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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:
Regulated flow rate is covered in my previous post.
Flow condition – the condition of the flowing water should also be considered. It is slightly unfortunate that the manufacturers of these fittings often refer to them as aerators even when they are not. An aerator is a device that will entrain a flow of air into the flowing water. We consider this to be highly undesirable in that this may also draw in dust particles or droplets of water from other sources in aerosol. This in turn may induce the ambient microbiological flora into the tap outlet; a warm, moist, dark space. Our outlet fitting is expressly not an aerator for these reasons.
The outlet fitting used in the Optitherm tap is also a Flow Conditioner. It is specifically structured to ensure that the water falls from the tap orifice in a smooth, unbroken column without splashing. It falls without turbulence through the air, which also reduces the opportunity for splashing when hands are positioned across the flow column during hand decontamination.
Follow the links below to read about the outlet fitting’s effect on
and also a comment on cleaning the fitting.