OK to remove "backflow preventer"?

hi...i have a Hansgrohe Monsoon handheld shower.

i'd like to remove the "back-flow" preventer because i believe it cuts down the water flow.

if i'm not mistaken there is also a flow limiter on this model too!

can i remove both? or just the flow limiter ?

i believe the back-flow preventer is a little spring activated gizmo i located if i'm not mistaken.

does a health hazard truly exist if i take out the BF device?


advice?...........thanx........mike

For a while, it seemed all hand-held were being sold with the backflow preventer. Recent years, it's a mixed bag, and I suspect local codes are all over the map on the issue.

As far as the health hazard, all back-flow dangers require a confluence of certain events, and they are rare. But when it happens, the consequences are often serious, possibly lethal. WHole neighborhoods have been poisoned. Rare? Yes. Do you want to be the one who causes it?

If you can remove a flow restrictor and your conscience does not bother you, no one here will be checking up on it!

i hear you....

I certainly agree with Jimbo on this, while the prospects of backflow contamination are microscopic, the consequences and repercussions are monumental!!!...but is it a 'pressure' or 'volume' issue (they are two different things that a lot of people confuse)...reducing volume increases pressure, and vice versa...I think i would consider replacing the fixture instead of modifying it..........