Question about water- copper taste (Watauga: rental, new house, water heater)

[dreamofmonterey]

It depends on the filtering system, I guess but how does one find out about quality of drinking water?. Since we moved here I did notice sometimes the water has a slight coppery smell, especially if I wash dishes- I can smell the copper/metallic smell on my hands. I read that all water has trace elements. But there was also some news on Sunday about Mercury issues in the Watauga river, so I was wondering if anyone had more detailed knowledge.

[alleycat]

Your water pipes are probably copper. How old is the house?

You might contact your local health department. I think sometimes they will do a test of water quality. Possibly the water utility will if you report a problem.

Has anyone else in the neighborhood noticed a problem?

[dreamofmonterey]

Actually I think others have mentioned it. we had new copper pipe put in because they used too narrow pipe (5/8) when the house was built. Lovely to find out after it needs to be replaced!.

[alleycat]

You said you noticed it when the dishwasher was run; do you notice it more if the hot water is turned all the way over and ran for a while?

Have you drained the water heater lately?

[dreamofmonterey]

no- how do you do that?- and the copper taste was in another place we first rented so maybe its the water in general. Hopefully its not a health hazard-

[alleycat]

Where is the water heater? Basement or first floor? Do you have a basement?

You might be able to drain the water heater directly. Sometime they put a metal "pan" underneath the water heater and the pan has a hole in the bottom of it. More common is to hook a garden hose to the drain at the bottom of the heater, turn off the water line coming into the heater, then open the bottom drain. Sometimes all sort of gunk (sediment) comes out if the heater hasn't been drained for a while. You don't have to drain all the water out; just until the water runs clear.

[dreamofmonterey]

yes we have a basement- so all the sediment in the water heater is what causes that? The water heater is in the basement. Its relatively new.

[alleycat]

If the WH is new, that's probably not it. Did you notice this coppery taste before you put in the new water heater or pipes? Did you notice soon after?

Are the pipe relatively new?

[bbkaren]

Is it city water, or a well? If it's a well, the water dept can't help you, I don't think...

I wouldn't worry about it honestly, but if there have been problems I imagine it's always a good idea to check the water.

Here in the land of environmental paranoia, there are labs (I think it's actually called a "dairy lab") where they take a water sample and test it. Here, it's required when you buy a house. Seems to me like it cost a couple hundred bucks, not that much.

I've had two homes with a strong metallic taste/smell and it was just iron in the water. Nothing unhealthy (actually quite the contrary), but just gross tasting. The toilets had rusty rings around them and there were rust stains in sink drains, etc.

In our current house we have a bit of a metallic taste but again, it's just minerals in the water that occur naturally. It's not worth getting a water softener to eliminate a little bit of metal taste.

As for the pipes, I don't recall 5/8 being outlandishly small...I'm pretty sure we just used 3/4" pipes in our new house and I'm also pretty sure that was an upgrade from (I think) 1/2".

If it's the pipes, i would think your water will taste fairly normal after a minute or two of running.

If it's the water heater, your hot water would taste bad and the cold would taste fine.

I think, anyway. That's the extent of my plumbing knowledge!

Good luck!

[dreamofmonterey]

Thanks bbkaren and alley-
That last part makes sense- I live in city limits, at least- so I know they have some regulation. It does taste like coopper though (yuck) and before we bought a house the apt rental had the same copper-taste water. the cold water tastes like you put pennies in the glass (not kidding!)

Also- the basement bath has copper stains around the shower drain- some amateur plumber said its the pipes- that they could be clooged as well! (We have alot of trees) no way am I tearing a tree down!