"Understanding Your Home" by Building Inspector Mark Visser
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Faucet aerators

TIP
Cover the sink drain opening so you will not loose any small parts.

Keep parts in order when removing, cleaning and re-installing.
White spots on red pre-filter are sediments which were easily removed by just rinsing.

This swivel head aerator is ideal for landry tub applications. Notice that the tap has an external thread.


Aerators
for kitchen, bathroom & laundry tub faucets





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Faucet aerators
Just about every home has them but not all homeowners know the benefits of a proper working aerator nor that they require periodic maintenance or cleaning. Faucet aerators are good for the environment and will reduce your energy costs. I installed a swivel aerator on the laundry tub taps which allows me to direct the water to where it is needed.
- What is an aerator?
- Flow rate per minute.
- What are the benefits?
- Maintenance

WHAT IS AN AERATOR?
A faucet aerator can be found at the tip of modern kitchen faucets and vanity sink taps. The unit screws onto the tip of the faucet. The aerator breaks up the regular water flow into many smaller streams and actually adds air to the water output. The result is a more uniform flow while it reduces water consumption. Faucet aerators are inexpensive and can be installed in seconds.
Some aerators have openings around the outer edge and a no-flow center and disperse water in a circular pattern. The more common aerated type creates a single bubbly stream of water. There are also laminar or non-aerating aerators which do not mix air and water. The spray is more powerful for greater performance. These units are mainly used for commercial applications.


Left image: No aerator, full iregular stream, water splashing
Richt image: Aerator, perceived full stream but no water splashing
and up to 80% less actual water useage.





CHECK FOR GALLONS PER MINUTE (gpm) RATING
Aerators are rated by the flow rate known as gallons per minute or gpm for short. The gpm rate should be 2.75 or lower. If you check your aerators installed on kitchen faucets and vanity sink taps you will find the gpm imprinted on the side.
Newer, low-flow aerators on kitchen faucets may be rated 2.2 to 1.5 gpm or even as low as 1.0 gpm. Some vanity sink tap aerators are rated 0.5 gpm which will cut water usage by up to 80%
Currently WaterSense, in an EPA Partnership Program, has set the maximum flow rate of faucets aerators at 1.5 gpm when tested at a water pressure of 60 pounds per square inch (psi) which is common in most municipal supplied water systems.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS?
- Aerators can reduce your total home water consumption by as much as 50%. Retrofit studies conducted in Seattle, Washington, and East Bay Municipal Utility District in California have shown that a household can save approximately 570 gallons per year by simply replacing existing bathroom sink faucet aerators with high-efficiency 1.5 gpm aerators.
- Aerators can reduce your energy cost of heating the water by as much as 50%.
- Aerators provide a uniform water flow and reduce or eliminate splashing.
- Reduced water usage and lower energy costs will pay for the costs of installing or upgrading aerators in your home within months.

PERIODIC CLEANING MAY BE REQUIRED
Just like with every other type of filter, aerators will be less effective if the unit is not cleaned regularly. Faucet aerators screens can get clogged with sediments or solid particles. Tell-tail signs of a dirty screen are an irregular spray.
Follow these easy steps of removing, cleaning and reinstalling a faucet aerator:
1- Close the drain so you will not lose any parts.
2- Dry spout and hands for a good grip.
3- Unscrew and remove aerator counter clockwise. If it can't be removed by hand use a pair of adjustable pliers but first wrap a cloth around the aerator to protect the finish from damage.
4- Remove all parts from aerator and place them in the same order on the countertop.
4- Rinse each part clean. If parts have not been cleaned regularly you may have to soak each part in white vinegar and then scrub clean with an old toothbrush
5- Reassemble aerator and screw back onto spout, clock wise, and hand tighten. If it leaks use the pliers and cloth to give it a slight extra turn.
Not all faucet aerators have a screen to filter the water from sediments. These aerators do not require regular cleaning.

NOTE ABOUT INSIDE OR OUTSIDE THREAD
Kitchen and bathroom faucets: The tread for installing the aerator is on the inside of the spout's end and not visible.
Laundry taps: The tread is external and is visible, see image.

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