I should have mentioned - no, I do not have hard water. Have city water.

City water can be hard water, too.

Black is hard to keep clean. Haaaaaard to keep clean.

Do you mean black things in general or black bathroom fixtures? In other Houzz discussions I just found, it sounds like most people think they are easy to care for.

Following

I haven't had any problem with mine. They are new, Moen Align style and I do dry off the sink fixtures each time. Much easier than wiping the spots off shiny fixtures in the other bathroom.

Expensive and hard to keep clean. They show every soap mark or water spot. If it's a user bathroom, I would probably reconsider.

If you are someone who wipes down after use they are no harder to keep clean than any other finish. If you don’t frequently wipe down, you will see toothpaste drops, water spots more visibly than on silver metal.

Katie, what did you end up buying? I'm considering the Kohl Purist collection for two bathrooms in either matte black or polished silver. I'm worried the black will be harder to keep clean and may be out of style sooner too.

Looks great! I too am putting all black fixtures in my master bathroom.

Wow, that's sharp!