I know, you don't see what I see. You see a crappy wall- mounted faucet. Well, to me it's lovely.

Well what happens with the faucets is that they're gummy (and I say "they" because we have two kitchens with original faucets). The handles don't move so well, and when you turn them off, they kind of don't stop turning. And eventually, even if you're careful, the handles are going to keep on turning and the water's not going to stop flowing. That's when you have to turn the water main off.

Okay, so remember the car accident? One of the witnesses happens to be a plumber and once the case was settled (in my favor, thank you) I called him. He rebuilt the faucets twice and last week, when the hot side was doing that gummy turning thing again, I was embarrassed to call him and ask him to do the same job for a third time.

Crappy cartridge from 1923. And why can't I flip this picture? Ask Blogger.

What I did was, I called Chicago Faucets and explained my sob story. I begged them to take the faucet back and rebuild it. I told them all the wall-mounted faucets they'd designed since 1943 were unacceptably ugly. I was rebuked, but I was given information. I am going to share it with you:

1-100XK - Hot 

1-99XK - Cold

(you can click on the pictures for links)

These are codes for porcelain, washerless cartridges, and when the Plumber Witness came by to fix them he was wildly impressed with them. I wasn't until I used my faucet.

Wow. Is this what a handle is supposed to feel like?

Like it turns easy and then stops turning?

And when it's off it doesn't drip all night?

It's almost like having a new kitchen.....