrome. I wouldn't have them again.

Ours have been in for over two years and look good as new, they weren't particularly expensive ones either. We do have a water softener though so we only need to wipe them over the clean, no scrubbing or limescale to damage them.

That’s so interesting, @SarfLondonLad and @Reallybadidea, both of your responses exactly sum up why I keep flip flopping on this! I’ve read such opposing reviews online. I love the look of them but don’t want to get something I’ll feel I’ll have to handle with kid gloves.

I really wanted then too but the bathroom bloke i spoke to said it entirely depends on your water. If it's hard they will tarnish and damage 10x faster than chrome. If you are lucky enough to have soft water then they should last a lot longer x

Mine have lasted well but I am careful with them

How do you mean, careful, @Catherine3436? I’m considering them.

We have very hard water and I'm perfectly happy with them - in two years.

I've got one in the kitchen. 2.5 years in and all good. And it was a cheap one.
If you like them, go for it. In the grand scheme of things, taps are not hugely expensive to replace if you find they're no good in a couple of years

Thank you all so much for your responses. I do live in a very hard water area, but I have a water softener fitted. Does anyone else have them with softened water and have they held up ok?

We are in a hard water area. No water softener.

Maybe that's where we went wrong!

I love mine and just give them a quick wipe over. They look so much nicer than chrome.

hard water area, wish I’d never had them, they’re so tarnished

Some of ours are like new still (a few years old) but some have really ended up looking a mess. The more expensive ones have lasted better.

We have expensive ones in our ensuite and they look good as new 2 year later. A cheaper one in the downstairs wc and it looks awful. Love the one in the ensuite, would never buy cheaper again

It really depends how willing you are to look after them. They must be kept dry to avoid staining.
I have them in my bathroom and I'm about to add in the second one. They are a bit more hard work than plain stainless steel ones but it is important to me my house looks nice (for me at least!) so I am willing to put the extra work!
Absolutely NO CLEANING PRODUCT. Warm water, wash up liquid and a microfibre cloth are all you need. Max you can add some baking soda. I still don't have a water softener but I'm about to install one in the upcoming renovation.
I keep a microfibre cloth in the bathroom and it takes no effort at all to just dry the tap and the shower parts. Also helps to make the bathroom to look clean all the time and to keep overall humidity levels down (as I also wipe down the shower screen!).
Personally, I think they are worth it.

I'd also say it depends on the tap style. We have a tap with a flat facet - water pooled on it and it always looked bloody awful I changed it to a rounded facet and it looked fine for days without a wipe.

We have Perrin and Rowe brass taps in our kitchen and they have a patina on, but that’s the point. They’re meant to look old and worn, and not sparkling new. But that’s the vibe of the kitchen (traditional shaker etc). If you wanted them to look unmarked without water stains and not tarnished then they wouldn’t be for you!