the taste of water...when re-refrigerated...

Factual Questions
1

Ok…here’s something that’s been bugging me for a while…

when i put a jug of water in the refrigerator and take it out when cool…the water tastes fine…if i leave it out and drink some again when it’s at room temp. it still tastes fine…but if i put it back in the refrigerator…and drink some more after a while…it tastes damn weird…and subsequently, the taste remains this way regardless of whether i leave it out to warm or leave it in the refrigerator…why so ?

i mean there are no visible differences in the water (obv.) …and it’s not even like my refrigerator is full of strange smells that might get to the water…i mean this happens with any refrigerator…

so basically, why does re-refrigerated water taste weird ? what is the taste due to ? and can it be eliminated in any way ? and does this happen only to me ?

2

Might have something to do with being exposed to air.

3

WAG here: might it have something to do with O[sub]2[/sub] loss in the water when it cools, heats, and then re-cools? Seems to me that the loss of oxygen might change the taste… but again, a WAG!

4

As an extention on this - I have found that frozen then thawed bottled water tastes different than water that was never frozen. The bottle remained sealed, it just was frozen (or even partially frozen).

How come?

(I don’t mean this as a hijack - the OP just got me to thinking)

TV

5

Continuing with my original WAG, freezing probably removes oxygen from water also (notice the air bubbles inside ice-cubes).

Any chemists or physicists out there who wanna shoot me down here?

C’mon! I dare ya! I DOUBLE dare ya!:stuck_out_tongue:

6

I don’t think oxygen would contribute much to taste. Besides, if gases came out of solution during heating/cooling, it wouldn’t just be oxygen. The dissolved gases in water are generally nitrogen (~80%) and oxygen (~20%), the same proportions as in the atmoshpere (assuming no carbonation). All you’d have to do is aerate the water to bring saturation levels back up, and if that were the problem, it would be solved.
Don’t have a real answer, but could be something to do with different “fridge gases/odors” being drawn back into solution after the water is back in the cool fridge and gas saturation levels rise as the water cools - if the bottle is plastic and sealed some volatile plastic molecules might be drawn into solution (you know, the ones that contribute to ‘new car’ smell)
Goin’ out on a limb here; better quit before I say something too dumb.

7

Warming allows them to flourish and introduce their nasties into your potable.

Why don’t you notice before the water is re-refrigerated? Perhaps you haven’t allowed enough time to elapse.

8

Good point! Has anyone re-aerate refrigerated water to see if it regains its taste?

Choosey, I don’t buy that explanation… I don’t think there is the time/resources for nasties to grow in this case… (I could be wrong).

But I still maintain that (let’s say) air (as opposed to oxyegen) is drawn out of water during the cooling-heating-cooling cycle (as evidence, I point to the air bubbles in ice cubes and on the sides of water bottles after udergoing this process)… and this might affect the taste, somehow…

Chemists? Physicists? I DOUBLE-DOG DARE YA!!!

[sup]Hey, this got ME curious… I’m just trying to get a scientifical-like answer…[/sup]

9

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Astroboy14 *
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Astro, we haven’t been informed of the time course, so it’s difficult to comment on whether enough time has elapsed to permit microbial growth.

In terms of resources, do you really think there’s only water in your water? Anyone who owns a water filtration pitcher (I have the Brita) has observed mildew growing inside the upper reservoir. It get nasty quickly if you don’t clean regularly. What the mildew fungi are munching, god only knows. Clearly, there’s enough there to support life, however.

I like the idea of microbes here because

  1. the water comes to room temp before the funny flavor is observed (ie the bugs have a chance to grow)
  2. microbes are everywhere
  3. microbial growth can introduce off flavors

Maybe the O[sub]2[/sub] idea has some basis. It seems unlikely that this could have such a great effect on flavor, but try this online calculator to see how the temp change affects O[sub]2[/sub] solubility. It goes from about 13 mg/liter H[sub]2[/sub]O at refrigerator temp (4[sup]o[/sup]C) to about 8 mg/liter at room temp (25[sup]o[/sup]C. This depict an equilibrium situation, however. Without agitation (aeration?) or a long dwell time at room temp with a high surface area for gas exchange, it’s unlikely that the solution will reach equilibrium values.

10

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TV time :

As an extention on this - I have found that frozen then thawed bottled water tastes different than water that was never frozen. The bottle remained sealed, it just was frozen (or even partially frozen).

How come?

