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Help with all of
your plumbing and heating needs |
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The Faucet Aerator.
How to clean or replace it. |
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Ever
notice how the water pressure in your house
seems perfectly fine – except for one
faucet? Have you ever had a faucet work
perfectly one day and then slow down to a
trickle the next? These are common plumbing
problems that are easy to solve.
Low water pressure in a single faucet is
most often due to a clogged aerator. Over
time, sediment builds up in your pipes. The
aerator filters out the debris by design.
However, as the sediment collects, the
aerator becomes clogged and water has a more
difficult time making its way through the
blockage.
A
typical faucet aerator is made up of a flow
restrictor, a screen, and mounting rings.
Most often, it's not the screen that becomes
clogged, but rather the flow restrictor. The
flow restrictor is a small plastic disc with
tiny holes that fits inside the aerator. Its
purpose is to restrict the flow of water,
thus ensuring a steady, controlled flow and
conserving water. The use of flow
restrictors in faucets saves millions of
gallons of water in the U.S. each year –
water that otherwise would be wasted as it
flows unrestricted down the drain. Flow
restrictors also regulate the stream of the
water as you'll see in the photos below.
The
photos below illustrate a typical bathroom
faucet with limited water flow and the steps
needed to clean or replace the faucet
aerator. |
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Let's turn on
the bathroom faucet and view
its water flow.
Click on any image to see a
larger image. |
The water is
flowing. However, the water
pressure appears to be quite
low based on the poor water
flow. This is a classic
indication of a clogged
aerator. |
The aerator
is located at the tip of the
faucet. It is screwed into
place which means removal is
a simple matter of
unscrewing it. While many
aerators can easily be
unscrewed by hand, others
are more stubborn and may
require a little extra help.
If your aerator won't budge
by hand, gently use a wrench
to grasp and loosen it. |
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While aerator
designs can vary slightly,
this photo shows the
internal parts of a typical
faucet aerator. This aerator
assembly consists of the
ring-like housing, a screen,
the flow restrictor, and a
washer. |
While we have
the aerator disassembled,
let's look at each of its
parts in greater detail.
Here's the water flow
restrictor. Notice the small
holes? Flow restrictors,
like aerators, come in
different designs. In
general, they're disc-like
with small holes.
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Here's a photo
of the flow restrictor when
viewed from the side.
Because the flow restrictor
tends to collect the most
sediment, this is the piece
that needs to be cleaned
thoroughly to improve the
faucet's flow. In some
cases, all you'll need to do
is rinse the debris off flow
restrictor. You may need to
use a soft brush to remove
the sediment. For
difficult-to-remove buildup,
soak the flow restrictor in
a cup of white vinegar which
will dissolve the minerals. |
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This photo
shows the aerator screen.
While you may notice some
sediment in the screen, the
screen itself isn't likely
the problem and shouldn't
need to be cleaned.
Remember, it's the flow
restrictor that's usually
the main problem. A quick
rinse in water should be
sufficient for removing any
debris in the screen. |
Since we have
the aerator off the faucet,
now's a good time to look at
how water flows without the
flow restrictor. In this
photo, the aerator has been
installed without the flow
restrictor. Notice how the
water splashes out?
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This photo
shows how water flows
without any aerator in place
at all. Like the previous
image, the water splashes
all over the sink. Even
worse, it splashes out of
the sink and onto the floor.
These two photos illustrate
just how important that tiny
plastic disc is in
controlling the flow of
water. Not only does it help
conserve water, it also
controls the water's flow. |
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During this
aerator cleaning process, we
made a common, yet
preventable mistake. We
failed to cover the drain
hole in the sink. According
to Murphy's Law, if anything
can go wrong, it will. In
this case, the flow
restrictor fell and slid
straight down the drain!
Notice the shiny package
containing a brand new
aerator? Because of this
avoidable mistake, we had to
go down to the hardware
store and buy a new aerator.
Though the replacement cost
less than $5 with tax, it
did require a special trip
and who wants to spend money
fixing a dumb mistake? Avoid
this problem when you clean
your aerators by covering
the drain hole with a
washcloth. |
If your
faucet's existing aerator is
beyond repair, or if you
lost a part as we did,
buying a replacement aerator
won't break the bank. Faucet
aerators tend to be
universal, making it easy to
find a replacement that will
work with your sink. That
said, tuck your old aerator
in your pocket and take it
to the hardware store with
you to make sure that you
select a comparable
replacement.
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Whether you're
reinstalling your now-clean
aerator or a brand new one,
the installation is as
simple as screwing the
assembled aerator onto the
end of the faucet. Simply
slide it into position and
screw it in. This photo
shows the completed
installation with water
flowing freely and under the
control of a clean,
unclogged flow restrictor.
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Cleaning or replacing a
faucet aerator is one of the
easiest do-it-yourself
plumbing tasks. If you find
that you must clean your
home's aerators frequently,
you may have larger problems
on your hands than the
occasional clog. If so,
installing a whole house
sediment filter may be
necessary. |
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Need a freelance
writer for your website? Celeste
Stewart, a web content writer, has
contributed to this site and is
available to help you with all of
your website content writing needs.
http://www.websitecontentwriter.org |
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