Low Flow Taps And Showers

What this is

An aerator mixes air into the stream leaving a tap, and a flow restrictor limits the volume passing a shower fitting. Both reduce how much water is used while keeping the stream feeling full, and because much of that water is hot, they reduce heating demand as well as water use.

Telling whether your home needs it

Taps that splash hard into the basin, or a shower that feels more forceful than it needs to be, are the usual candidates. Unscrew the tip of a tap spout and look: if there is no insert, or only a plain washer, an aerator can go in. Limescale packed into an existing insert is worth clearing whether or not you change anything else.

What the job involves

Tap aerators are threaded inserts that unscrew from the spout tip, usually by hand or with a soft-jawed grip to avoid marking the finish. Take the old one with you to match the thread and whether it is internal or external. Shower restrictors sit in the hose connection or in the head, and some heads have one fitted already that simply needs cleaning.

Things to watch

Not every system suits a restrictor. A gravity-fed shower running at low pressure can be reduced to a trickle, and some instantaneous water heaters need a minimum flow to operate correctly, so check what feeds the fitting before restricting it. Aerators need occasional cleaning in hard water areas or they clog and the flow drops away for the wrong reason.