Faucet Flow Rates: Average, Max, and Myths Busted

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When designing a functional kitchen or bathroom, a high-quality faucet is essential.

You are watching: Faucet Flow Rates: Average, Max, and Myths Busted

There are a number of important criteria and decisions to make when getting a new faucet:

1. Style of Faucet
2. Faucet Color/Finish
3. Brand
4. Price

Here at My Plumbing DIY, we’re going to cover it all.

Another critical factor though are the faucet flow rates.

Your faucet flow rate is how fast the water comes out of the faucet. Most faucets have an aerator that restricts the flow of water from coming out at full speed.

Quick Summary on Faucet Flow Rates

Flow rates maximums are set by the Federal government to conserve water and protect the environment.

Even though the maximum is 2.2 GPM, the average faucet flow rate is 1.5 GPM (gallons per minute).

What is a Good Bathroom or Kitchen Faucet Flow Rate?

Faucets will perform well with at least 0.8 GPM, but we recommend a flow rate of at least 1.5 GPM with the capability to go up to the maximum of 2.2 GPM. This will give you the best performance.

Thankfully, most faucets can be tweaked to improve the minimum and maximum flow rate. This is an easy adjustment to make.

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There are some faucet brands that specialize in water conservation like Grohe and Hansgrohe.

How to Test Your Faucet Flow Rate

If you aren’t sure what your faucet is capable of, it’s super easy to test the flow rate of a kitchen faucet.

The easiest way to figure it out is simply doing an actual test.

Pro-tip! If you don’t have a big enough container, you can use a smaller one and only run the water for 10 seconds and count how many ounces you have. Then multiply by 6x to convert the number total ounces. Divide that by 128 to calculate your gallons per minute (GPM).

We tested our flow rate at home using the quick conversion and found that it was exactly 1.5 GPM (gallons per minute).

How to Increase Your Faucet Flow Rate

Most kitchen faucets boast a maximum flow rate of 2.2 GPM. The average kitchen faucet flow rates are around 1.5 GPM.

Most new faucets come with a built-in aerator. In a nutshell, this is a tip that can be screwed onto the bathroom or kitchen sink faucet’s nozzle. There are various sizes of faucet aerators which can impact GPM.

Remember, flow rates are standardized so most faucets are similar in faucet flow rates.

This means that if you have weak water pressure, there’s likely another issue.

There are a number of ways to fix low water pressure.

1. Clean your clogged aerator
2. Replace your broken faucet cartridge
3. Check for leaks in your water lines
4. Remove clogs in pipes

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If your flow rate is low you can also try to spray WD-40 up a faucet. It can help grease the pipes a bit!

How to Reduce Kitchen Faucet Flow Rates

Higher flow rates will certainly perform better for washing your hands or cleaning dishes.

But if you’re trying to conserve water, then reducing your faucet flow rate can help.

The easiest way to save water is to just not turn your faucets up to full speed.

Run your faucet at half power instead of full speed. The downside of this is that sometimes you’ll just end up running the faucet for longer and not actually save any water.

Some companies like Moen or Delta have actually created technologies that increase the power of their faucet spray without increasing the GPM. This allows for a powerful spray that also lowers your water usage.

If you want to truly lower the flow rate, then you can install a new faucet aerator.

Do Kitchen Faucets Have Flow Restrictors?

The majority of traditional faucets boast flow rate restrictors in the shape of aerators. All contemporary kitchen faucets, which have been on the market since the year 1994, must feature flow restrictors. Why? To save water.

Hard water specifically can result in blocked restrictors. Federal laws necessitate that faucets have a maximum flow rate of 2.2 gallons per minute GPM.

To meet these regulations, both sink aerators and faucets are treated meticulously to ensure they perform at a rate of 1.5 gallons per minute GPM.

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Source: https://gardencourte.com
Categories: Kitchens