| Faucet aerators are the little disc-shaped fittings that | | | | everyone in the house is likely to be very disciplined |
| screw onto the end of virtually all modern faucets. | | | | about it. For this reason, installing a low-flow aerator |
| They mix the outgoing water with air to create a | | | | or flow reducer on all bathroom sink faucets can |
| steady, even stream, increasing its pressure while | | | | save significant amounts of water each year. |
| deceptively reducing the faucet's flow rate. If you | | | | Green building experts generally recommend a |
| take the aerator off, the water comes out in a | | | | maximum flow rate of 1.5 gpm on all lavatory |
| clumsy, usually off-center fashion that tends to cause | | | | faucets. With a good aerator or flow reducer, you'll |
| a lot of splashing in the sink basin. Flow reducers | | | | find that this is plenty of water for everyday uses at |
| perform a similar function to aerators but don't | | | | the sink. You can also find aerators and reducers with |
| necessarily introduce air into the stream. Some flow | | | | a 1.0 gpm flow rate for even greater saving. |
| reducers deliver a solid stream of water without the | | | | Replacing an old aerator now, it won't take more |
| higher pressure that comes with aeration. | | | | than a few minutes. |
| Because it's the last thing the water passes through | | | | To replace a faucet aerator, unscrew the old aerator |
| on its way out, aerators and flow reducers | | | | by hand or using channel-type pliers if necessary. |
| determine a faucet's flow rate. On kitchen faucets, a | | | | Aerators typically screw into the faucet clockwise, |
| higher flow rate is desirable to speed filling of pots | | | | but when you're standing above the fixture your |
| and sinks for washing dishes. But on bathroom sink | | | | hand motion is actually counterclockwise. Clean the |
| faucets, a high flow rate typically results in | | | | faucet threads then screw the new aerator or flow |
| unnecessary water waste. This is because people | | | | reducer into place and hand-tighten. Run the water to |
| tend to leave faucets running while brushing their | | | | check for leaks. If necessary, carefully tighten the |
| teeth or shaving - a good habit to break, but not | | | | aerator using pliers. |