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My fiance detests the taste of tap water and has to resort to bottled water even though we both know that it is a waste of money.

Is there a way to get rid of the tap water taste?

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  • To downvoters: if you are downvoting, provide the reason, so the question can be improved.
    – MatthewRock
    Commented Aug 27, 2015 at 7:47
  • Note that bottled water is just tap water from somewhere else put in a plastic bottle.
    – Gwen
    Commented Aug 28, 2015 at 12:22
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    @MatthewRock I downvoted, as all guidelines available in meta state that a reason must be given why common existing solutions (filtering water, purchasing a water delivery surface, among others) don't work, and this question doesn't give a reason. Also it doesn't need a life hack. The answer is buy a filter. That's what water filters are for.
    – Captain Obvious
    Commented Mar 21, 2016 at 9:34

8 Answers 8

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Origin of the taste

The taste of the water comes from dissolved minerals. If you want to change the taste, you need to change mineral count. There are few solutions for this:

Buy a filter

Example water filter

There are numerous water filters out there, that make your water softer. This may also improve the taste. Another plus is that your kettle won't get limescale that fast.

Boil the water

I often find that boiling the water improves the taste. This may be annoying, since you have to wait for the water both to heat up and cool off, but if you don't have other options, this is one of them.

Use tap water to create drinks based on water

You can make coffee, tea, or some sweet drinks using fruit syrups/juice. This will cover the taste of water, so it will no longer be the case.

Side note: remember that all other options have some cost too. Boiling may need electricity/gas, filter needs to be changed regularly, and resources for creating drinks needs to be resupplied. If you do want to drink water and water only, you may want to calculate what's the best for your wallet.

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  • Boiling should increase, not decrease, the mineral concentration, since the steam that comes off is purer than what is left in the pot. Unless you intend to collect the steam?
    – Gwen
    Commented Aug 28, 2015 at 12:15
  • The logic behind boiling is my weak point. I don't think it should work, but it works - somehow boiled water tastes better. Maybe someone else might answer why it works like this(or is it just placebo?)
    – MatthewRock
    Commented Sep 1, 2015 at 13:10
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    Boiling works cause tap water is usually chlorinated and chlorine evaporates almost entirely when boiling the water which makes it taste more like pure water. Also, other things in the water might evaporate also.
    – Jonathan Drapeau
    Commented Sep 2, 2015 at 14:38
  • Boiling water decreases the concentration of carbon dioxide. Less carbon dioxide means less calcium cam be dissolved. So boiling water actually decreases mineral concentration.
    – miracle173
    Commented Feb 8, 2016 at 1:35
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    Not true that the taste is (usually) from dissolved minerals. It's more often from chemicals such as chlorine that are used to treat municipal water supplies. So boiling might drive out the residual chemicals.
    – jamesqf
    Commented Feb 8, 2016 at 5:42
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Run the water for a moment or two before filling your glass.

There is stagnant water in your water pipes. When you initially turn the tap on, this is the water that comes out. If you wait a little bit, you will start getting water that is coming from the street. It will presumably contain less non-water elements.

This is the same reason why it takes some time for your shower to become hot.

To test this, I would turn the hot water on at my sink and time how long it takes to become hot. I would then turn on the cold water, and wait twice that duration ( just for kicks ). If the water doesn't taste better, my idea didn't work.

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Drink ice water instead of water at room temperature. It's harder to notice the taste of the minerals when the water is cold, and cold water has a higher concentration of dissolved oxygen--what makes water taste good--which should mask any mineral taste left over.

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  • 1 litre filtered tap water Rainwater is a lot better
  • 1/8 tsp. sodium bicarbonate
  (baking soda) 
  • 1/8 tsp. potassium bicarbonate
  • 1/8 tsp. magnesium sulfate
  (epsom salts) E N J O Y Y Y Y Y Y!
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    Good answer :) It would be helpful if you could also provide a link or two to backup your answer. Thanks!
    – Mooseman
    Commented Mar 21, 2016 at 11:50
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I grew up in Russia where the tap water was not safe to drink. We would frequently buy water bottles because some of my family were very particular with the water's taste.

However, other great solutions to the undrinkable tap water existed:

1) Get a Brita water filter (https://www.brita.com/). I use this in my college dorm in America. Even though Chicago's tap water is drinkable, I can taste the difference having grown up in a very water-sensitive area. Brita filters are cheap and definitely clean the water (In one of my classes, we viewed before & after images of carbon dust used in Brita filters and it definitely physically changed while filtering tap water)

2) Invest and buy a filtration system (http://www.aquasana.com/) for your tap. My family had this for a while before we moved apartments in Russia. The water tastes a lot cleaner and depending on the filter you get, will vary in taste as well.

3) If filters aren't for you, and you just want to mask the mineral taste of tap water, drinking ice-water, making other drinks (tea/coffee) or boiling will certainly help.

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Boiling the water helps kill the bacterias in the water as they die near 108-degree celsius. You can add a hint of lemon or a bit of any fruit juice you like to make it tasty.

I think it's not very safe to drink tap water as even though the municipality sends water that is drinking grade the water may get contaminated during transportation.

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    Whether tap water is safe may depend on the country you are in. In my country and many others in Europe, tap water is tested to be better in quality (cleaner, less bacteria and less unwanted minerals) than most bottled waters in the test. Filters did not help water quality but did harm at times.
    – Willeke
    Commented Apr 27, 2017 at 16:55
  • Lemon/lime should help to subdue the chlorine taste, if present. Also, if it's chlorine and not chloramine then letting it sit for a certain period of time should allow it to evaporate.
    – Brōtsyorfuzthrāx
    Commented Jul 5, 2017 at 22:39
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Put it in the fridge or just let it rest for 24 to 48 hrs in a capped, clean glass or stainless steel reservoir (if you don't want to boil it)

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Well, it seems that R O (Reverse Osmosis) is the answer you're looking for. It is the most preferred technology used by homes worldwide because of its ability to remove 99.9% of unwanted bacteria, chemicals, particles and much more. In the process, it also rids water off all kinds of tastes and odors. You can learn more here

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  • Links should include the most important part of it, in case the links die
    – Just Do It
    Commented Apr 13, 2016 at 13:55

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