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jmedgar

Inquiry into Counterfeit Faucet Certification Marks.

StarCraft Custom Builders
hace 9 años

Faucets sold in North America are regulated. They are tested and must comply with certain rigorous standards for safety and reliability, and be proven lead free.

These regulations are solely for the protection of the consumers that buy the faucets. Faucets that are not certified to meet these standards may not be lawfully sold or installed in the U.S. or Canada, and if installed must be removed.

Faucets that have been tested and certified are required to be permanently imprinted with the certification mark of the certifying organization. These are usually found on the back of the faucet. Here are some of the more common marks:

The marks may be engraved, embossed, painted or printed on the faucet.

In connection with our ratings and reviews of faucets sold in North America, we have opened an inquiry into forged and counterfeit certification marks.

We have received allegations and other information that certain faucet companies are improperly using the certification marks on their faucets, even though the faucets have not, in fact, been certified.

These are allegations only, and the fact that a faucet company is named in this post should not be taken to mean that the company is, in fact, doing anything wrong.

If you have purchased kitchen or bathroom sink faucets (not showers or tub fillers) from any of the following companies since January 1, 2012, please look on the back of the faucet for one of these marks (you may need a small mirror).

If you find one, please reply to this post indicating the mark you found and the approximate date the faucet was purchased.

  • Signature Hardware, sold by Clawfoot Supply, Inc., d/b/a Signature Hardware through its own website.
  • Wolverine, sold by Wolverine Brass, Inc. through plumbers only.
  • Freuer, sold by Spohn Global Enterprises, Inc. on Amazon and e-Bay.
  • Herbeau, sold by Herbeau Creations of North America, Inc.
  • Mico sold by Mico Designs, Ltd.
  • Julien, sold by Julien, Inc. (Canada)

If you are not comfortable posting here, then our e-mail address is: editor@starcraftcustombuilders.com.

For more information on why and how faucets are regulated by various levels of government to ensure that they are safe, reliable and lead free, check out "Faucet Basics" on our web site.

Your help with this project is greatly appreciated.

Jim Edgar

Managing Editor

Respuesta destacada
  • PRO
    StarCraft Custom Builders
    Autor original
    hace 9 años
    Última modificación: hace 9 años

    mrsshayne

    That is certainly not a certification mark. It actually looks like nothing more than a minor flaw in the casting. If you have seen the UPC mark on Moen faucets, then you know that cert marks are clear and unmistakable.

    Actually, I am dissembling a little. I know Freuer's imported Chinese products are not certified and never have been, so I do not expect Freuer faucets (or showers) to show certification marks. I too question how a reputable company like Amazon can sell them. But, they do. I wonder if selling a faucet that you know cannot lawfully be used as a faucet isn't some sort of fraud? It's hard for me to believe that Amazon does not know about the certification requirements.

    Comentarios (20)

    • User
      hace 9 años

      It absolutely is NOT SPAM! Starcraft maintains one of the most useful consumer information websites around. This is totally legit, and it's a consumer SERVICE for them to take on this issue. They don't have to. They're not soliciting business, as they are a small local builder, so no one except for their small local area could possibly be influenced to use them. The only reason for them to have such a useful to everyone else website is because they enjoy educating people. They are a terrific resource!


    • greg_2015
      hace 9 años

      This may be good information, but it isn't done selflessly. They have paid advertisements on their page, so promoting it and driving web traffic to their website earns them money.

    • geoffrey_b
      hace 9 años
      More than that, it's really useless info. Hyping about counterfeit cert's for a faucet? Give me a break. Yeah a little lead in a faucet body - fear mongering. Our average life expectancy has continued to rise, year over year - the lead in the faucets hasn't seemed to affect our health.
    • User
      hace 9 años

      It's about much more than lead. Most of these import faucets do not have quality controls in their manufacturing and can have much worse contaminants than lead. That's why achieving real certification is important. And it's why counterfeits are really BIG issue.

      Having dealt personally with some very poor quality import faucets that looked really good from the outside, I'm glad someone is taking a closer look at them.

    • PRO
      StarCraft Custom Builders
      Autor original
      hace 9 años
      Última modificación: hace 9 años

      geoffrey_b

      You could try actually reading the articles. You might change your mind.

      greg_2015

      While we do host paid advertising, the amount of revenue generated has never come close to paying the cost of maintaining the site. In any event, I doubt the request for information will generate much website traffic.

