Is Unlacquered Brass Kitchen Faucet Good for You?

The unlacquered brass kitchen faucet is the typical thing that could be seen in everybody’s home. People tend to use it because it is cheaper than another faucet with different material. But, there are a couple of side effects to consider if you want to use unlacquered brass.

The negative of using unlacquered brass

There are three main problems you should consider when using unlacquered brass, in particular on the kitchen faucet. Despite the low price, unlacquered brass comes from the factory after polishing with some chemical liquids. This means that after you buy a new unlacquered brass, you should clean it up first to remove the polishing liquids. If you do it the wrong way, the material below the polishing liquid could be damaged, and it could ruin the beauty of your “fresh from the oven” product. Unlacquered brass was also easy to have an oxidation. Because its primary material is copper, unlacquered brass usually oxidizes. A small moisture can tarnish your unlacquered brass. So if you want to keep using kitchen faucet with unlacquered brass as the material, bear in mind that you should put it on the open space where the room is not humid. Another option is that you should clean it regularly and more frequent, compared to other material to avoid oxidation. The most dangerous effect of unlacquered brass is some of them contain lead. The protective layer used to lacquer brass is used to prevent edge contact with a human. So there are a lot of people avoiding using unlacquered brass kitchen faucet because of those three problems.

Alternative besides unlacquered brass

Although it is cheap, we have learned that unlacquered brass, in particular on the kitchen faucet, have some hazardous effect and its maintenance is not as smooth as other materials. So here I will suggest some materials which is better than the unlacquered brass. But, you need to spend a little bit more of your money. All brass contain lead, but the unlacquered brass has no protective layer. The risk of being contaminated by lead is open full. Instead of unlacquered brass, use any brass that has been layered with brushed chrome, gold plating, or powder coated decorator. Of course, it will cost you a little bit more of money, but it will guarantee you from direct contact with lead. 
You can be creative with those types of kitchen material faucet since they have a lot of color variation. Surely, it will brighten up our kitchen with a synchronized color with your kitchen theme. A lot of company combine colors by giving primary color on the faucet body and then give another color as the accent. Powder coated faucet usually last as long as the faucet is usable because it has baked to provide a durable finish. On the other hand, unlacquered brass cannot withstand their color as good as those materials because of the risk of being oxidized by air.
After all, you need to keep in mind that there are some alternatives for unlacquered brass kitchen faucet since it has more side effect compared to other materials.