In2Aqua is one of the few companies that don't make any critical working parts out of plastic. Rubinet is another. KWC is another. That said, we just put in Delta controls and Moen magnetic shower heads in 2 places in our home and have been very pleased with them. They'll probably last quite a while. Brizo is probably a decent brand to go with (owned by Delta). People on these forums have been complaining lately that the quality of Newport Brass has taken a nosedive, and most recent reviewers would advise you to avoid that brand. Rohl doesn't get great recent reviews either with some quality issues that have popped up with more recent reviews. California Faucets puts out some beautiful faucets, but if you drill down deep into reviews you'll find that the finishes on some of their products are chipping after short amounts of time and that customer service and warranty follow-up has been mixed. Nevertheless, California Faucets would probably provide you with good service if you selected a stainless steel or other finish not so prone to chipping. Seriously take a look at In2Aqua and see if you have a supplier near you. They have some of the best made products on the market right now for prices that would rival Brizo.

Belaria,

Thanks for your recs. I will check in to 1n2aqua, Rubinet and KWC. I am going to do chrome because the house is near the ocean and I figure that is the best finish to use near the salt air. I did not realize one could mix brands in the shower tho....that might work for me. Do you think I could mix the Moen faucets and controls I like with non-plastic showerheads/handshowers of another brand?

Plastic is not a bad thing. It’s lighter and not prone to corrosion like brass. Bulletproof vests are made from plastic. As are plenty of chef’s knives. A good brand is more important than whether or not something is “all metal. It’s the same non issue issue as is “all wood” for cabinets . People that insist on paying more for functional equivalence are only hurting themselves.

I know but we will be having a lot of guests most of whom are not as careful with our stuff as we are. Just trying to make bulletproof choices as much as possible 😊

@shermybeagle A Moen Magnetix showerhead is the only one I would buy now for myself personally if I needed a wand showerhead after having had major issues with other styles not docking securely (didn't break a toe but had several serious toe injuries from other brands that didn't securely dock). The Magnetix line is a game-changer in the showerhead world. We have had 5 of them for several years between my own and a relative's home, and they're perfect: https://www.moen.com/innovation/magnetix We've owned them in all 3 finishes offered, and all have held up well. Get the one with the smaller head. The larger head doesn't have as good of water pressure according to reviews. All ours are the smaller heads and are great. They have several different spray settings per each showerhead.

Thx Belaria I will check it out!

If you guests are rough on the fixtures, why give them hand showers? Stick with a simple shower head - I have a $12 American Standard and it works just fine.

John, it makes my job cleaning much easier!

PLASTIC IS BAD IN SHOWER HEADS AND FAUCETS it and can cause serious health issues (look up MAC lung disease). Not only are all faucets, plastic pipes, hot water heaters with plastic parts a haven for bacteria but, refrigerator water tubing is the worst. It’s impossible to clean the tubing that supplies water to the ice maker and water dispenser in a refrigerator. AND no the expensive replacement refrigerator filters do not solve this problem.

I've long been suspicious of the sanitation of line-fed freezer ice and water lines, but you can hardly buy a modern fridge/freezer combo without them.

@Julie Dowell

Wow, just wow! There's so much wrong with that it's hard to know where to begin.

No, plastic in showerheads and faucets (or water lines) is not "bad".

The bacteria that causes MAC disease is present in dust, water and soil. If you don't breathe, drink liquids or move out of a hermetically sealed, dust free environment you will be fine.

BTW: Your water has been around the block more than a few times before it gets to you. If you have municipal water it's been through miles of all kinds of pipes including various kinds of plastic. Almost all residential wells are using plastic pipe (poly) and PEX and CPVC are very common plumbing materials. Nylon is common in all manner of plumbing devices such as valves, aerators, water dispensers, water heater parts, water softener parts and water filter parts. Good luck finding water that hasn't been in contact with plastic. Nope, not even water out of an R/O filter.

Of course, every bit of it has percolated through soil, had animals and people poop in it, etc. The last two inches before it lands on your body is nothing. Your shower head could be made of lead, arsenic, and poop and it probably wouldn't impact water quality significantly. That said, all plumbing used in potable water must meet NSF standards-- lead / arsenic / poop alloy showerheads aren't a thing.

I'm not a big fan of carbon filters in refrigerators though... primarily because people don't change them. Since they also filter out residual chlorine, they can become breeding grounds for bacteria if they aren't changed once a year.

But I call complete and total BS on your post about plastic faucet parts and plastic shower heads.

Has anyone come across a rubber sleeve/ covering of sorts for handhead shower heads? As Nancy in Mich has stated, they can easily chip the tub, break toes, etc. Regardless how careful people are, the handheld will get dropped. I am looking at Rubinet, which are metal. I otherwise may have to find a lower-end plastic handhead shower head. Have received no reply to this question from Rubinet.

A lot of the dropping of shower heads occurs when trying to re-connect them to holders. I completely solved that issue in my home with the Moen Magnetix showerheads. It is a system that securely holds the showerhead with easy removal and reattachment. Since installing these in all my showers, the showerheads have never once dropped, where they did multiple times before with previous fixtures (and I had more than one bruised toe to prove it). The handles themselves on Moen Magnetix are easy to grasp, so you would not need rubber with them which could be difficult to keep clean. I recommend the style with 5 settings and the smaller head. Some people complain the ones with the larger head don't offer as good of water pressure, but the smaller ones are perfect. They come in several finishes.

Thaddeus Weakley, the best hand-held shower head I have used is a very small and basic wall shower head, like you find in gyms and such. Mine was from Ace Hardware and it was solid brass. Using it with a shower hose meant that I needed to buy a male-to-female brass fitting to hook it up, so that gave it the perfect length to hold in my palm. Wherever I pointed my fingeers got a good, strong spray. I had it in our bathtub, connected up on the wall shower head pipe, so the 5 ft hose did not reach the floor of the tub. It hung there until I needed it. It was perfect for washing dogs because when I let it go, it just swung back to the wall and continued to spray straight down. I have not gotten the same shower head for my current hand held because it CAN reach the floor, and I could drop it on my toes or even make it spray out of the shower stall because we have no curb and no glass enclosure. The plastic, hand-held I have is a bit eassier to grab if it should fall. If I had the hose coming from above, though, I would go back to the brass head in a minute.

As for Rubinet, try calling them. They are in Canada. I have their Raven lav faucet, which I love. When it was first installed, it would loosen over time as we used it because the single handle was on the side. The force of always pushing it there would make it turn in its fittings and get loose. I called them and we determined that my installer must have left off the rubber gasket that would have grabbed it and kept it from loosening. They sent me a new one without even asking for my receipt. Hubby looked, and they were right. Contractor had left off the rubber gasket. He fixed it in a couple of minutes.