Saving Water: Installing an Aerator

Apartment living in New York often means living with very old fixtures. If you have an old kitchen faucet, whether you plan to replace it or have no control to do so, there is something you can do now to make your kitchen a lean, green, water-saving machine: install an aerator in the kitchen faucet.

An aerator is a small metal or plastic cylinder that fits inside the end of your faucet and spreads the stream of water, which creates a steady spray rather than a pour. This causes less water to feel like more and reduces splashing.

Old faucet without aerator

Old faucet retrofitted with an aerator

The latest faucet models come with an integral aerator to set the water flow rate. Those that don't, especially if they are older models, are likely using a huge amount of water - up to about 5 gallons a minute! Installing a 1.0 gallon per minute (gpm) aerator will cut that water use by over 60% without a perceivable difference. Unless your faucet splashes, in which case you might notice no longer getting wet.

To start saving water today, you will need an aerator and hands (just one will do.) Universal aerators (which should fit most faucets) cost less than $3 and take about 3 seconds to install.

I got this Neoperl 1.0 gpm model which I was very happy with, although I later upgraded to a 0.5 gpm model. (I understand that the half gallon flow is not for everyone; while you won't feel much difference between a typical water flow and the one gallon flow, the half gallon will certainly feel like less water.)

Instructions: Unscrew the end of the faucet, drop in the aerator and the rubber washer, and screw it back in. That's it!