How to clean a faucet head and aerator (and get full flow back)

Step by step: how to clean a faucet head and aerator

1. 1

   Plug the drain and lay down a rag

   Close the sink stopper and lay a rag in the bowl. Aerator parts are small, and a dropped screen or washer goes straight down an open drain. Run the water for a moment so you can see the spray pattern before you start; sputtering or a sideways stream points to a clogged screen.

2. 2

   Unscrew the aerator by hand

   Grip the round tip of the spout and turn it clockwise as you look down on it from above (counterclockwise from below). Most come off by hand. If it is stuck, wrap it in masking tape or a rag and use pliers gently, so the jaws don’t scratch the finish.

3. 3

   Use a key for a hidden aerator

   If the tip is flush with the spout and has no flat sides or grip, you have a recessed aerator. It needs a small plastic aerator key that usually comes with the faucet. Check your faucet maker’s instructions, and have the model number ready if you need to order a key.

4. 4

   Take it apart and note the order

   Push the insert out of the housing and lay the pieces in a row on a towel: usually a screen or mesh disc, a flow restrictor and a rubber washer. Take a phone photo. The parts must go back in exactly the same order, or the faucet will leak or spray.

5. 5

   Rinse out the loose grit

   Turn each piece over under running water to flush out sand, pipe scale and other debris. You may see small black, white or orange bits. That grit is what the screen is there to catch.

6. 6

   Soak the parts in vinegar

   Drop the metal and plastic parts into a cup of white vinegar. Five minutes is enough for light buildup; leave crusty white scale for 30 minutes to an hour. Keep the rubber washer out of long soaks so it doesn’t swell or harden.

7. 7

   Scrub the screens and rinse

   Brush both sides of each screen with an old toothbrush, working the bristles through the mesh until you can see light through every hole. Rinse in clean water. A straightened paper clip clears a stubborn hole, but don’t poke through the mesh.

8. 8

   Reassemble and flush the line

   Put the parts back in the order from your photo and screw the aerator on hand tight, plus a quarter turn with taped pliers if it drips. Run cold water for a minute and check that the stream is straight and even.

How to clean a pull-down spray head or a head you can’t remove

Soak it in place: fill a zip-top bag with enough white vinegar to cover the nozzles, slide it over the spray head and hold it with a rubber band or tie for 30 minutes to an hour. Then rub the rubber nozzles with your thumb or a soft brush to break off the loosened scale, rinse, and run the water on each spray setting.

• Many kitchen pull-down heads have soft rubber nozzles designed to be rubbed clean. Rub them after every soak and once a month between soaks.
• Some spray heads unscrew from the hose and have a small filter screen where they connect. Check your manual before you take one apart.
• If you use a descaler instead of vinegar, follow the label. CLR’s directions say to dilute it with warm water, leave it on no longer than 2 minutes and rinse right away, and not to use it on brass, copper, aluminum or painted, coated or sealed surfaces. Many colored faucet finishes are coated, so a vinegar soak is the safer first try.

Why a clean aerator matters for your water

A clean aerator gives you a full, even stream and keeps trapped particles out of your glass. The aerator is a small mesh screen that mixes air into the water and catches whatever comes down the pipe.

The US EPA advises cleaning your faucet’s screen regularly, because sediment, debris and lead particles can collect in it, and lead caught there can get into your water. Health Canada recommends checking aerators for debris every month and cleaning them every 6 months, and also after construction work that affects your water service, since plumbing work shakes loose scale and grit.

The white crust is mineral scale. The USGS explains that water hardness is mostly dissolved calcium and magnesium, so homes with hard water clog aerators faster and may need the vinegar soak every few months.

Low flow or a sideways spray after cleaning: what to check

Most problems after a cleaning come from reassembly or a worn part, not from the cleaning itself.

Hard water also builds up on shower heads. See our guide to cleaning a shower head for the same soak-and-brush method on a bigger fixture.

Mistakes to avoid

• Losing track of the part order, so the aerator leaks or sprays after you put it back.
• Cleaning over an open drain and dropping the screen or washer down it.
• Gripping the spout with bare pliers and scratching or denting the finish.
• Leaving a strong descaler on a coated, matte black or brass finish, which can dull or strip it.
• Poking a pin through the mesh and tearing the screen instead of soaking it.