Basics on Cloudy Tap Drinking Water

Nearly everyone can recall at least one example of this experience: You go to fill up a glass of water from the tap in a given home, whether it’s yours or someone else’s, and the water that comes out has a cloudy look to it. What does this unclear appearance come from?

At All Hours Plumbing, Drain Cleaning, Heating & Cooling, we can answer basic questions like these and more. Do visual signals like this indicate issues of some kind with your plumbing system? Let’s take a look at the basic causes of cloudy drinking water, and what you can do about it.

Causes of Cloudiness

When a glass of water has a cloudy appearance, it will normally become clear after a few seconds. This is because cloudy water is actually that way due to tiny bubbles of oxygen – these bubbles look like something is being mixed into or added to the water, but once the oxygen has a chance to rise to the top of the glass, the water should turn clear.

Why does water have this level of oxygen in the first place? It’s due to exposure to air while in your pipes. Pipe pressure can suck in air, which pressurizes the water and leads to the cloudiness. This is why it can look something like carbonation.

Is It Safe to Drink?

In general, this kind of cloudiness will not be harmful. The water isn’t cloudy due to some chemical or impurity.

Removing Cloudy Water

Now, that doesn’t mean you should just live with cloudy water – you should still have it repaired by a good plumber. This may be an issue with the city water lines in some cases, and if it’s not, they can tell you what information to pass on to our plumbers to make sure to get your issue cleared up.

For more on cloudy water supply, or to learn about our plumbing services or look into a water softener, speak to the pros at All Hours Plumbing, Drain Cleaning, Heating & Cooling today.