Saves water and money: Ikea’s $5 gadget is worth having in every home
In order to preserve resources in times of drought and water scarcity, in addition to major measures, consumers must be prepared to change many small things in daily life. Sometimes it’s not easy, but it also saves money. To make it particularly easy to save water in the bathroom, IKEA has partnered with start-up Altered Company to develop the ÅBÄCKEN spray nozzle developed. It is suitable for all IKEA mixer taps, but can also be fitted to most standard mixer taps and costs 4.99 EUR in IKEA stores or in the online store (see at IKEA).
IKEA promises that the nozzle can reduce water flow to 0.25 liters per minute in mist mode and 1.9 liters per minute in spray mode. This would mean that ÅBÄCKEN compared to the usual mixer taps Save up to 95% water in mist mode and up to 66% in spray mode would have. Ideally, this would also save energy for the preparation of hot water.
Our assessment:
The ÅBÄCKEN atomizing nozzle ensures that when the water is removed, a minimum amount comes out as a spray jet or “mist” with the highest possible pressure. This ensures better flushing results and the tap closes faster. And the nozzle is cheap: it can really save you a lot of water with little effort and low cost.
A small limitation of this otherwise very good water saving principle might be that you have to descale the nozzle more often if you live in an area with particularly hard water. Since CHIP is located in the Munich stronghold of Kalkwasser, a practical test is already being considered.
