# What does water taste like? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 20, 2000, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-water-taste-like/30017 "2000-08-20T02:53:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Gunslinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4491bb/32.png) [@Gunslinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gunslinger)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2000, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-water-taste-like/30017/1 "2000-08-20T02:53:42Z")
My tapwater alternately tastes like mud or bleach, and pretty much all bottled water has various minerals and stuff in it. But what does absolutely pure (distilled, filtered, with no impurities of any kind) H[sub]2[/sub]O taste like? ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2000, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-water-taste-like/30017/2 "2000-08-20T02:57:45Z")
To me it tastes real bland. I grew up on mineral filled well water, and that is essentially my control group from which I base taste, meaning that that is no taste, and and however the taste of something else differs from well water is the tase of that substance. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2000, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-water-taste-like/30017/3 "2000-08-20T03:06:34Z")
I’ve tasted distilles water. Pretty much no taste at all. Peace, mangeorge ---
**Author:** ![andygirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a9adbd/32.png) [@andygirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andygirl)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2000, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-water-taste-like/30017/4 "2000-08-20T03:24:41Z")
I’m told that people who have one sense damaged have their bodies naturally compensate by heightening the other senses. My hearing is damaged and I wear glasses… but I have a killer sense of taste. As in, I can taste the difference in brands of bottled water. Water, to me, can be compared to… um… chocolate milk. Chocolate milk is chocolate milk, but there’s a flavor variation dependent on how much chocolate you put in. Okay, my analogies suck. ---
**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:** [August 20, 2000, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-water-taste-like/30017/5 "2000-08-20T03:31:00Z")
Colorless, oderless, tasteless. The SO could in a blind taste test identify well water (not hard) and two brands of bottled water, but then she’s a Yankee and you can sell them anything. Next they will be selling compressed Colorado air in cans. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2000, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-water-taste-like/30017/6 "2000-08-20T07:14:45Z")
Isn’t water used as a control substance in science experiments because of its, by definition, ‘tasteless, colourless, odourless, pH of 7’ qualities? Pure distilled water is indeed tasteless. It’s meant to be refreshing, not nourishing 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2000, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-water-taste-like/30017/7 "2000-08-20T08:16:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by GuanoLad \* > > Pure distilled water is indeed tasteless. It’s meant to be refreshing, not nourishing 🙂 I’ve heard that distilled H2O is bad for you and you shouldn’t drink it, as the minerals and things in natural water are essential to your body. I think my HS chemistry teacher told me that, and she’s not one for spreading incorrect information. Anyone know about this? ---
**Author:** ![TNTruth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@TNTruth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TNTruth)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2000, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-water-taste-like/30017/8 "2000-08-20T08:42:04Z")
Chicken? ---
**Author:** ![PaulGGa2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e19adc/32.png) [@PaulGGa2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PaulGGa2)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2000, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-water-taste-like/30017/9 "2000-08-20T14:35:51Z")
Chicken? Nope, I would prefer to have the pot roast. In regards to water, it is much like chicken. Both have very little taste boiled, but with the right seasoning both can taste heavenly. Add curry poweder to chicken and it will taste hotter and sweeter. Add calcium to water and it will taste just crispier and sweeter. Add pepper to chicken and it will taste hotter and spicier. Add lithium to water and it will taste a bit heavier but a lot happier. Add a human placenta to chicken and you will get something that while in theory is edible, is not something you would enjoy. Add fish residue from improper filtering and you get water that tastes a bit like sardine oil. ---
**Author:** ![omni-not](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8dc957/32.png) [@omni-not](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/omni-not)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2000, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-water-taste-like/30017/10 "2000-08-20T15:03:53Z")
Heh, heh, heh. I especially liked the chicken analogy;) What goes around comes around. I’ve always said that the perfect water has absolutely NO taste whatsoever. And that’s the way uh, uh, uh, uh, I like it… ---
