# Cloudy hot and cold from the tap **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 28, 2005, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cloudy-hot-and-cold-from-the-tap/287027 "2005-01-28T01:30:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2005, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cloudy-hot-and-cold-from-the-tap/287027/1 "2005-01-28T01:30:57Z")
Why is a glass of hot and cold water from the tap cloudy? ---
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2005, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cloudy-hot-and-cold-from-the-tap/287027/2 "2005-01-28T01:35:54Z")
Air in the water…let it sit. It will clear up. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2005, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cloudy-hot-and-cold-from-the-tap/287027/3 "2005-01-28T01:44:31Z")
Sure, but a glass of just hot or just cold is also aerated, but not cloudy. This is one of those entropy things, isn’t it? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![antechinus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/fbc32d/32.png) [@antechinus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antechinus)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2005, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cloudy-hot-and-cold-from-the-tap/287027/4 "2005-01-28T01:44:56Z")
Do you have a [Tap Aerator](http://www.sydneywater.com.au/SavingWater/InYourHome/TapAerators.cfm) installed. ps I always thought USA people called them faucets ---
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2005, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cloudy-hot-and-cold-from-the-tap/287027/5 "2005-01-28T01:48:30Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Sure, but a glass of just hot or just cold is also aerated, but not cloudy. > This is one of those entropy things, isn’t it? > 🙂 ?? What did your op say? ---
**Author:** ![antechinus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/fbc32d/32.png) [@antechinus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antechinus)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2005, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cloudy-hot-and-cold-from-the-tap/287027/6 "2005-01-28T01:51:14Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Sure, but a glass of just hot or just cold is also aerated, but not cloudy. > This is one of those entropy things, isn’t it? > 🙂 … goes to kitchen to perform experiment … Hot only - not cloudy Cold only - not cloudy Half hot then half cold - not cloudy Half cold then half hot - not cloudy Well as you can see I could not duplicate the effect. Gasses are more soluble in colder water. Perhaps the addition of hot water is precipitating out dissolved gasses from the saturated cold. ---
**Author:** ![antechinus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/fbc32d/32.png) [@antechinus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antechinus)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2005, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cloudy-hot-and-cold-from-the-tap/287027/7 "2005-01-28T01:53:11Z")
Actually that applies to oxygen, rather than other atmospheric gasses. So perhaps your cold water is super oxygenated. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2005, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cloudy-hot-and-cold-from-the-tap/287027/8 "2005-01-28T02:00:57Z")
Won’t happen in the kitchen with a single tap, in the bathroom with two taps it requires just the temperature I rinse with. I vote for the dissolved gases and a particualr tap configuration. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2005, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cloudy-hot-and-cold-from-the-tap/287027/9 "2005-01-28T02:08:48Z")
I’ve seen this before with a number of different taps and it seems to happen most often if the tap is one of those that emits a loud hissing or squealing sound as the water emerges (or an normal one that is partially opened so that emits a noise) - I think what is happening is either that the high-frequency vibrations from the noise are causing little bubbles of gas to come out of solution, or they are creating little bubbles from air trapped somewhere inside the tap and mixing them in. ---
**Author:** ![antechinus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/fbc32d/32.png) [@antechinus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antechinus)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2005, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cloudy-hot-and-cold-from-the-tap/287027/10 "2005-01-28T02:15:14Z")
> [@antechinus](#): > > Actually that applies to oxygen, rather than other atmospheric gasses. So perhaps your cold water is super oxygenated. I just checked - N2 gas solubility in water decreases until about 70° C, and then begins to increase. Couldn’t find any good solubility curves on the web. So nitrogen would be coming out as well. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2005, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cloudy-hot-and-cold-from-the-tap/287027/11 "2005-01-28T02:25:11Z")
FWIW: It’s from a well. A newly filled aquarium has gas bubbles form on the bottom and sides. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2005, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cloudy-hot-and-cold-from-the-tap/287027/12 "2005-01-28T02:59:40Z")
> [@antechinus](#): > > I just checked - N2 gas solubility in water decreases… The solubility of gases generally decreases with increasing temperature. [Why does the solubility of gases usually increase as temperature goes down?](http://antoine.frostburg.edu/chem/senese/101/solutions/faq/temperature-gas-solubility.shtml) > [@](#): > > FWIW: It’s from a well. Are you in limestone country? The gas could easily be CO[sub]2[/sub]. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2005, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cloudy-hot-and-cold-from-the-tap/287027/13 "2005-01-28T03:07:11Z")
> [@Squink](#): > > Are you in limestone country? Shale and quartz.