

If you have encountered retrograde Pseudomonad contamination of your taps the last thing that you should do is remove the outlet fitting.
The Optitherm Thermostatic Tap’s outlet fitting is very important and should be retained as it fulfils a number of functions:
Flow rate – the obvious one is to limit the flow rate to an optimal level. This gives savings of energy and water consumption, but it also determines the velocity of the flowing water. The user should have the same experience irrespective of supply pressure (which will differ throughout the day or night, and which floor the tap fitting is located) when the tap is turned on. With 60 degree turn ceramic discs there is little scope for the user to throttle the flow to the desired rate since these move from closed to fully open in an instant. We feel the user operation should be as simple as possible with the lever positions being limited to fully open or fully closed and the flow regulator in the outlet takes care of the rate of discharge.
If the velocity is too high then the user may get splashed or water might fall outside the basin causing a slip-risk - in either case this might be viewed as a disincentive to hand washing, impacting hand hygiene compliance and patient safety.
Follow the links below to read about the outlet fitting’s effect on
Flow condition
Water retention
and also a comment on cleaning the fitting.