Your faucet aerator might seem like an insignificant part, but choosing the right aerator saves money and makes life easier. Aerators create an aerated stream of water that is softer and easier to work with than non-aerated water.
Today’s aerators reduce water flow rates to as low as 1 gallon per minute. However, choosing the wrong one can also lead to problems.
Without a faucet aerator your faucet will gush a blast of water directly from the spout’s mouth. Water splashes all over the counter making even simple chores like washing dishes difficult. Buying the right aerator will reduce water consumption saving you money, just be sure you don’t reduce water flow too much.
Kitchen Faucets
Gallons Per Minute – A 1.5 to 2.0 gallon per minute aerator is an excellent choice because it produces enough flow rate to wash dishes, fill a water glass or pots for cooking, and it does not waste water. Kitchen faucets are left on during dish washing and cooking, so a higher flow rate means more wasted water.
Going lower than 1.5 gallons per minute on the kitchen aerator will cause problems because the flow rate is going to be very low and difficult to work with.
Size – 15/16 inch or 55/64 inch.
Each faucet uses a different size aerator but typically kitchen faucets use medium to large sized aerators. Consult your owner’s manual or just buy both sizes and return the one that doesn’t fit. It is difficult to compare sizes by eye because they are so close.
Bathroom Faucets
Select a 1.0 to 1.5 gallon per minute faucet aerator because there is less need for higher flow rates in the bathroom. This creates enough flow for shaving, hand washing and other bathroom related activities.
Size: 15/16 inch, 55/64 inch or 13/16 inch.
Bathroom faucets with a wider mouth will use the large aerators, those with very small mouths use 13/16 inch aerators.