How to Identify & Cure Other Smells & Tastes in Drinking Water InspectAPedia® -
What are other common odors in drinking water and what causes them?
How to get rid of chlorine odors, musty odors, sweet or soapy odors in drinking water
Health risks associated with some water odors?
How to cure other odors in drinking water
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This article discusses how to identify, diagnose, and cure common odors that may be present in drinking water. We also
discuss which of these odors may warn of unsanitary conditions.
Let's take a closer look at some other reasons why drinking water may be smelly be and what you should do.
Chlorine odors in drinking water:
While we can't cover all of the possibilities here, we can talk about some different odors and their causes. If your water smells
like chlorine, you're most likely on a municipal system and it is chlorine that you smell.
Chlorine is quite volatile and doesn't stick around in water - if you run water from a tap into a pitcher and let it sit, the
chlorine will dissipate pretty quickly. People who want to avoid chlorine in their water can install a treatment system
such as charcoal filtering to remove it.
If your home water smells like chlorine and you have a chlorinator installed for water disinfection, make sure the equipment is properly adjusted.
If you have just shocked your water well to try to sanitize the well (WELL CHLORINATION SHOCKING PROCEDURE) it is possible that you have not run enough water to flush out all of that chlorine (bleach).
If you have just sanitized your water softener it is possible that you have not run enough water to flush out all of that chlorine (bleach).
A musty, dank, or brackish odor in water is often
times attributed to chloride in your water, but it could also be 2-methyl-isoborneal (MIB).
A sweet, organic smell in water might indicate
m-xylene, and styrene in your water will make you think of model airplane glue.
A "greenish -chlorophyll-like" odor in water might be grass
in your well, but is probably an algae growth.
Soap or rubber odors in water:
Some things are just what they smell like, for example soap will smell like soap, and
rubber hose will smell like rubber hose!
Other sources of odors in water are discussed in our edited EPA article on water pollution: see Where Do Water Pollutants Come From for those details.
Before Buying Water Treatment Equipment
A water treatment company will often be willing to test your water and will recommend just what equipment you need.
Just be sure first that the odor source is a problem in your water source and not in the building piping or equipment.
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Scott Bradley, author. Scott Bradley is Laboratory Director for Aquacheck Laboratory, Inc. PO Box 87 05151 1-800-263-9596.
A more brief version of this article appeared in Aquacheck Laboratory's Water Wisdom Tips and Newsletter, Issue # 6, 2007. www.Aquacheck-VT.com offers other water supply tips in its Water Wisdom section.
The laboratory also provides water test kits and offers a free newsletter.
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The Home Reference Book - the Encyclopedia of Homes, Carson Dunlop & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, 2010, $69.00 U.S., is available from Carson Dunlop, and from the InspectAPedia bookstore. The 2010 edition of the Home Reference Book is a bound volume of more than 450 illustrated pages that assist home inspectors and home owners in the inspection and detection of problems on buildings. The text is intended as a reference guide to help building owners operate and maintain their home effectively. InspectAPedia.com ® author/editor Daniel Friedman is a contributing author. Field inspection worksheets are included at the back of the volume.
Crystal Clear Supply provides portable ceramic water filter purifiers and portable reverse osmosis water treatment equipment - see http://www.crystalclearsupply.com/category_s/7.htm
Handbook of Disinfectants and Antiseptics, Joseph M. Ascenzi (Editor), CRC, 1995, ISBN-10: 0824795245 ISBN-13: 978-0824795245 "The evaluation of chemical germicides predates the golden age of microbiology..." -
This well-focused, up-to-date reference details the current medical uses of antiseptics and disinfectants -- particularly in the control of hospital-acquired infections -- presenting methods for evaluating products to obtain regulatory approval and examining chemical, physical, and microbiological properties as well as the toxicology of the most widely used commercial chemicals.
Potable Aqua® emergency drinking water germicidal tablets are produced by the Wisconsin Pharmacal Co., Jackson WI 53037. 800-558-6614 pharmacalway.com
Principles and Practice of Disinfection, Preservation and Sterilization (Hardcover)
by A. D. Russell (Editor), W. B. Hugo (Editor), G. A. J. Ayliffe (Editor), Blackwell Science, 2004. ISBN-10: 1405101997, ISBN-13: 978-1405101998.
"This superb book is the best of its kind available and one that will undoubtedly be useful, if not essential, to workers in a variety of industries. Thirty-one distinguished specialists deal comprehensively with the subject matter indicated by the title ... The book is produced with care, is very readable with useful selected references at the end of each chapter and an excellent index. It is an essential source book for everyone interested in this field. For pharmacy undergraduates, it will complement the excellent text on pharmaceutical microbiology by two of the present editors."
The Pharmaceutical Journal: "This is an excellent book. It deals comprehensively and authoritatively with its subject with contributions from 31 distinguished specialists. There is a great deal to interest all those involved in hospital infection ... This book is exceptionally well laid out. There are well chosen references for each chapter and an excellent index. It is highly recommended." The Journal of Hospital Infection.: "The editors and authors must be congratulated for this excellent treatise on nonantibiotic antimicrobial measures in hospitals and industry ... The publication is highly recommended to hospital and research personnel, especially to clinical microbiologists, infection-control and environmental-safety specialists, pharmacists, and dieticians."
New England Journal of Medicine: City Hospital, Birmingham, UK. Covers the many methods of the elimination or prevention of microbial growth. Provides an historical overview, descriptions of the types of antimicrobial agents, factors affecting efficacy, evaluation methods, and types of resistance. Features sterilization methods, and more. Previous edition: c1999. DNLM: Sterilization--methods.
U.S. Army Field Manual 21-10, Field Hygiene and Sanitation, 1988, web search 07/02/2010, original source: http://www.enlisted.info/field-manuals/fm-21-10-field-hygiene-and-sanitation.shtml The purpose of this manual is to assist individual soldiers, unit commanders, leaders and field sanitation teams in preventing disease and environmental injuries. The manual provides information on preventive medicine measures (PMM) to the individual soldier as well as essential information for the unit commander, unit leaders, and the unit field sanitation team on applying unit level PMM.
When Technology Fails, Matthew Stein, Chelsea Green Publisher, 2008,493 pages. ISBN-10: 1933392452 ISBN-13: 978-1933392455, "... how to find and sterilize water in the face of utility failure, as well as practical information for dealing with water-quality issues even when the public tap water is still flowing". Mr. Stein's website is www.whentechfails.com/
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