Forum: lifehacks.stackexchange.com
Tags: <water>
Title: How to get rid of tap water taste?
Question: 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?

Answers:
sents: text: Origin of the taste
text: The taste of the water comes from dissolved minerals.
text: If you want to change the taste, you need to change mineral count.
text: There are few solutions for this: Buy a filter There are numerous water filters out there, that make your water softer.
text: This may also improve the taste.
text: Another plus is that your kettle won't get limescale that fast.
text: Boil
text: the water
text: I often find that boiling the water improves the taste.
text: 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.
text: Use tap water to create drinks based on water
text: You can make coffee, tea, or some sweet drinks using fruit syrups/juice.
text: This will cover the taste of water, so it will no longer be the case.
text: Side note: remember that all other options have some cost too.
text: Boiling may need electricity/gas, filter needs to be changed regularly, and resources for creating drinks needs to be resupplied.
text: If you do want to drink water and water only, you may want to calculate what's the best for your wallet.
answer_details: author: lifehacks.stackexchange.com/users/7762/MatthewRock
score: 8
sents: text: Run the water for a moment or two before filling your glass.
text: There is stagnant water in your water pipes.
text: When you initially turn the tap on, this is the water that comes out.
text: If you wait a little bit, you will start getting water that is coming from the street.
text: It will presumably contain less non-water elements.
text: This is the same reason why it takes some time for your shower to become hot.
text: To test this, I would turn the hot water on at my sink and time how long it takes to become hot.
text: I would then turn on the cold water, and wait twice that duration ( just for kicks ).
text: If the water doesn't taste better, my idea didn't work.
answer_details: author: lifehacks.stackexchange.com/users/4700/Carl
score: 5
sents: text: Drink ice water instead of water at room temperature.
text: 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--
text: what makes water taste good--which should mask any mineral taste left over.
answer_details: author: lifehacks.stackexchange.com/users/8021/Gwen
score: 2
sents: text: 1 litre filtered tap water Rainwater is a lot better 1/8
text: tsp.
text: sodium bicarbonate (baking soda)
text: 1/8 tsp.
text: potassium bicarbonate
text: 1/8 tsp.
text: magnesium sulfate
text: (epsom salts)E
text: N J
text: O
text: Y Y Y Y Y Y!
answer_details: author: lifehacks.stackexchange.com/users/13049/freddyg
score: 2
sents: text: I grew up in Russia where the tap water was not safe to drink.
text: We would frequently buy water bottles because some of my family were very particular with the water's taste.
text: However, other great solutions to the undrinkable tap water existed: 1)
text: Get a Brita water filter ( https://www.brita.com/ ).
text: I use this in my college dorm in America.
text: Even though Chicago's tap water is drinkable, I can taste the difference having grown up in a very water-sensitive area.
text: 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)
text: Invest and buy a filtration system ( http://www.aquasana.com/ ) for your tap.
text: My family had this for a while before we moved apartments in Russia.
text: The water tastes a lot cleaner and depending on the filter you get, will vary in taste as well. 3)
text: 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.
answer_details: author: lifehacks.stackexchange.com/users/8186/Lewis James
score: 1
sents: text: Boiling the water helps kill the bacterias in the water as they die near 108-degree celsius.
text: You can add a hint of lemon or a bit of any fruit juice you like to make it tasty.
text: 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.
answer_details: author: lifehacks.stackexchange.com/users/20613/Archi Roy
score: 1
sents: text: 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)
answer_details: author: lifehacks.stackexchange.com/users/12301/Sam
score: 0
sents: text: Well, it seems that R O (Reverse Osmosis) is the answer you're looking for.
text: 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.
text: In the process, it also rids water off all kinds of tastes and odors.
text: You can learn more here
answer_details: author: lifehacks.stackexchange.com/users/13409/Shagun
score: 0

Summary of the answers:
There are many ways to get rid of the tap water taste, but the most simple is probably to get a water filter. Otherwise, you could try boiling the water first and then waiting for it to cool, or you could simply drink the water with ice rather than at room temperature. Running the tap for a couple of minutes before filling your glass may also reduce the taste.
The options are use a filter jug, boil the water, run the tap a moment before filling your glass, add a bit of lemon or fruit juice, drink the water tea or coffee, install a filtration system, leave it to rest in the fridge for 24-48 hours  or use reverse osmosis.