'Is there a tap version of the two-buttoned loo?' blog discussion

ceridwen

Oh well....so the idea already exists then. On the face of it - a good idea. But I am thinking that what is really needed is people to "train" themselves into minimising their water usage in the first place - so it becomes automatic to switch taps off or down a level as required. After all - its not always our own home taps (with or without built-in gizmo) we are using. Most people are totally oblivious of all the extra little unnecessary water usage currently.

It is very true that we need to start thinking in terms of water as being a limited resource. It is - and many of the wars of this century are likely to be about access to water.

Me - I'm currently working on "training" myself (though having a water meter helps to concentrate ones mind - and I've already knocked a few £s a month off my bill with a bit of thought).

Jublet

Is it still possible to get "Prestex" taps? They used to be in offices etc. all over the place as well as public loos. The simple idea is you press the top of the tap to turn it on and it slowly reverts to "off" after a few seconds.
They were a boon to janitors who would otherwise get called out at all hours to attend to a flooded bathroom. And would be the answer to Martin'r problem?

RebeccaColeman

Replace taps with single lever ones. You can turn on the tap with a flick of the hand (or wrist if your hands are really dirty) and as soon as you have wetted your toothbrush or flannel you can turn them off as easily with one flick. We have them as all the taps in the house except the downstairs loo which has yet to be replaced and the shower which has a fairly ordinary turning mechanism which the man in B&Q persuaded my husband would be better than a single lever one. As I turn off the water while hair and body washing before rinsing I wish he had minded his own business.

hayers

I haven't read the whole thread so dont know if someone has already suggested this. I have found that buying and fitting aerators to a tap, which are rated to a maximum flow dependent on which tap you are fitting to, work well. You can fit a max 8Litre/min one to the kitchen, 3Litre/min to the cloak room one etc. I live in Devon and the metered water costs a fortune my average bill is £70 / month we dont have a big garden or wash cars that often just 2 children which need washing constantly

stu369

Grohe and Hansgrohe both do taps that have flow limiters as do many others. You can even set the flow limits for high and low. The also have "air technology" (yes they really call it that, lol) where up to 3 litres of air are mixed into every litre of water thus using less water,
Why more people don't buy them i don't know. Govt should set legislation to force all new homebuilders to install this as standard IMHO.
Alternatively you can go the cheap route and buy the pneumatic push tap, like those they have in public loos. Press and water comes out for set amount of time or quantity and you have to press again for more.
Best version i ever encountered tho was where the button was on the floor under the basin and you had to press it with your foot and it was hard to hold down so you only did it as you needed it.

[Deleted User]

I work at an architects so have asked an interior designer friend if there is such a tap... I gather there is one having just read the last comment but thought you'd like to know

altepper

Good idea Martin and as others have said it does exist and is called Tap Magic which we also sell here: Tap magic

Cheers

Al

pjapk

Don't know about bathroom taps but my kitchen tap has such a facility built-in. It's officially called "miser-mode" on my tap! Basically, it's a lever mixer which goes so far with a "normal" push but comes against a frictional stop which you have to put more force against to get more water flow.

Seems to do the job nicely!

Paul

arfon

A pressure regulator fitted @ Stopcock cost ~£30 and gives almost constant pressure in your water system.

This means that when you open a tap you get constant flow rather than the initial high-rate that gradually decreases to a dribble. So if you want a low setting for shaving/toothbrushing it achieves that and one unit does the whole house.

Other advantages are:
- protects high pressure showers (where warranty has a < 5 bar clause)
- reduces water noise like when toilets fill up
- reduces pressure noise if you tweak isolation valves to reduce flow to certain outlets

Brilliant

Sigi

There are other ways to do this. We work with a company that makes the ceramic disc cartridge in the taps. They've got models that can offer the following savings.

1) Single lever tap that open in the cold position (not hot & cold mixed), so you don't turn on the combi boiler just for a glass of water.
2) Single lever tap that has a positive stop when you lift it up. It restricts the water flow to a pre-set amount. BUT, if you want to get more, push past the 'click' & you get full flow.
3) Control functions on each tap to allow you to set a max temp, or even volume the tap can allow through.

All these are simple mechanical devices available to the tap manufacturer. They just have to specify they want these features designed in. Only trouble is they increase the cost of the cartidge by about 35p..........and that means about £15-00 more to you, the end user.

Bottom line is.its there if you want it.............but the demand is for cheap taps from China that look good, & not necessarily are technically any better.