Faucet Aerators
Faucet aerators are a simple and inexpensive, if not glamorous, way to save a significant amount of water and lower your home's energy bills.
You may not even think twice about the lowly faucet aerator; it's simply there. Unless something goes wrong, it does its job without much attention. Choosing the right aerator for your kitchen or bathroom faucets can turn this small decision into a big money and water saver.
Saving Water in Your Home, Simply
Installing low-flow shower heads and faucet aerators can reduce your home's water usage by as much as 50%. Saving that much water also means you're spending less money to heat it. Whether you're building a new home or retrofitting an older home, don't forget to pay attention to how much water your new faucets are using.
Saving water and energy is the right thing to do for our environment; the savings on water and utility bills is the right thing to do for your wallet. The cost of efficient aerators is typically low, and the savings you'll see will cover the cost of them in just a few months. After that, it's pure savings for you. When we say the cost of faucet aerators is low, we're talking low: from $1 to $5 will buy a quality, water saving aerator.
Water Saving Faucet Aerators
If you've got an existing faucet aerator, it will usually have it's gallon per minute rating (gpm) imprinted on its side. A 'low-flow' aerator is rated at 2.75 gpm or less. If yours is more, run, don't walk, to the hardware store and buy a new one! Most faucets are made to accept an aerator.
How Water Saving Faucet Aerators Work
Faucet aerators work their magic by mixing air into the water stream. This allows for a strong steady stream using less water.
While 2.75 gpm aerators are considered low-flow, many models are available that use much less water than that. Aerators using 1.5, 1.0, or even 0.5 gpm of water will still give you a satisfactory stream.
Water Saving Kitchen Aerators
Kitchen faucets typically need more functionality than the more simple bathroom models. If you're buying a kitchen faucet aerator, look for one with a pause valve. These allow you to easily turn off the water stream while you're washing dishes, saving even more water and energy. Some kitchen aerators also swivel, making dish washing much easier.
Water is our most important resource, and we believe that we should all do as much as we can to conserve as much water as possible in and around the home. Lucky for us, there are so many ways to cut down on the amount of water we use on a daily basis. Some, like installing faucet aerators, are cheap and easy fixes to save water, energy, and money. For other ideas, see our article on Water Conservation Tips and Ways to Conserve Water.
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