    • geoffrey_b
      hace 9 años

      @sophie " Most of these import faucets do not have quality controls in their manufacturing and can have much worse contaminants than lead."

      Quality control? In China? Surely you jest. Do I need to tell you much of what we buy is now made in China? A third world communist country. When the Chinese can, they will cut corners where ever possible. The original production run may have the cert - but in later years they may deviate.

      I've seen it Q/C of electronics components.

      Big business has sold out the public (and manufacturing jobs), just so they can make a couple more bucks.

    • jellytoast
      hace 9 años

      I'm confused and curious. What is meant by "We have opened an inquiry into ... "? Opened it with who? Is there an investigation into counterfeit faucets? Who is doing the investigation? The OP? If there were any allegations made or investigations to be done, wouldn't they be done by the manufacturers themselves and/or whoever is in charge of enforcing "These regulations [that are] are solely for the protection of the consumers that buy the faucets"?

    • PRO
      StarCraft Custom Builders
      Autor original
      hace 9 años

      Chinese faucets are not necessarily poorly made. Some, in fact, rival European and American companies for quality. And, some faucets sold by American and European companies are actually made in China.

      The key to quality is certification. A faucet that has been certified to comply with North American quality and safety standards (ASME A 125.18.1/CSA B 125.1) has been put through and enormous battery of tests, including one test that cycles the faucet on/of hot/cod 500,000 times -- about 70 years of normal operation -- without a failure. So a certified faucet is reasonably reliable and safe. Do faucets break? Absolutely, but considering the enormous number of faucets sold in the U.S. and Canada each year, the number that give problems is actually very small. Of course, you usually do not hear about the facets that never give any trouble, just the ones that don't work.

      I don't know much about the quality of Chinese electronics, and don't care to -- except that the oldest computer in our offices, made in China, has worked without a hitch for 7 years. But, the quality of Chinese faucets, while not quite of up to American and most European fabrication, is not bad. Nor does the quality deteriorate over time as all certifying organizations periodically pull random faucets from the assembly line or warehouse for random retesting. Any failure, and the faucet is pulled until the problems are fixed.

      For much more information about regulating the quality and safety of faucets, read Faucet Basics on our web site.

    • eaga
      hace 9 años

      Really helpful posts on 'old' GW for restorers, renovators, remodelers by the StarCraft guy whose real name I didn't know until now. Thank you Jim for doing this research. Fortunately for me, I didn't purchase my fixtures from the companies in question, otherwise I would be glad for the opportunity to help.

      Rules about website posting are different than they were on GW. greg_2015, you might want to check with the moderators on the policy - what you are saying is different from my understanding based on what I've read from mods addressing the issue on other threads.

    • User
      hace 9 años
      Última modificación: hace 9 años

      So are the concerns with faucets only? I noticed you said "not showers". The reason I ask is because I just bought a freuer shower head/handle from Amazon and it's going in now..... I hope I don't regret it. I bought it because i loved the looks..

    • PRO
      StarCraft Custom Builders
      Autor original
      hace 9 años
      Última modificación: hace 9 años

      mrsshayne

      Our inquiry is limited to sink faucets, but your shower should also be tested and certified and have one of the certification marks shown above. If it is certified then the seller should be able to produce a certificate for that specific model. Ask for it.

      If it does not show a certification mark, then it almost certainly is not certified and you should either

      (1) confirm that it is certified and therefore can be legally installed in a public water system or

      (2) send it back. A shower faucet that is not legal for use in this country is ample reason to return it.

      If it does have a certification mark, we would be interested in which one. We will then check it out to see if it is actually listed. If it is not listed, then the mark is counterfeit. And, that's what we are looking for.

    • User
      hace 9 años
      Última modificación: hace 9 años

      I looked and looked but I don't see any marking like pictured above. but part of my shower handle with the valve is already installed so if the marking is somewhere on the handle then it's too late now... When my contractor saw it he questioned the brand but didn't say much...I told him I would buy another one no problem, I started looking online to buy something else but came home and that night the handle was installed. it's a nice looking piece and has good reviews on Amazon but who knows those reviews could be fake or made by the people making them... Im never buying another oddball brand again I'm so nervous now

      I just bought two moen faucets and sure enough I found the cert marking right away

      Ugh....

