6 Easy Steps to Clean Faucet Aerator Without Removing

Aerators help us save water drastically. But when dirty, they become a hassle as you’ll have low water pressure, and it will block a lot of the streams.

In such situations, cleaning the aerator becomes a must. However, some aerators are hard to remove from the spout, and taking them off feels like too much work.

If you want to clean the faucet without removing it, take a plastic bag, vinegar, and a toothbrush. Dipping the spout in the vinegar helps loosen up the dirt a lot, and you can easily clean it afterward.

In this article, I will give you many more details about how to clean faucet aerator without removing it from the spout. If you want to know about the whole process, keep reading below.

How to Clean Non-Removable Faucet Aerator?

The importance of a faucet aerator in our sinks is a lot. They help us save water and filter it to keep impurities away. Playing all these roles, over time, these aerators often get dirty. At that time, you must make sure to clean them.

Removable or non-removable, cleaning aerators without removing them from the spout is easy. All you need is a few ingredients to prepare yourself.

The ingredients are –

• A gallon-size Ziploc or similar plastic bags
• White Vinegar
• Toothbrush
• Toothpick
• Rubber Band
• Boiling Water

After successfully gathering all these ingredients, you are ready to start cleaning the faucet aerator using vinegar. Follow the steps below −

1. Dip Your Aerator Hot Water

Take a Ziploc bag and fill it halfway with hot water. Then take the bag close to the spout and dip the edge part entirely into the bag.

Secure the bag to the spout by tying it at the top with a rubber band. Keep the bag and the spout in that position for at least half an hour.

Before putting in the vinegar, you need to start by doing this step to soften up as much dirt as possible.

2. Use the Toothbrush

After keeping the hot water for half an hour, remove the bag. Take the toothbrush and brush around the mesh disc’s center and edges.

Pull out as much dirt as you can for now. Finish by rinsing the aerator with some water. You can use the same method of dipping in a Ziploc.

3. Fill Up White Vinegar

The next step is to apply white vinegar to the equipment.

To do this, take a bottle of clear white vinegar and a plastic bag. Fill up the bag halfway or to such a height that you can fully sink the edge of the spout into it.

4. Submerge Aerator in Bag

After preparing the plastic bag, place it toward your faucet so that the aerator is submerged in the vinegar. Secure the bag tightly with the spout with a rubber band.

Make sure to give the rubber band at least two folds. Otherwise, the bag may fall, and you will splash all the vinegar.

Keep the aerator and spout sunk in the vinegar for about half an hour. If your spout is made of brass or nickel, do it for only 15 minutes to prevent unnecessary damage.

5. Final Clean Up

After keeping the aerator inside the vinegar, you should have all the dirt, mineral gunk, and hard water buildup should’ve loosened up by now.

Remove the bag and check the condition of your aerator. You should see a lot of it has cleared up.

Next, take the toothbrush and start brushing around to remove the remaining debris. This will give the aerator a final sweep.

Lastly, take a toothpick to remove the dirt you see stuck in the holes. You can also use it to take off anything stuck on the edges.

The work with the brush and toothpick shouldn’t take much effort as all the buildups have already softened up.

6. Wipe off

Now that you have a fully clean aerator, rinse the aerator and the spout with some water. Take a soft cloth or some water and wipe off the water to finish the job.

And that’s it! That’s how you can clean up your aerator without removing it from the spout.

These steps will help remove all the mineral buildup stuck in the mesh and clear up the water stream. The clean aerator will increase water pressure in the faucet again and ensure a smooth flow.

How Often to Clean Faucet Aerators?

You should clean your aerators once a month so that too much buildup of impurities doesn’t occur. It is best to keep the aerator clean as frequently as possible so that there is not a large amount of dirt accumulated at the end of the year.

If cleaning up once a month is not possible, do it at least once every two months.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is an alternative to cleaning the aerator with vinegar?

You can choose lemon instead if you don’t want to use vinegar in your spout mesh. Both are acidic substances, so they can do the job well. With lemon, follow the same process as you did with vinegar. The only difference will be you have to dip the aerator in half a lemon and then lock it in the bag.

2. What is the importance of a clean aerator?

Clean aerators ensure your water is clean and flowing and increases its pressure. With a dirty aerator, on the other hand, you will get impure water, and the pressure in the water will be much less due to the openings being blocked.

3. Will vinegar damage my faucet?

Yes, since vinegar is an acidic substance, it may damage the finish of your faucet. That’s why make sure you’re not keeping the spout submerged in the vinegar for too long. Thirty minutes is more than enough.

Final Words

Dirty aerators are always unhealthy and hazardous to use. They also decrease the water pressure and prevent it from flowing smoothly.

Therefore, through this article, I hope you now know how to clean faucet aerator without removing it from the spout. It is a very simple process and takes only a few minutes.