We have black fixtures everywhere. The ones mentioned from Hansgrohe in the children's bathroom. Overall, we are absolutely satisfied with the maintenance effort. But we also have a descaling system. I cannot detect any increased effort, whether with Hansgrohe, Gessi, or Blanco. No problem at all. If you want to look for a problem, a minimal amount of water collects at the end of the lever on our Blanco fixture. If it dries there over time, a limescale ring forms. So, two weeks ago (7 weeks after moving in), I sprayed a bathroom limescale remover on it, let it sit, rinsed it off, and solved the problem. You can decide for yourself whether that's too much effort. I find our black flush plates on the toilets more difficult. You can really see a lot of smudges on them.