      The only mark I saw on the freuer that looked odd was this little squiggly line to the right (it must be China's marking) again the handle is already installed so the cert marking could have been on the part of the handle I can no longer see

      Why is Amazon allowed to sell items if they could be illegal? As a consumer I don't know all this crap, I mean "info"

      StarCraft Custom Builders agradeció a User
    • worthy
      hace 9 años
      Última modificación: hace 9 años

      Just checked out some new "old stock" Danze kitchen and bathroom faucets in my garage awaiting installation in rentals and repos. Proudly made in China and bought from big boxes here in Canuckistan. Not a certification in sight. Despite being illegal to sell in two provinces and to install in the rest. (But G-d forbid I get caught in a snap inspection and have a trade on-site who doesn't carry a Toronto licence! They could be desperate "furriners" from the far reaches of Niagara Falls.)


    • PRO
      StarCraft Custom Builders
      Autor original
      hace 9 años

      @worthy

      Actually, we have found all of the Danze faucets we examined (and that's quite a few) to be certified. It may be that the company has the certifying organization's permission to omit the mark or print it on a tag or sticker.

      Can you give me the model number(s) so I can check further?

    • worthy
      hace 9 años
      Última modificación: hace 9 años

      Your initial post said examine the fixture. However, I now see that the boxes include certifications. Though, based on what has come out about Lumber Liquidators laminate, who knows?

    • PRO
      Nasoni
      hace 3 años
      Última modificación: hace 3 años

      This post deserves more visibility, as it remains a problem on Amazon. For example, this $26 faucet indicates it is certified by IAPMO (actually they spell IAPMO wrong, as IMPAO), but the company name is not found on IAPMO's website .

      StarCraft Custom Builders agradeció a Nasoni
    • PRO
      StarCraft Custom Builders
      Autor original
      hace 3 años

      You ar right, It is definitely not certified.

    • Steve Waddell
      hace 2 años
      Última modificación: hace 2 años

      I find so many faucets on Amazon without any certification, and I have reported this problem to Senator Mark Warner, Senator Tim Kaine, and VA State Attorney General Mark Herring, and all three simply said they turned it over to the FTC, who did nothing. This is an example of a faucet I bought and validated it has NO certifications: https://www.amazon.com/AMAZING-FORCE-Bathroom-Faucet-Utility/dp/B0861Q4D2H/ref=sr_1_30?dchild=1&keywords=amazing+force&qid=1621255816&sr=8-30 


      I wrote a negative, 1 star review stating that it is contraband, and Amazon didn't do anything but post the review! I then wrote a negative review of Amazon to the Better Business Bureau.


      And the exact same faucet is sold under numerous brand names now. Here's an example: https://www.amazon.com/Bathroom-Functions-ARRISEA-Fountain-Anti-Peeling/dp/B08MXNK5J3/ref=sr_1_16?dchild=1&keywords=arrisea&qid=1621255442&sr=8-16&th=1 


      Nothing is being done by anybody about this. What will it take to make companies like Amazon be held accountable for selling illegal, black market faucets?

    • PRO
      StarCraft Custom Builders
      hace 2 años
      Última modificación: hace 2 años

      @ Steve Waddell

      You have identified the fault in the system - enforcement. Most of the enforcement of faucet standards is left to officials at the local level who enforce plumbing codes. None of these local jurisdictions has the authority to go after black market sites like Amazon.

      It is probably going to take a class action lawsuit, but even this is improbable. There is simply not enough money in it to interest class action lawyers and public interest lawyers have bigger fish to fry.

      So, in the end, avoiding black market faucets is almost entirely up to individual buyers. It's not hard, just pay attention to what you are buying.

      1. Known brands are safe: Moen, Delta, Kohler, Brizo, American Standard, Peerless, and Pfister all make certain that every faucet they sell is fully certified, as do the well-known imports: Grohe, Hansgrohe, Dornbracht, In2aqua, KWC, Franke, and Paini.

      2. If the faucet is not a known brand, look it up on our faucet review website at http://www.starcraftcustombuilders.com/sources.faucets2.htm. We will happily tell you whether the brand is or is not a black market faucet and also whether it is a well-made faucet that will give years of reliable service.

      If you are looking for a faucet that in addition to being safe, is a good value for the money, read our Best Value report at http://www.starcraftcustombuilders.com/sources.faucets.Best.Value.htm. We are a few weeks away from publishing the 2021 edition, so you might check back after June 15. 2021.

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