Jessdye aesthetically I love polished nickel, we are also using it in our master bathroom renovation. However, for the kitchen I will probably figure out how I want to mix metals, because the sink faucet needs to be brushed for maintenance or I will go all brushed or satin.

I have polished nickel Rohl faucets in my bath. They are lovely and very durable. Occasionally they do need to be cleaned with some Flitz metal polish as they tarnish very slightly. It's hardly noticeable until you go over them.

The brushed finish also tarnishes slightly but doesn't show it as much. It's also a more modern finish than the polished style wise.

I have Rohl polished nickel fixtures in the bath and Hansgrohe in the kitchen. The Rohl has tarnished and on some fixtures, a bit of the finish has worn off (hand held shower is the worst) but the Hansgrohe looks as good as it did the day we installed it (5 years ago or more). I love polished nickel and don't mind tarnishing. I also really don't like satin nickel. It's everywhere in our beach house and is just too dull for my taste.

I installed a Rohl polished nickel kitchen faucet two years ago and have given it heavy use ever since. I do occasionally use Flitz metal polish on it. There are some slight tarnish marks that don't particularly bother me. I don't regret the polished nickel faucet (I also have polished nickel hardware). It is one of my favorite parts of the kitchen. The warmth of the polished nickel has no equal.

That said, the Grohe polished chrome fixtures I installed in the bathroom as part of the renovation look 100% perfect after two years. If you would mind a little patina, polished nickel may not be the best choice. If you don't mind the patina of a 'living finish', it is a good choice.

Francoise47 and Rococogurl, how often would you say you polish the Nickel? Thanks!

Hi Jessdye1,
I should polish my polished nickel faucet more often -- perhaps once a week to make sure that it doesn't tarnish. In fact, I only polish the faucet and door pulls every 4 to 6 weeks.

Polished nickel will tarnish just as marble will etch. If you are worried about it tarnishing you may not want to get it even though it is so lovely.

I love polished nickel too. My Perrin & Rowe (made by Rohl) have been in since July. I've bought Flitz metal polish but haven't had to use it yet.

I have a Rohl polished nickel faucet in my kitchen & it is a bit of a pain! But, it's beautiful! I use semichrome to polish it - recommended by Rohl - & then use Flitz to wax it. Both available on Amazon. I've learned that you do not want to spray any cleaner w/ bleach around it! And, that you may have to rub hard to polish it if you don't stay on top of it. It is, literally, like polishing sterling silver. I try to wipe it down every night after cleaning the kitchen just to keep gunk off of it. It's the last thing I do at night. Most of the time! To keep it looking good, it should probably be polished one a week. Did I mention how beautiful it is?!?

I too have Rohl p.n. in my kitchen and I agree, it is a bit of a pain. I noticed discoloration within two weeks around the sink drain (I think it's called a flange). After being in contact with the company to complain, they sent me a tube of Semichrome polish. While that works well on the faucet spout and handles, it takes quite a bit of elbow grease to get the flange back to a shine. It's almost not worth it to me anymore and we have had the kitchen for two years. If I knew that beforehand, I would have considered polished chrome for the flange. I don't think anyone but me would really notice. I do love the p.n. faucet though.

Wow Glisson4, Rohl told me to go buy Semichrome!! No free tube here! it was about 2 weeks when my faucet looked like it had a rash! Small little spots all over the spout & the handles looked horrible. I tried to clean them up & nothing was working. I called Rohl & was told to polish it w/ Semichrome. They were willing to send me a new spout because they hadn't ever seen spots like that, but no new handles. I think my maid had sprayed Clorox cleaner on the counter & it got on the spout. So, keep the bleach away! The Semichrome got that off right away, however I really had to work on the handles to get them to look good. So, higher maintenance than most other finishes...but again, it sure it pretty!

I have a bridge faucet and almost bought polished nickel because it looks so much better polished until I spoke to the dealer in the plumbing supply who said that polished nickel in the kitchen will end up showing more spots. I ended up going with a newport brass bridge faucet in satin nickel and LOVE it!! I had the rohl satin nickel in my old house and it is very dark and dull. The newport brass is bright and almost shiny, though not polished. Check them out if you want a compromise.