Single Lever Brass Bath Mixer With Spout

The traditional material for fau­cets is brass. Brass is prized for faucets because It resists corrosion. It will not rust through like iron or steel. It has a relatively low melting point — making it easy to cast. It is soft enough to machine with little effort yet hardy enough to endure the rigors of life as a faucet. It takes finishes such as chrome plating very well, and is easily recycled. About 80% of the brass used in new faucets was previously used to make something else. Common yellow or "alpha" brass is about 60% copper and 30% zinc the rest being small amounts of other metals to give the brass specific properties. A little antimony or tin might be added to retard a form of corrosion known as dezincification which can weaken brass over time. A pinch of iron or manganese makes brass harder and nickel refines the grain structure improving strength. Aluminum may be added to make the brass stronger and more corrosion resistant. Admiralty and naval brasses used in salt-rich maritime environments contain a relatively high proportion of aluminum. The copper in brass is anti-microbial — it kills germs, a fact that has been known since the rise of the Pharaohs, but how it does so has only recently been uncovered. Most bacteria cannot survive in the presence of copper. In tests on colonies of E. Coli bacteria conducted by the EPA, 99.9% of the colony was killed after two hours of exposure to brass.