new sterling bath damaged by bodysoap

[Tileman1]

Hi all,
I recently installed a sterling accord tub and wall set in almond , took me three weeks moving studs, drain location , drywall and tile modifications only to have the back wall bleached white the first week when a new dispenser brand corner trio soap dispenser leaked suave body soap down the side overnight. I contacted sterling and they said its my fault for letting it sit on there that long. My point is they do not mention in there use & care guide of any bodily product damaging the finish only harsh cleansers which i fully understand. I paid $625.00 for the set and with everthing else involved , easily over a grand total. Has anyone else experienced this and what would you expect from kohler/sterling in compensation?

I have called them twice, they said they would get back with me, but i havent heard a thing

[GrumpyPlumber]

You mean to say you let soap sit on the surface of a shower surround and it bleached it??
Then, to top it off Kohler shot you down immediately as far as liability?

- note to self...don't suggest Kohler to customers any more.

I find the whole thing hard to believe...I'm thinking you reached the wrong person at cus. service...also baffled that they haven't had this call before and they don't have a solution (leaving soap on a surround should be par for the course on the product)

[GrumpyPlumber]

Last year I installed a Kohler cast iron tub...we took it out of the packaging after lugging it up 2 stories to discover a fleck on the porcelain...they had a fella come out and patch it on them...your situation has me confused.

[Tileman1]

Yes, where it dripped down the back panel, it left a white line down to the tub, vikrell material as they call it. Customer service claims its the ammonium lauryl sulfate in the soap that is the culprit, i checked at the grocery store and after water, that is in 95% off all shampoos and body soaps on the market, i think they are aware the have a durability problem with vikrell but dont want to admit it ...

[Tileman1]

Let me add, they instructed me to email them photos to expert systems @ kohler. com. in which i did and followed up to confirm they recieved them...

[GrumpyPlumber]

Give them a chance to rectify it, but I'd be livid.
I have no doubt this is likely a common complaint...I bet if you hang here someone's bound to have the same trouble.

[Backglass]

Originally Posted by Tileman1

Customer service claims its the ammonium lauryl sulfate in the soap that is the culprit, i checked at the grocery store and after water, that is in 95% off all shampoos and body soaps on the market, i think they are aware the have a durability problem with vikrell but dont want to admit it ...

Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate is....soap. And yes, it's the main ingredient is just about every shampoo made today.

Something isn't right here. It's like a toilet manufacturer saying you cant use a plunger or it voids the warranty.

[master plumber mark]

they must have changed something in their chemical
formula to make those tubs because I have never heard
of anything that ever could damage one of those units..

short of hitting it with a claw hammer you cant damage
one of those tubs.....

plain simple soap should not or would not ever have phased
one of those made 5 years ago.....

my suspicion is they have cut a corner and
made it cheaper and did not do enough R+D before
putting it out on the market....



now its damage control time for Kohler


this is something I am giong to
mention and pass on to my supplier
and see if he is aware of troubles with that brand.

[Tileman1]

This particular unit, the ACCORD is a new addition to their lineup, if you go the sterlingplumbing.com website, you will find it under new products. I got it special order from my local Lowes store. I dont do plumbing for a living , i am a mechanic by trade, i had to do this project on my vacation time, to rip it back out means removing all the drywall again, you must know how i feel

[GrumpyPlumber]

Originally Posted by Tileman1

This particular unit, the ACCORD is a new addition to their lineup, if you go the sterlingplumbing.com website, you will find it under new products. I got it special order from my local Lowes store. I dont do plumbing for a living , i am a mechanic by trade, i had to do this project on my vacation time, to rip it back out means removing all the drywall again, you must know how i feel

I'd bet money they're scurrying to figure a way to recondition & seal them without drastic measures.
One thing for sure...I really wanna see the outcome.

[Cass]

Any Mfg. of tubs would have to make their units able to withstand the soap that would be used in them, even if it leaked out of a bottle.

