When I took all the pieces out of the packaging I was impressed some more. The pieces all seem sturdy, heavy, and again give the impression that quality materials and workmanship was used in making the product. Plus point here.
Assembly was a breeze, instructions were clear. I did have to run to the store to buy a braided flexible hose to hook up to the water supply as the reinforced pvc tubing I had was flexible, but not enough to make it work. Again, major plus points for clear instructions and the kit containing all it needed for an install. Even the screws for the holder were literally the perfect length - so the continued impression is "quality product".
By this time I was very eager to start using the product and I had read all the reviews and fine prints regarding the shut-off T-valve. This wasn't a deal-breaker for me and seemed somewhat common sense - there's no drainage system and constant pressure - you're always best off shutting off the valve in a situation like this.
Unfortunately, even with the understanding that I would have to turn on/off the valve before/after each use, this product fell short at its weakest point: the internal sprayer head valve. I use this as a hand-held bidet and the general process for this use-case is:
1. turn on the valve
2. spray your butt
3. put the sprayer back on the holder
4. dry your butt
5. flush
6. turn off t-valve
While some may argue that you should turn off the valve at step 4, I think it should be reasonable to assume the sprayer shouldn't give you any problems if you delayed the shut-off process until after your business is done. Especially if the initial spraying wasn't enough (TMI, I know).
Anyway - what happened after step 3 above is that the sprayer kept dripping while it was in the holder (I didn't notice) and by the time I got to step 6 I had a puddle next to the toilet.
Obviously, this isn't something that should be happening, not on a first use or after a good year of use. Alas, the overall product fails in quality due to the weak valve/mechanism in the sprayer head.
I uploaded a video of the problem - as you can see at the very end, you can manually force the valve to "seal" by pushing the trigger back - but I shouldn't have to mess with it at all to make it work. At $49 this thing should work flawlessly and unfortunately it doesn't. The purpose of this "device" is to simplify your bathroom experience while also making it a more efficient process. By having to mess with valves and the mess of puddles...it's just made the experience much more problematic and inefficient.
***UPDATE***
After posting the review that highlighted the problem, SmarterFresh support left a comment in response to my review. I contacted them and they provided additional troubleshooting steps to fix the issue with a leaking sprayer head:
1. Unscrew and remove the "cap" of the sprayer head.
2. Use a screwdriver to turn the exposed screw counter-clockwise about a half to
full turn.
3. Test sprayer - each sprayer will vary in amount of adjustment they need
4. Screw cap back onto sprayer
This apparently tightens the sealing mechanism of the sprayer head valve. After following these steps the sprayer works great and I'm very pleased that the issue was resolved. While the product may be made in China, the customer service is definitely made in the USA. The feedback and support was immediate and the company goes the extra mile to make sure customers are happy.