Most home test kits involve dipping a paper strip into the water in question, waiting for the color to change, and then comparing the new color with the legend or reference material that comes with the kit. The easiest and most accurate method of testing is with a home test kit. If you’re wondering whether you have hard water, the first step is to test your water. You can easily tape some pipe sleeves or fiberglass insulation to the water pipes, which should help keep the water at a more consistent temperature. This will reduce large temperature changes in the water, which will help prevent air bubbles. You can choose to run only cold water through the tap, which should contain fewer air bubbles, or you can insulate the pipes feeding water to your sink. Let’s say that you’ve figured out that air bubbles are the culprit and for some reason, you want to get rid of them (who knows, maybe you want to impress your mother in law). If the glass becomes clear, feel free to drink the water safely. Give the air bubbles about 30-60 seconds to dissipate. Read: How does drinking water in the USA become contaminated?Īs you might have guessed, air bubbles are harmless in your water and you can drink them without worry.Īn easy test to check if air bubbles are making your tap water cloudy is to simply pour some water into a transparent glass and see if it clears up on its own. One troubling example is the case of led contamination in the Flint, Michigan water supply. This occurs rarely in countries with stringent water safety protocols, but it can still happen. Lastly, if air bubbles or water hardness are not your problem, then you may be dealing with contaminated water. In cases of very hard water, the dissolved minerals can alter the appearance of the water, making it look slightly cloudy, grey, or white. Although hard water is typically safe to drink, it can lead to other problems like limescale buildup in appliances, and staining of dishes and laundry. This is water with a high concentration of dissolved minerals, usually calcium and magnesium. The second reason water can appear milky or cloudy is hard water. The heating of water allows more air bubbles to escape. When water heats up in your pipes, you may also notice more air bubbles. In order to get the water from a treatment facility into your home, the water in the distribution pipes must be slightly pressurized. Let’s dive into a little more detail on each of these.īy and large, in North America, the most common reason for tap water that appears cloudy or milky is the presence of air bubbles in the water. Generally, there are 3 main causes of cloudy tap water: air bubbles, hard water, or contaminated water. To help, we’ve devoted this article to explaining the most common causes of cloudy tap water and how you can go about fixing each one. Understandably, dealing with cloudy tap water can be unsightly and might make you think twice about drinking the water. However, turning on the tap and seeing your glass fill up with cloudy water is more common than you might think. In a lot of places around the globe, particularly in the U.S., we take clean, clear drinking water for granted, at least most of the time.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |