Why faucet aerators feel stronger

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Watch the split screen: without an aerator, water falls as one hard column and splashes widely, but with one, the stream is broken into tiny mini-streams that interfere with each other and cut the splash.<sup class="text_citation" source_id="4"></sup><sup class="text_citation" source_id="5"></sup>

Then zoom into the mesh, where air is pulled into the water and the stream is broken into droplets, so the flow rate drops while the water still feels full and pressurized in the hand.<sup class="text_citation" source_id="4"></sup><sup class="text_citation" source_id="19"></sup><sup class="text_citation" source_id="23"></sup>

The result is a softer, quieter stream that uses less water, lowers splashing, and can even reduce water and heating use because less water passes through the tap.<sup class="text_citation" source_id="5"></sup><sup class="text_citation" source_id="30"></sup>