Bathroom accessories - Chrome or stainless steel?

[OneMoreFarang]

For my bathroom renovation I need a towel rack and other accessories.

My faucets are chrome and for that reason it is probably a good idea to have also chrome accessories.

I want that they last forever, like 20 years, and the chrome should still look good after 20 years. Is that reasonable?

What are the best brands for the quality? Until now I have the best impression from Kohler and TOTO and I bought faucets from those brands.

 

Or is it better to use stainless steel? I guess that should last forever.

 

 

[Bday Prang]

need to be a bit careful with stainless some is more stainless than others 

[stubuzz]

Stainless 304

[sometime]

22 minutes ago, stubuzz said:

Stainless 304

Will Stainless 304 be stamped on the towel rail I don't think so????????

[Damrongsak]

Chrome plating can be put on various metallic substrates.  It can be very durable or not, depending on the quality of the plating. 

Stainless steel (which is not really "stainless") is steel with a significant percentage of Chromium in the mix.  There are many alloys and corrosion resistance varies a LOT.  Alloy 304 is pretty common, 316 is used in corrosive marine environments, etc. 

 

I don't know if anyone makes fully "stainless" fixtures or if that's just a trade name for what the finish looks like.  That is, shiny chrome plating vs. "brushed chrome" or some such.  Could be the same cheap Zinc  inside.  Or, if your lucky, brass inside.

 

I hate doing plumbing repairs!  Here in the US, I recently replaced 3 bathroom sink faucets that were about 25 years old.  @#%$!!!.  One more to go, but I decided to come to Thailand for two months instead.  At least here, you only have to deal with cold water faucets, not hot and cold.

 

 

[Mark Nothing]

My condo developer used all the cheapest bathroom accessories.  Within months the chrome blistered and peeled off and the metal underneath rusted leaving my towels stained.  It looked terrible and functioned poorly.

 

I changed them all to Haefele stainless steel products 20 years ago and they look as good now as when purchased.  It is a pleasure using them everyday. 

 

Toto and kohler are good products too.  I bought two kohler toilets that have been a real pain.  Local technicians don't know how to service them and when repairs are required special orders can take weeks to arrive. 

[scubascuba3]

Here I don't trust stainless steel or chrome, both seem to rust when they shouldn't, having said that my bath towel rail looks like chrome, probably 10 years old and no rust

[Dan O]

Generally, you want to match your fixtures in appearance unless going for some specialty look or design. Most bath accessories are plated unless you are at the extreme top end of the market.  Look at the manufacture warranty and what it actually covers. Also look at your environment where you choose to use them. Is there proper ventilation or excessive moisture contact, i.e.; towel bar inside shower versus on the wall in bathroom?  Kohler is a very good brand. Toto is fairly good but I've had both good and not so good experience with those.

[Simple Jack]

Use brass screws. Trust me.

[bunnydrops]

I bring a magnet with me when shopping for stainless steel. In the States a magnet will not strongly stick to stainless. In Thailand they will mostly stick to some degree. In my US kitchen A magnet will not stick to the faucet, can just feel some attraction to pots, and will lightly hold on to knives. Its not considered a good test for stainless but I find it helps in weeding out the real junk.

[connda]

Stainless.

[OneMoreFarang]

2 hours ago, Simple Jack said:

Use brass screws. Trust me.

Why?

Until now I didn't buy any of these accessories, but I guess screws are included - at least for Kohler, etc.

I also guess that they include the screws which are best. Or not? 

[stubuzz]

49 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Why?

They won't rust.