(I don’t mean this as a hijack - the OP just got me to thinking)

TV

**

true, this seems to happen with me too… but i just thought the other option was more open to arguments…and might lead us to an answer…

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mmmiiikkkeee:

All you’d have to do is aerate the water to bring saturation levels back up, and if that were the problem, it would be solved.

**

Doesn’t solve anything fer me. 'coz even if i leave the re-ref’ed water out forever in an open tub to aerate, it tastes that same weird not-nice taste. ok, not tub, make that open vessel :slight_smile:

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choosybeggar :

Warming allows them to flourish and introduce their nasties into your potable.

Why don’t you notice before the water is re-refrigerated? Perhaps you haven’t allowed enough time to elapse.

**

this seems to have nothing to do with warming…'coz if i start out with warm water, say after having boiled it, and leave it outside, open and warm forever, it never gets that re-ref’d weird not-nice taste.

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choosybeggar:

Astro, we haven’t been informed of the time course, so it’s difficult to comment on whether enough time has elapsed to permit microbial growth.

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assume an hour or so as the time course…but like i said, the answer is not in the microbial growth direction, 'coz if i start out with warm water and leave it warm and friendly for my microbe friends, this warm water does not get the weird not-nice re-ref’d taste. more below.

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choosybeggar:

I like the idea of microbes here because

  1. the water comes to room temp before the funny flavor is observed (ie the bugs have a chance to grow)
  2. microbes are everywhere
  3. microbial growth can introduce off flavors

**

  1. No, funny flavour observed in re-ref’d water even before waiting for it to warm. i.e. immed. after you drink it from the refreigerator when cold. i.e. start with room temp water. no weird taste. make it cold in refrigerator. drink. no weird taste. remove it from ref, keep it out to warm. no weird taste. no matter how long u leave it out. put it back in refrigerator to become cold. NOW WEIRD TASTE! :slight_smile: take it out let it warm. STILL WEIRD TASTE.

  2. Probably, but they don’t seem to be the cuplrits here.

  3. They might, but not this flavour :smiley: 'coz like i said, if i start out with warm water and leave it warm this don’t happen.

Thanks guys, for your answers thus far. i hope i ain’t too harsh in refuting your points, i’m just trying to make my question a bit more clear.

so far the only thought provoking explanation seem(ed) to be the one about loss of gasses from the water when refrigerated. but then, guys, why doesn’t this happen the first time i refrigerate it!? i mean this happens only when the water is re-ref’d. so it must have something to do with cool-warm-cool-YUCK, not cool-YUCK. does the fridge know that the water has been there before ? :smiley:

and finally, dopers, i need an answer… i can’t sleep, and i’m thirsty :slight_smile: come on, atleast come up with some more interesting or downright ridiculous explanations… if not sleep and good tasting water, i’ll try livin’ on the humour…

11

Dude, you leave water open and warm forever, and I will guarantee it’ll get a nasty taste. Maybe not the aforementioned nasty taste, but nasty nonetheless. Boiling will slow down the process, but leave the jug open and the result will be a great science experiment.
[/quote]

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Sorry, what I meant was the weird taste is observed in water that at some point had come to room temp.

The gases leave the water when you warm it, not when it’s refrigerated. The rule for gas solubility in liquids is the opposite of what is typically observed for solids where higher temperatures promote solubility.

I’d rather light a candle than curse your darkness. Therefore, rather than amusing you, I’ll crack this bloody case wide open. But first, I need some more info so that I can conduct some experiments. Please provide a detailed blueprint of your water vessel (viewed from 3 orthagonal perspectives). Additionally, a full materials analysis of this vessel is required. Submit a detailed temperature fluctuation analysis of both the refrigerated compartment and the room temperature compartment you use for these experiments. I will require a gas chromatographic analysis of an air sample from the refrigerator and the room temperature compartment(preferrably with peak matching standards to assist in identification of the compounds present). Also, a detailed analysis of the microbial flora present in the refrigerator, the compartment where you conduct your room temp incubation, as well as in the tap water is required. Finally, please contact your water company and obtain a copy of their latest water quality survey (I’m suggesting this as a shortcut, since the test results would be more accurate if the sample were actually obtained from your tap). When you have the above information, please post it to this thread, then I will email you my Swiss bank account number. After you have deposited an arbitrarily high sum of cash in said account, I will provide your answer.

That may sound like a ton of work, but that’s the price you pay for tasty water and a good night’s sleep.

OTOH, you could do something simple. Trivial really.
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  • wait for it
  • wait

PUT THE FUCKING WATER BACK IN THE REFRIGERATOR AFTER YOU TAKE A DRINK