HEALTH AND SANITATION 25
Danger at the tap
By
Joe Rode
On May 14, Aaron Bores, executive vice-president of Product Development at Fortune Brands Innovations— which includes Moen Inc.— appeared before the US Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property with a sobering warning: counterfeit plumbing products are putting American lives at risk. His testimony sparked a nationwide reckoning over the dangers of untested, noncompliant fixtures infiltrating homes across the country.
At the heart of the issue are cheap, foreign-made plumbing products— many sold through online marketplaces— that not only mimic legitimate brands, but also evade critical health and safety testing. Manufactured primarily in China, these knock-off products are being installed in American households without consumers realising the risks they pose to their families ' health and safety.
The dangers revealed: Moen and IAPMO join forces To underscore its concerns, Moen partnered with IAPMO ®, the industry benchmark for plumbing product testing and certification, to investigate the safety and compliance of the top-selling off-brand faucets available online. IAPMO’ s test results, presented during Bores’ Senate testimony, were alarming:
• 17 of the 19 faucets tested failed to meet drinking water health and safety standards.
• 11 products leached lead above legal limits, with one exceeding the limit by more than 500 %.
• 15 faucets contained hazardous chemicals, some nearly 600 % above the allowable threshold, including substances linked to cancer, liver damage and birth defects.
In a separate series of tests commissioned by Moen, IAPMO tested six foreign-made pressure balancing shower valves. All six of the valves failed to meet ASSE 1016 standards, with one valve exceeding temperature safety thresholds by 750 %, raising risks of scalding and serious injury. The tested products were exact replicas of Moen’ s proprietary designs— complete with counterfeit Moen logos, part numbers, and even fake certification marks. According to Bores, the counterfeit valves were so convincing that even seasoned professionals would struggle to identify them as fakes.
David Viola, IAPMO CEO In the spirit of the sharing of unique experiences that shape the plumbing industries in our respective nations, the following article looks at the dangers posed by counterfeit plumbing products. Written by IAPMO Senior Project Manager Joe Rode, it is the next in a regular series of similar articles that will run in this magazine. Dave Viola IAPMO CEO
October 2025 Volume 31 I Number 08 www. plumbingafrica. co. za