30.06.2022

You may not have known, but at the end of your faucet is a small screen — also known as an aerator — that plays a big part in your home’s water.

Aerators screw into kitchen and bathroom faucets. Holes in the screens add air to the water as it streams out of the faucet.

And in a classic case of small things having a big impact, these aerator screens have multiple purposes, including:

Reducing the amount of water that comes out of the faucet.

Shaping the stream of water.

Maintaining or improving the water pressure.

Preventing water from splashing when it hits your hands, the sink, a glass or anything else.

Catching debris and lead particles that may have gotten into the water.

With so many roles to play, it’s important to know why these small aerators need to be cleaned every six months and especially after construction work affecting water service. Another important reason to understand aerators is because they can also help save water which can save money on your water bill.

Reducing the risk of lead exposure

If you have a lead service line or indoor plumbing that contain lead, you are likely in Denver Water’s Lead Reduction Program and it’s important to clean your aerators every six months. Particles of lead can flake off lead pipes and plumbing and get into your water. Aerators can catch the lead particles, so it’s important to clean them to reduce the risk in your drinking water.

It’s important to remove and clean aerators if there has been a water main break in your neighborhood, a water main replacement project or if you’ve had your service line replaced.

During construction, particles of dirt can get trapped in the aerator. If you had a lead service line replaced, particles of lead can break off the pipe and enter your water and get stuck in the aerator screen.

If you are not happy with the amount of water or pressure of the water coming out of your faucets, it may be due to excess debris trapped in the aerators. Removing and cleaning the aerators could help.

The Environmental Protection Agency says that replacing aerators with ones that have lower flow rates is one of the best ways to conserve water.

The EPA says switching from an aerator that releases 2.2 gallons per minute with one that releases 1.5 gallons per minute can reduce water use by 30% without reducing performance.

Often, washing hands or rinsing dishes can be done with lower flow rates. Using less water will also help lower your water bill.

The first step of cleaning an aerator is to learn how to take it off the faucet.

There are two types of aerators.

One type of aerator screws on to the outside of a faucet and may require a pliers or wrench to loosen. The other type screws into the inside of the faucet.

If the aerator screws onto the outside of the faucet, you may need to use pliers, a wrench or a vice grip to loosen it. Be sure to wrap a towel or rag around the aerator before applying the tool so you don’t scratch the faucet’s finish.

“Hidden” or “recessed” aerators typically require a small aerator “key” to unscrew. Keys typically come with a new faucet or can be purchased at a home improvement or plumbing parts supply store or online.

You can also contact the faucet manufacturer and request a new one. Have the make and model number if possible.

Once you’ve taken the aerator off, take it apart and soak it in vinegar for five minutes. Then use a small brush, like an old toothbrush, to scrub the parts.

Once you’ve completed these steps, screw the aerator back into the faucet.

Why are certain faucet components built out of plastic?
There are varying ways plastic is used in faucets and it is often perceived as less durable or less suitable for high-quality products. However, this is not always correct. Depending on the manufacturer and the specific type of plastic used, it comes in multiple forms, functions and qualities. Here’s all you need to know.

In Oras faucet applications, composite and hard-wearing plastics can be the optimal solution and are indispensable to deliver high performance and durability. Depending on the type and properties of the plastic used, plastic covers a wide range of applications in faucets.

Plastic can be used for:

The outer body and handles

The cartridge and valves

Spout interior

The aerator

Pipes and connections

Etc. So what’s the difference and which type of plastic is used for which part of the faucet? Here are the kinds of plastics that you should know about.

Composite material

Composite material combines two or more separate materials and can be used in covers, spouts, bodies, levers and battery cases.

These include reinforced plastics, such as glass fibre and polymer or ABS composite, such as ABS engineering plastic-chrome combinations.

Composite plastics can also be moulded on to various components, in the form of plastic-plastic, plastic-metal or plastic-rubber combinations.

Combined with PSU (Polysulfone) engineering plastic, for example, the composite structure is often used in medical technology as it’s physiological inert and extremely durable in high temperatures.

Composite is a strong and durable, yet also light material, which is why it widely used in industries such as medical, aerospace and automotive.

ABS engineering plastic components are widely used in products such as laptops and mobile phones. It is a strong and durable material, which offers good resistance to high and low temperatures and chemicals. As plastic does not heat up the same way as metal does when in contact with hot water, it is a perfect material to be used in faucet levers, outer bodies and covers, handles and shower heads. Additional benefit of ABS is that it can be chrome-plated, which makes it an easy-to-process material.