**Author:** ![Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helen_s_Eidolon)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2000, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-water-taste-like/30017/11 "2000-08-20T15:26:33Z")
I don’t know, maybe I do have a sensitive taste sense, but I can’t stand drinking water. Tap, bottled, or anything. When people ask me why, I tell them the truth: I can’t stand the taste. Everyone tells me water has not taste. Since this is related, by all these tastes of water, I’m not nuts? ---
**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2000, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-water-taste-like/30017/12 "2000-08-20T16:12:09Z")
Pure, unadulterated water has no taste, odour nor smell. Actually, I’m pretty sure quite a few substances have those qualities. However, water is more adundant and is neutral acidity-wise. ---
**Author:** ![Gunslinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4491bb/32.png) [@Gunslinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gunslinger)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2000, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-water-taste-like/30017/13 "2000-08-20T19:47:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by LaurAnge \* > \*\*I don’t know, maybe I do have a sensitive taste sense, but I can’t stand drinking water. Tap, bottled, or anything. When people ask me why, I tell them the truth: I can’t stand the taste. Everyone tells me water has not taste. Since this is related, by all these tastes of water, I’m not nuts? \*\* Me too. That’s what I was getting at–all the water I can find tastes bad. [celebration] Yipee! My first successful thread! It even has a tangenital spinoff thread![/celebration] ---
**Author:** ![omni-not](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8dc957/32.png) [@omni-not](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/omni-not)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2000, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-water-taste-like/30017/14 "2000-08-20T20:03:06Z")
It has a WHAT?!? ---
**Author:** ![Gunslinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4491bb/32.png) [@Gunslinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gunslinger)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2000, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-water-taste-like/30017/15 "2000-08-20T20:29:13Z")
A typo, apparently. I meant: > [@](#): > > tan·gen·tial (tn-jnshl) also tan·gen·tal (-jntl). > adj. > > 1. Of, relating to, or moving along or in the direction of a tangent. > 2. Merely touching or slightly connected. > 3. Only superficially relevant; divergent: a tangential remark. as defined by [Dictionary.com](http://Dictionary.com) ---
**Author:** ![cornflakes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@cornflakes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cornflakes)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2000, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-water-taste-like/30017/16 "2000-08-20T20:31:05Z")
friedo > [@](#): > > I’ve heard that distilled H2O is bad for you and you shouldn’t drink it… Deionized water, water that has been filtered of _all_ impurities, is bad for you. You can consider DI water to be a soup of hydrogen and hydroxyl ions (H+OH, instead of H2O); these will react with stuff in you body and will “really clean your insides out”, as it was casually explained at work. Distilled water still has enough impurities that it can be considered safe to drink. Admittedly, I’m just giving a seat of the pants answer here. I’m sure that the chemistry/physics/industrial experts here can give a more accurate explanation. ---
**Author:** ![omni-not](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8dc957/32.png) [@omni-not](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/omni-not)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2000, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-water-taste-like/30017/17 "2000-08-20T23:07:16Z")
Knew all along. Just pulling your leg and “forgot” the smilie.:D:D (one extra, for good measure) ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2000, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-water-taste-like/30017/18 "2000-08-20T23:48:20Z")
What I remember from Chem class is that all water has a certain amount of “loose” H+ and OH- ions floating around in it. In normal H20, The concentration of each is a power of -7. In acidic things, the power of Hydrogen, pH, is lower (ie, the concentration of free hydrogen is more, because the exponents are negative) The power of hydroxide, pOH, is the complement of the pH. Now, there is no reason that pure water is bad for you. There are always some free ions in water. If there are some compounds dissolved in the water, that may change the pH by attaching to some of the free ions, but that doesn’t reduce the amount of ions in the water, just changes the proportions of OH and H. ---
**Author:** ![TampaFlyer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/71e660/32.png) [@TampaFlyer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TampaFlyer)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2000, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-water-taste-like/30017/19 "2000-08-21T21:21:18Z")
If you want to taste distilled water, any supermarket should have it. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2000, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-water-taste-like/30017/20 "2000-08-21T21:38:00Z")
No, I believe that’s incorrect. The reason you shouldn’t drink “pure” water is because we rely on the additives in our tap water for our health - such as the flouride. The water itself is harmless, as we need 8 glasses a day. If you can get the flouride somewhere else, its perfectly fine. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-water-taste-like/30017.md?page=2)