How a Faucet Aerator Works
The part that decides how much water leaves a tap costs less than the washer behind it.
Air is doing the work
An aerator does not restrict water so much as dilute it. Inside the shell, the stream is broken up and air is drawn in to fill the gaps, so what leaves the spout is mostly water by mass but much larger by volume. The user sees a full, white stream and feels it cover their hands. The meter sees considerably less.
The mechanism is a Venturi: water moving through a narrowed passage drops in pressure, and that pressure drop pulls air in through ports in the side or base of the body. One aerator in this range documents it explicitly — a one-piece brass diffuser assembly introducing air through the bottom of the body, which mixes with water in the chamber area.
Why splash matters more than it sounds
A bare spout throws a solid column of water at the bottom of a basin, and a good part of it comes straight back out. That splash is water that was heated, paid for, and never used for anything.
An aerated stream lands softer and spreads instead of rebounding. One aerator here is specified around exactly this: control the stream straightness and diameter, reduce splash by aerating the stream and eliminating side spray, save water and reduce energy costs, and meet local plumbing codes and standards. Splash control is not a comfort feature, it is part of the saving.
Aerated is not the only option
A laminar core does the opposite: it organises the water into parallel streams and adds no air at all, producing a clear, glassy column. The swivel laminar flow aerator in this range is a non-aerating faucet aerator for exactly that reason.
Laminar flow is specified in healthcare settings and anywhere aerosol is unwanted, and it is preferred where a clear stream is wanted for appearance. It will not feel as full at the same flow rate, so the two are not interchangeable without checking the specification.
Constant flow versus plain aeration
A plain aerator's output rises and falls with the pressure in the pipe behind it. A constant-flow aerator carries a flexible element that changes shape under pressure to hold the rate steady. One documented body in this range runs 8-9 L/min across a 150 to 550 kPa range; another holds 7L at 3 bar; the honeycomb bodies are specified to keep constant flow at 45 PSI.
This matters in any building with a pressure swing between peak and quiet hours — which is every hotel, school and apartment block. Without it, the flow rate you measured at commissioning is not the flow rate the building runs at.
POM cores and why wire mesh fails
Most cheap aerators use a pressed steel wire mesh. It rusts, it catches limescale, and once it blocks the user unscrews it and throws it away, which ends the saving permanently.
The cores through this range are POM — an engineering plastic — in brass or copper housings. The product descriptions make the comparison directly: the POM core resists rust and blockage where steel wire filter nets do not. For hard water, look also at the hidden basin mixer body, which is specified for maximum lime resistance and cleans without disassembly.
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