Reasons to Include a Foot Pedal Controlled Faucet
The kitchen is the hub of the household, but also where some of the messiest work in the house takes place! A kitchen renovation must take into account not only color schemes and cabinet styles but also how to handle the mess and waste that is produced on a daily basis in a busy kitchen. Kitchen layout, built in waste and recycling disposal, and specialized storage are all components of a kitchen design that help keep the mess at bay.

There are also many accessories that simplify the clean-up process in the kitchen. A faucet equipped with a foot pedal valve is a small but very useful accessory that allows you to turn the water on and off and control the volume of water released with a foot lever. This is an ideal addition to your kitchen design for when your hands are too messy or busy to touch the faucet. Faucets controlled by foot pedals have long been a feature in medical facilities where hand washing and hygiene are of utmost importance. The same technology can be applied very easily in the home kitchen with excellent benefits for hygiene, efficient water use, and more.

A faucet controlled by a foot pedal valve works like a single lever faucet and can be connected to any faucet type. The hardware for the pedal is available in an array of finishes and colors to complement your kitchen cabinets and hardware, like the example pictured to the right. It attaches at the bottom of the kitchen cabinet and is connected by stainless steel hoses to the supply valves and faucets. The water temperature is set using the faucet handles and the foot pedal can be locked in place to use the faucet in a conventional manner. The foot pedal control also allows you to manage the volume of water flowing from the faucet.

What are the advantages of sensor taps compared to traditional hand-operated taps?
At Ecoprod we offer a range of different kinds of sensor taps so there’s something that is suitable for every kind of washroom environment. Many of our sensor tap clients are doctors, dentists and vets – people for whom hand hygiene is an absolute essential in their daily work. The same is true in hotels, restaurants and other hospitality and catering environments, where sensor taps offer clear advantages over manual and press taps. However, sensor taps offer several other advantages beyond the obvious improvement in hygiene and in this blog post I’ll discuss some of these.

At Ecoprod our main aim has always been to offer products that help our clients to conserve water (indeed, we’ve written before about the importance of water saving for all of us). Sensor taps generally include an aerator in the spout which disperses the water and means that much less is needed for washing than is the case with traditional taps.

This means that sensor taps generally have a much lower flow rate than traditional hand-operated basin taps. Traditional taps can use up to 10-15 litres of water per minute. In comparison, our Conti+ taps offer flow rates of as little as 2 litres per minute, up to 70% less than traditional taps and our miscea taps use around 60% less water than traditional taps.

We sometimes speak to customers who are concerned that switching to sensor taps might increase their energy usage, given that sensor taps need electricity in order to work. However, there are many more factors to consider when determining the energy efficiency of taps. Whilst traditional hand-operated taps don’t require any electricity for their operation, they are extremely inefficient in other ways.

Choosing the user’s preferred flow and temperature every time a traditional tap is turned on wastes a great deal of energy. In contrast, sensor taps enable you to keep water at a constant temperature so you don’t need to expend energy changing the water temperature. For this reason, taken as a whole, they tend to be much more energy efficient than traditional hand operated taps.

What Are Faucet Aerators and Why Should You Install Them?
If you have ever unscrewed the end of a kitchen or bathroom faucet or felt inside with your finger, you may have discovered a device with a small metal screen disk—a faucet aerator. The aerator is an important feature that both improves the physical operation of the faucet and enhances the experience of using the faucet. Find out why the faucet aerator is sometimes misunderstood as being primarily a filtration device. Also, learn the aerator's many other valuable purposes and why you definitely want to have one on your faucet.

A faucet aerator is a small, round device that you can screw onto the tip of your faucet to create a more consistent, splash-free steam of water. Aerators usually create aa mixture of water and air, making the stream smoother. Generally, a standard faucet aerator will limit the water flow to 1.8 or 2.2 GPM (gallons per minute). This can vary & is less in some municipalities; for example, NYC is 1.5 GPM.

The dual-threaded collar allows the faucet aerator to be threaded counterclockwise onto the faucet.

Optionally, a plastic or metal disk with a hole in the center may be included as a flow restrictor. With the flow restrictor installed, you can expect the flow to drop to a water-saving 1.5 GPM. Some ultra water-saving restrictors will even bring the flow down to 0.5 GPM.

As the faucet aerator usually comes assembled, it only needs to be screwed onto the end of a faucet. The faucet must be displaying female threads since most aerators are male-threaded (exposed threads).

Faucet aerators first entered homes in the late 1940s as add-on devices that would reduce splashing and help water taste better by introducing oxygen. Today, faucet aerators are standard components on nearly all kitchen and bathroom faucets. However, you can also purchase separate faucet aerators and install them on faucets that are lacking aerators.

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