Most taps allow much more water through them than is needed, which can result in a big waste of water. Some of the taps we’ve looked at in Coventry have had flow rates of above 15 litres a minute, which is far too much for having a wash or doing the washing up.
This is why we fit special inserts into taps during the home visits. We have two types of inserts:
- aerating inserts, which mix air with the water, so it feels like there’s more water than there is
- spray inserts, which turn the flow from the tap into a spray pattern
Both of these mean that you use less water, but the flow from the tap is still enough to do the job.
Fitting a spray tap insert
We can’t fit these inserts into every tap. We are not able to fit them to taps with:
- a very narrow outlet,
- outlets which aren’t circular, and
- existing inserts which can’t be removed.
In kitchen taps, where you still need a good flow of water, for example to fill a kettle, we fit a special insert which gives both a low and a high flow rate. Turning the tap on fully will activate the higher flow. We also do this when the hot water is heated by a combi boiler, so that there is enough flow to turn on the boiler.
Our installers have simple kit which enables them to measure the flow from taps before and after the inserts have been fitted. In this way we know exactly the difference that our work has made.
Of course, with or without tap inserts we can still save a lot of water by taking very simple steps. See a list of ideas on the Waterwise website.
