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Clean, safe water smells and tastes like nothing. A good Rule of Thumb for your home’s water system is that if it smells or tastes like anything, call a plumbing professional.

The following are other warning signs from Warner Service, noting you should get a water treatment system

  • Dishes have water spots. This is a sign of hard water build-up in the dishwasher, which means you need a water softener. This sign of hard water build-up is also noticeable in washing machines.

  • The water is cloudy. Murky tap water is a sign of high mineral levels. It’s important to note that a small amount of organic minerals are naturally found in tap water, but a cloudy appearance means you should call a plumbing professional like Warner Service in Frederick, Maryland.

    If you find cloudy ice cubes, it’s total dissolved solids, which is solved by a water treatment system.

  • The water smells like chlorine. Chlorine sanitizes and cleans water. Most public water treatment facilities add a small, safe amount of chlorine to kill any bacteria. 

    However, if your home's water smells like a swimming pool, it’s not safe for consumption. High levels of chlorine irritate skin and eyes when bathing, and chlorine-laden water decreases the life of clothes and linens during wash. Call a professional for this plumbing problem.

  • The water smells like sulfur. If your home’s water smells like rotten eggs, it’s a high level of sulfur. This chemical makes tap water dangerous to consume, and a plumbing professional should be contacted immediately.
  • Aluminium pans, sinks, or basins are corroding. The plumbing problem is copper, so invest in a water treatment system.
  • The water has a tint. If your home’s tap water is discolored or tinted, it’s unsafe. See why, according to the Environmental Working Group, a non-profit, non-partisan organization that protects human health and the environment, and Jones Services, a plumbing company in Goshen, New York:

    • Excessive iron, manganese, or other organic material levels, causing a brown color
    • A new natural water source, which caused the current water crisis in Flint, Michigan, and the early 2000s water crisis in Washington, D.C.
    • Extra air trapped in or moving through the water
    • Upstream pollution from rainwashed chemicals, including pesticides, fracking residue, and motor oil runoff in agricultural and highway communities, respectively
  • The water has an oily film. If you notice an oily film at the top of standing water in the toilet or shower/bathtub, grease or oil is present. To fix this plumbing problem, call Warner Service.
  • The water tastes metallic-like or bitter. If the tap water tastes bitter or like metallic, it’s major contamination, and a plumbing professional should be contacted immediately.

  • The water pressure has decreased. Has the water pressure decreased in the shower? Is the bathtub or kitchen sink not filling up quickly? If you answered yes, call a professional to discuss solutions to this water pressure plumbing problem. 

  • The water fixtures have a blue-green stain. According to AquaBSafe, a company that sells products for monitoring water quality, blue-green stains on fixtures signal a high level of copper. 

    “At high exposures, copper can cause anemia, digestion issues, or liver and kidney damage.” Certain home water filtration systems, like reverse osmosis, remove this metal from your home’s water supply.
  • The water fixtures have a red stain. If you notice red stains or rusting around water fixtures, it’s iron. Rust in your home drainage system, especially if your home uses older cast iron or corroded lead pipes, causes a red color on water fixtures.

If you need help maintaining your plumbing anatomy, specifically your home water filtration system, download Warner Service’s checklist:

Click Here For Your Checklist