Had a similar experience myself when renovating our master bath last year. Initially went with a highly-rated eco-friendly sealant—looked promising at first, but within six months, the leaks returned. Ended up using Tru-Blu as well, and it's been trouble-free ever since. Sometimes, practicality has to win out over idealism, especially when dealing with fixtures that see daily use. It's a balancing act for sure...
Tru-Blu worked well for me too, but has anyone tried plumber's putty recently? Wondering if it's still reliable or if newer products have surpassed it...
Plumber's putty still holds up pretty well, at least in my experience. Just installed a new faucet last month and went with the classic putty route—no leaks or issues so far. Tru-Blu's great for threaded connections, but plumber's putty is still my go-to for sealing around drains and fixtures. Newer silicone-based sealants might last longer, but they're a pain if you ever need to remove or adjust things later... Learned that the hard way!
Yeah, plumber's putty has saved me more times than I can count. Last summer, I tried one of those fancy silicone sealants on my kitchen sink drain—figured I'd upgrade and avoid future headaches. Big mistake. Couple months later, had to swap out the disposal unit and spent half the afternoon scraping that silicone gunk off... never again. Putty might seem old-school, but sometimes simple just works better. Glad your faucet install went smoothly though; always nice when a DIY job doesn't end in frustration.
I've had mixed luck with silicone myself. It's great for certain applications, like sealing around tubs or showers, but I agree—when it comes to sink drains, plumber's putty just seems way easier to deal with later on. Silicone can be a nightmare to remove if you ever need to replace something or make adjustments. Learned that the hard way when I redid my bathroom vanity last year... spent way too long scraping and peeling bits of silicone off the drain flange.
But here's something I've been wondering about lately: have any of you tried those rubber gasket-type seals that claim you don't need putty or silicone at all? Saw them at the hardware store recently and was tempted to grab one, but I'm skeptical. Seems like a neat idea in theory—no mess, easy removal—but part of me wonders if they'd really hold up over time. Especially with hot water running through regularly, wouldn't they eventually warp or leak?
I guess I'm just hesitant because I've been burned by "innovative" plumbing products before (looking at you, push-fit connectors...). Still, it'd be nice not having to deal with putty residue or silicone scraping again. Curious if anyone's actually given these gasket seals a shot and how they've held up over time.
