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.

Inspiration: Café Sabarsky

One of my favorite museums is the Neue Galerie, dedicated to German and Austrian art and design from the early 20th century. The building itself has the regal coolness of traditional Viennese architecture; toned down baroque created through glossy black wood floors, high ceilings and huge casement windows. It acts as the perfect backdrop for the colorful works of Kandinsky and Klimt and more "modern" styles like the Bauhaus. The same style permeates Café Sabarsky, the famed café inside the museum. Besides having perhaps the best apple strudel in town, the café is a design inspiration. The tables in the downstairs café feature a mustard yellow and black pattern by Dagobert Peche under glass. Set against the black and white checkered floors, it should be overwhelming, but feels neutral and light.