Andy Sowards
Out of all the rooms in your home, it’s likely you spend the most time in your kitchen and bathroom. What do both rooms have in common? A faucet. After all, if you want your kitchen and bath operating at optimum performance, you need a faucet that’s distributing the perfect amount of clean water when you need it most.
Enter the faucet aerator. This little gadget might not look like much, but it is the one component attached to the end of your faucet that can provide ideal water flow. But the water that comes out of your tap isn’t as clean and pure as it looks. It contains contaminants and minerals that can cause your filter-like aerator to become filthy and even damaged.
If your aerator is damaged beyond repair you need to have it replaced by a company that specializes in installing aerators for faucets. Says the pros at Aerator.com, replacing a faucet aerator is both an affordable and simple maintenance job that will significantly improve the efficiency, performance, and overall longevity of your home’s faucets. Every homeowner should enjoy the major benefits of optimal, clean water flow.
That said, how can you better maintain and clean your faucet aerator so that you don’t need to go to the expense of having it replaced too often? According to a recent report by Good Housekeeping, you are already know how important it is to do away with the secret sources of filth in your kitchen and bathroom. From moldy toothbrush holders to grimy coffee makers, it’s imperative that you stay ahead of the dirt and debris that can damage your appliances and fixtures. But there is one virtually hidden place that even the tidiest person might miss: the kitchen/bathroom faucet aerator.
Defining a Faucet Aerator
A faucet aerator is a small implement that’s attached to the end of your kitchen, bathroom, and other faucets in your home. They resemble small mesh screens, and they are attached and detached by screwing them on and off.
Despite their diminutive size, the aerators serve a larger purpose. They are engineered to disperse your water streams into many smaller streams. This greatly reduces the amount of water that pours out of the faucet while maintaining full water pressure. Good Housekeeping refers to the faucet aerator as an ingenious device.
Why Faucet Aerators Get Filthy
Due to their design, aerators act like filters aside from their being water savers. Therefore, they catch a lot of minerals, silt, and other dirt and debris that normally flow through your tap. Over a certain amount of time, the debris will build up and block the flow of water.
How You Can Clean Your Faucet Aerators
Good Housekeeping states that cleaning faucet aerators can be a relatively simple task. That is, the aerator and/or faucet aren’t damaged, which would require the services of a professional. The Good Housekeeping Institute recommends the following: begin by unscrewing the aerators and then rinse them in clean, hot water. If they remain dirty after rinsing, then you need to scrub them with a toothbrush.
If you should happen to reside in a geographical location where the water is harder and contains a higher concentration of magnesium and calcium, you will see that your faucet aerators are caked with minerals. When this happens, you can try soaking them in a vinegar solution. Once that’s accomplished you can try scrubbing them again. If this doesn’t work, you might consider calling in a professional who can install brand new aerators.
Maintaining Your Faucet Aerators
To avoid unnecessary buildup in your aerators, it’s a good idea to clean them once per month or every two months even if they don’t appear to require it. This will ensure that your aerators will last longer while maintaining optimal flow of the water you require whenever you need it.
In the end, experts say you should not worry about spending too much of your valuable time stressing over keeping your kitchen and bathroom facet aerators clean. You have many other tasks that require your attention throughout your home, such as keeping the toilets from leaking or fixing that leaky roof.
But if the water slows to a trickle, or you notice an unsightly sediment coming from your faucets, you will want to check your aerators on your own or, better yet, call in a professional to get the job done right the first time.