I wouldn't stop bugging them about this situation.

The tub and wall set color shouldn't be affected by any soap used for bathing, period.

I am going to bet there was a Mfg. problem and some chemical or finish was left out of one of the runs and they don't want to deal with / or are trying to figure out what to do about the problem.

Stay on them like a tick on a dog.

Sooner or later they will do something, I'm guessing sooner.

Like Grumpy, I want to see the outcome of this.

If this leaks out to the general public in a big way they could see a dramatic drop in sales and that is something that they do not want to happen.

[Nate R]

Hear anything on this yet from them?

[Tileman1]

NOPE!
I keep calling back and everytime i get the same customer relations person "mandy" , and she tells me that they still have not seen the pics i e-mailed them twice even though i got confirmation they got them. She now tells me they are behind on reading emails. I asked if there is anyone else i could speak to, but she says no. If i dont get an answer within a week, i may start seeking what my legal options may be.

[Nate R]

Keep us posted. I may have to test one at a local big box store before I buy. I'm thinking of putting shampoo on a spot on the tub right before the store closes. I'll come back the next morning and wipe it off and see if there's any problem.

We'll be purchasing a Sterling Performa in White soon, so I've been wondering.

Let me ask you this, as rereading the original post isn't clear: Did it stain the tub too, or only the surround?

Wish there was something I could do to help you, as I work for Kohler. But I work in the small engine division. Whole different world.

[spebby]

This is an e-mail response to an e-mail I sent to Kholer about one of their toilets and it's flushing problems:

Thank you for writing the Kohler Answer Center with your inquiry about Kohler products and services.

The following steps are recommended to help you identify the reason for your clogging toilet(s):

Verify the water level in your tank is up to the water level line, not below

Make sure the flapper chain is taut, there should be no slack

Check to make sure the rim holes in your bowl are fully open, if clogged, open them with a finishing nail

Toilet tissue should be 1-ply. You can test your toilet tissue by taking one square and putting it in a jar with water, then shake for 10 seconds - this is the typical duration of a flush. If your toilet paper breaks down and shreds apart in that time, your toilet paper is fine. If it does not breakdown, then you may want to consider a different brand that will because that type of toilet paper will eventually clog your toilet bowl.

I guess I bought a 1-ply toilet.

[Tileman1]

Well if you are buying a white unit then you wont have to worry, it bleached the almond finish white. As far as the tub, the soap pooled on it where it dripped of the wall pc. however it didnt effect the tub, apparently it has a more durable finish than the wall surrounds. But the tub can ONLY be used with the wall unit not plain tile, it has channels along the edge, so the whole thing is a waste.

[southernnaturelover]

What about a bar of soap sitting in the soap dish overnight? Are you not supposed to do that either?

[patrick88]

I was thinking of installing a sterling tub and wall unit at my brothers because i like how easy they are and look good too, but I guess he will need to liv with the hole in his floor till Kohler gets there s**t together.

I have never heard anything good about Kohler toilets and the stuff i have heard is they don't flush well even leaving paper stuck to the sides of the bowl. This tells me some of the jets come clogged from the factory. I do know that a wire hanger works very nice on the jets, and is alot easier than a nail.

[Tileman1]

Fill you in soon, supposedly after contacting the right person in the technical dept. i will have a refund authorization letter in the mail to take back to LOWES in a few days, i will believe it when i see it

[Tileman1]

Just to let you all know, i recieved my refund authorization letter in just two days and lowes credited my acct. Of course i am still stuck with stained wall and the possibility it could get worse with more soap, i really didnt expect to win this one. Forget about customer service dept at sterling, get a hold of the technical dept to resolve an issue.

However they still claim that the color goes all the way through the material and cant understand how it happened, i assured them it DONT. due to the poor boxing, some of the reinforcing ribs on the back side of the wall were broken off but since they dont show, i accepted, but you can see the almond color is only a thin layer and the rest is white resin/fiber material.