I have one that came with my california faucet in the basement bathroom. I like it just fine. I never liked the look of having a faucet with a pull-up thing in the back anyway. I guess the only downside is if you fill the sink with water and are soaking something dirty, you then have to put your hand into the dirty water to push the drain down (so that it pops up) to drain the sink. Wouldn't bother me, but maybe might bother someone else?

Also, other faucet companies seem to make the same type of push-down pop-up drain, but different styling so the zero drain isn't the only option. For example, I had a Brizo Odin faucet (Brizo is made by Delta) ordered and installed in my hall bath recently. I knew it would have a press-down pop up drain and assumed it would look like the Cal Faucets zero drain which looks like a regular drain. Nope. I got a mushroom/dome shaped press-down pop up drain that I guess "goes with" the Brizo faucet. I'm still getting used to the look of it. Photos show it in the up then down position. I guess either I wasn't paying attention in the plumbing showroom or they had the faucet displayed with a different drain.

Pushed down position

Up position:

Yes mine is a Kohler one

Pop up drains are great for sinks, but DO NOT get one for a bathtub. We bought a very expensive Kohler cast iron tub that has a pop up drain in the middle. Almost every time I bath, I find myself accidentally sitting on it and opening it.

Thanks everyone. My Pop Down Drain is on it's way. My current drain is so ugly. I don't know how it even got installed LOL This sink deserves better! In case you can't see it very well, the drain stopper sticks up about an inch and a half. I think it's a bathtub drain :o

I have the Cal Faucet pop down drains and I was probably the one that recommended them on the forums! I put the first one in about 6 years ago and have added more as I remodeled the rest of the bathrooms. They work great, but I noticed that in the rarely used sinks the pop down mechanism becomes a bit stiff. It is easy to fix by removing the pop down part and pressing it up/down a few times on a hard surface, but I should probably go around to those sinks once a month and open/close the stopper a few times to keep it "lubricated".

We are building and I plan to use them again in the new house.

@chispa Have you used their zero drain in polished chrome. Planned to buy a california faucet in polished chrome but read some reviews where it flakes and not covered by warranty. Wondering if you had similar issues with polished chrome zero drain.

@HU-426144764, had no issue at all with the chrome zero drains in my previous house. I had 7 of them in that house and the oldest 2 were in use for 7 years when we sold the house. The finish showed no wear at all.

Just installed another 7 in the house we just built and the quality of the zero drains seemed to be the same as the ones we bought years ago. Still made of metal, unlike the standard drains that came with my Brizo faucets, which were plastic and got thrown out! My Brizo faucets didn't have a choice for a non pull up drain model, so my plumber siliconed the lever in place.

We love our Zero drains!

Also we have Tapmasters on our primary sinks (first pic) so we don't have to touch our faucets unless we want to change the water temp.

@adawn5, I should demand my commission from Calfaucet! 😁

I hated having to change out those pull/lever drains when the mechanisms rusted out after a few years, which is why I really like the zero drains.

Just make sure to push/pop them once in a while so they stay lubricated and don't get covered in mineral deposits. We hardly ever plug our sinks, so I have to remind myself to do that.

Thanks for the reminder about push/popping them every so often @chispa!

I have had them in both the full and half bath since July 2018. I have gotten them quite stuck and unable to move once or twice due to mineral deposits. Soaking in vinegar and water , rinsing well, and spraying them with silicon spray works if that happens. Now, I do more hand washing due to a silk pillowcase and cap, so I switch bathrooms to give them both a regular workout.

I have two Cal Faucet Zero drains in my kid's bathrooms and they are totally stuck won't go up or down. Any suggestions? I wouldn't recommend them at all. I prefer the old fashion kind that has a lever behind my faucet. I put that in my master bathroom and prefer it to these 100%.

Did you figure out how to release a stuck drain? 2 of mine are currently stuck down with liquid in the sink

Try vinegar in the water. Calcium deposits in the pop-down mechanism will get them stuck. Wash the thing with vinegar and water a few times a year, then dry and spray with silicon and they will remain functional for you.

I still really like the zero drains after putting in my first one about 11 years ago. Used them again in the house we built 2 years ago.

Most of us have minerals in the water, so the zero-drains have to be pushed closed/open every once in a while or they will stiffen up.

@Caitlin Kuzma, try a very small flat head screwdriver to try to release the "popper". Also press on it quickly several times, again to try to release the "popper".

Once you get it out, soak in vinegar. There is also a small screw that can be loosened to open the mechanism up, BUT be careful as there is a spring that can pop out. I would only loosen the screw if soaking in vinegar doesn't free things up.

This was a good reminder that I need to go around and pop my own zero-drains!

I'm considering a California Faucets fixture for my Powder Room remodel. I can't think of any bathroom sink for which we need to stop the drain (Maybe my husband plugs his sink for shaving--you would think I'd know after 33 years of marriage!), but the Zero Drain intrigues me. Is the Zero Drain much easier to clean than the longer, pull-up/down types?

We have Kohler chrome faucets in our upstairs bathrooms. Just discovered the hall bath plastic drain stoppers' finishes were ruined. I don't recall if I sprayed a cleaner on them and forgot to rinse it, but something it wrecked the finish. They are both dull and etched. So disappointed! I could replace them with Kohler parts or start over with California Faucets' Zero Drain, if those fit typical drain sizes. Our Master Bath sinks' (same Kohler Bancroft faucets) drain stoppers get very dirty, quickly, from toothpaste, face wash, soap, minerals, etc. It sounds as if the Zero Drain can replace them and is more durable (all metal). I'm sick of scrubbing the plastic Kohler ones! Should I replace all with Zero Drains for each sink or just order the Powder Room's with the regular drain and buy new Kohler drain stoppers?

Glad this thread came back up! Made me get up and check the 7 Cal faucet Zero Drains in the new(er) house. We've been in 3 years and I haven't checked them at all. They all moved, locked in place and popped back up when pressed. I did notice some mineral deposits on some, so I'll be soaking them soon. The worst one was in my DH's sink. Not sure what he is rinsing down the drain that is making it stick more than the others, maybe clipping from his electric razor?

No regrets using these zero drains in my previous or current house.

What I like best about the cal faucet zero drain is how easy it is to clean the mechanism- just grasp it with your fingernails and pull it up. Gone are the days of unscrewing the lever mechanism on the back of the drain. Yuck!

Thank you, chispa and Hallet & Co. No real reason not to give it a try for my Powder Room sink, and it sounds like I can order them to replace other drain covers with different brand faucets.

The Zero Drain is an engineering marvel, very well thought out and we love them, both for practicality and arsthetics. However, be warned, they went cheap on the plating, at least on the satin nickel. We have 3 and all of them look terrible after 4 years. Never had any issue whatsoever on any of our Santec fixtures with same finish. I just wish they’d gone with stainless instead of plated brass so I could polish them..

For all of you that experience the sticking, take the stopper out as soon as you notice stiffness, clean, spray with WD-40 several times while working the mechanism open and closed. will be like new.

We've experienced the same issue with the finish on our three satin nickel drains. Silicone spray will also work to prevent stiffness.

I have 3 satin brass and 4 chrome Zero Drains and have not noticed any issues in the finish since we installed them just over 3.5 years ago. In the previous house I had 1 satin brass and 6 chrome and also didn't notice any issues with the finish.

The chrome is much harder and more durable. The brass is not a finish but the base metal. You chose very well. Unfortunately I couldn’t persuade my wife to go with chrome!