“No brand seems totally immune to mineral buildup, but I will say Kohler’s held up better for me than some others.”
Funny enough, I’ve had the opposite luck—my Kohler started leaking at the base after 6 years, but the cheap Glacier Bay in my rental’s still going strong (and looking suspiciously okay). Water’s super hard here too, so maybe it’s all about regular maintenance and a little wishful thinking. I do swear by those aerator screens though... clean ‘em out every few months and you might get a few extra years before the inevitable drip-drip.
Definitely agree that maintenance is half the battle. In my rentals, I’ve found the “name brand” stuff doesn’t always outlast the budget picks either. Here’s what’s worked for me: I keep a log of when I last cleaned aerators and replaced washers, and it’s wild how much that helps. Hard water’s brutal—sometimes I’ll even swap in a cheap filter on the main line just to slow down the buildup. Honestly, sometimes it feels like luck of the draw... but regular checkups seem to tip the odds.
