LESLIE: Rich in Arkansas, you’ve got The Money Pit. How can we help you today?
RICH: Yes, I was – my question is concerning ceramic-valve cartridges and faucets. Since they theoretically resurface themselves during each operation, I’m wondering if it would be prudent to open the valve its full radius and then back down to your desired flow, in order to ensure proper, even resurfacing.
TOM: I don’t think so. So, just to back up, for those that are unfamiliar with this, most of the good-quality faucets today have ceramic valves, which basically are two ceramic discs that rub against each other. They’re very finely polished. In fact, it’s interesting that if you touch them together when the valve is all apart, which most of us will never see – but because I’m kind of a geek, I’ve been to these factories. If you touch these two sides of the ceramic valve together, you almost can’t pull it apart because of the surface tension. It’s almost like magnetic.
And as Rich – as you said, the more you use these, the more worn they get. But they don’t – they actually get tighter. They don’t really wear out, so I wouldn’t worry too much about this. I think they’re far tougher than you give them credit for and I wouldn’t worry about the evenness of the wear. I just think it’s a real terrific technology that’s probably the best we’ve ever had.
RICH: OK. Well, I kind of expected that but I would – yeah, my theory, my mind works in mysterious ways.
TOM: Apparently. Well, put your mind at ease, Rich. There’s going to be no issues with that. I’m sure there are other projects that you can put your attention to now. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
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