If your high water bills are burning a hole in your pocket, then this quick and cheap fix is just for you. The genius hack, which costs as little as just $5, is hiding in plain sight: a faucet aerator, a tiny attachment to screw onto your tap. This incredibly useful fix instantly improves the flow while also reducing how much water you use.
Plumbing experts vouch that a faucet aerator would significantly reduce energy bills as it mixes air into the steam, creating a feel of higher pressure while using less water.
“The aerator’s primary purpose is to control water from the faucet by mixing it with air; it produces a soft, steady flow that feels forceful but actually uses a lot less water,” Luke Wooffindin explains, a licensed plumber and HVAC expert at Safeguard Plumbing. The expert added that you can get fuller and stronger water pressure into all of your kitchen and bathroom faucets for just $19.98.
“It doesn’t exactly increase the pressure from your plumbing system, but it creates the sensation of strong pressure. It does this by narrowing and shaping the water stream,” says David Lewis, owner of Mission AC and Plumbing, in a chat with Homes and Gardens.
Luke further elaborated on how a faucet aerator actually works. “Basically, there is a fine metal or plastic mesh screen along with a flow restrictor fitted inside the small housing,” he explained.
“The mesh screen breaks up the water stream into tiny streams as it passes through, and tiny holes around the edge of the aerator suck in air.” The air then mixes with the water and produces a bubbly-like flow. By simply mixing water and air, this genius tool creates a consistent flow while using less water.
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So, how much water can you save with a faucet aerator? This $5 hack is the ultimate kitchen feature that could make you use 50% less water than you normally would. Wooffindin says, “The faucet aerators can help conserve 30% to 50% of the water coming out of the faucet, or even more, depending on the type of aerator installed.”
“For example, installing a 1.0 GPM [gallons-per-minute] aerator instead of the standard 2.2 GPM aerator would mean saving well over a gallon for every minute the faucet is left running.”
In general, your kitchen faucet could pour around 2.5 gallons of water per minute, but with this tool, you could cut down from 1.5 to 2 gallons, therefore saving massive on your water bills.
Not only water bills, a right aerator also provides plenty of other benefits. Luke adds, “Aerators help in reducing splashing since they control the direction of water. This, in turn, helps enhance washing hands, dishwashing, and general cleaning effectiveness.”
In addition, a faucet aerator can also come in handy if your home has hard water. Although this tool doesn’t remove the minerals, some get caught inside, which works like fixing hard water.
How To Clean Your Faucet Aerator! pic.twitter.com/m4mobo6KO9
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“Mineral buildup inside the aerator can clog the screen and mess with the flow, especially if you have hard water. Cleaning them takes five minutes – unscrew, rinse, and reinstall,” the cleaning process is also easy, as Josh puts it.
Overall, a faucet aerator could be a lifesaver for you if you are struggling with high energy bills, heavy water usage, and bad water flow.
