NYC apartment building. 6 units. Up to code. Owners raised their kids here. No doubt there’s no lead pipes. I’ve been aware for months that the cold water feed smells off. I’m weirdly hypersensitive to chlorine- it’s in the water here. ( Probably everywhere… ) This isn’t an elevated level of chlorine. It smells moldy.
The hot water side doesn’t smell. Even if I fill a mug with hot tap water and let it cool and smell it. But man…the cold water side smells funky. Time to install an under-the-sink filter of some kind?
I didn’t pick through all these articles, but you’re not the only person asking this question. Some articles are blaming it on some tunnel repairs, some on algae blooms (which shouldn’t be an issue in winter, I’d imagine). It does seem odd that it doesn’t happen with the hot water. Do you have a single water line coming into your apartment and your own water heater? If you do, that would make troubleshooting easier. Have you asked any of your neighbors if it’s happening to them? Do you have a reservoir on top of the building that may need cleaning? Does it happen with other faucets as well? That is, does the cold water from your bathroom sink taste the same? If it’s only one sink, I’d check the aerator to make sure there’s nothing funky growing in there. And, this is going to sound dumb, but if you fill a glass of water and drink it walk away from the faucet/kitchen, does it still taste bad? Long shot, but I’m curious if there’s something in your drain (or under/near the sink) that you’re smelling.
You could try calling 311 or reporting it here and see what they have to say. Maybe look into getting a test kit?
PS even though it’s unlikely, I’d check the aerator before adding the under sink filter, if only because if there is mildew in there, removing the chlorine could make it worse.
Out of curiosity, I wonder what would happen if you heated the (cold) tap water, let it cool back off and then tasted it. That would (sort of) simulate running the ‘bad’ water through the water heater.
I’d certainly install a filter if it were me and I had any question. I have one, and I love it - it was a gift from my father years ago. I can taste a big difference in the unfiltered water. Maybe try a Brita or PUR first and see if there’s an improvement.
A couple of times, I’ve had water at a restaurant that tasted moldy. I sent it back both times and told them why. One of the places is a dinner pub I regularly go to. It hasn’t tasted moldy again.
Especially since hot water is just heated cold water.
How does it taste out of the garden hose? I wonder if it’s something in your house, or something from your local water utility? You can always give them a call and ask them if something’s gone on recently and they’ll let you know.
Bathroom sink and kitchen sink have identical water smells.
Will take some very hot tap water and let it cool and try it again- out of both sinks.
Used to use a Brita. Those cartridges are darned expensive. But, this smell is new and is making me unhappy. Might be time to get that out. OR install a below-the-sink filter.
Will ask neighbors if they are aware of that scent as well. I’d be surprise if they were NOT aware of it-- shared hot water from the boiler in the basement, shared cold water from cold water mains in the basement.
So that should rule out something in the faucet itself as well as something like a smelly drain or other odor in the vicinity of the sink.
Also try taking some cold water and heating it (then cooling it) and see if it still smells or tastes off. On the off chance that ‘fixes’ it, it could mean the water heater is also removing the smell.
Unless it’s something showing up within your apartment. Doubtful, but worth looking into.
If you have access to this area, check to see if there’s a valve (on the cold water side) somewhere down there that you can pull a sample from. The closer to the main supply the better. Whether or not that water smells/tastes bad would answer a lot of questions. If it doesn’t, the smell is showing up further downstream, if it does, call your city water dept (311) and talk to them. There’s likely nothing you can do about it at that point.
Something else, and I’d consider this an extraordinarily long shot, but easy to check, make sure it’s not something in the glass/cup you’re using to drink it from. Again, I know it’s a long shot, but it’ll cost nothing to check. You don’t want to spend a lot of time or money chasing down the source of smelly water just to find out there’s something moldy in the cabinet where you keep the cup and that’s what you’re smelling/tasting.
If they don’t report any problems, and you’re on good enough terms with them to do this, ask them to try yours and see if they notice anything.
Does your building have a water tower on the roof that might need cleaning?
I like this bit of kit. Very tempting. How long does it take to filter through the 2.25 gallons of water so it’s full again. ( First-time use excluded here. I seem to remember that even with the Brita, the first pitcher-full can have some filter grit AND takes a long time to run through )
You know, I have no idea. We use 2 filters (it will take up to 4) and there’s a pretty consistent tink-tink of drops falling, but I almost never fill it from empty.
If the time it takes to filter is an issue, you can get a booster pump to bring the water pressure up to something closer to a hundred PSI and force the water through the filters faster than what the pressure at the tap can do. They’re very common in the saltwater aquarium hobby. Come to think of it, just using a filter that connects to your water line is probably faster than one that relies on gravity.
That’s probably where I would start. Since you’d be calling in good faith, even if it isn’t something that they’re directly responsible for, they may still be of help.
And they probably know more about your water than most of the rest of us do
