Why Does My Water Taste Salty?
One of the most disconcerting things that can happen in your home is your tap water tasting a little funny. One relatively common thing people experience is turning on the faucet and finding that the water tastes salty. There can be a number of reasons why you might experience this most unwelcome surprise, and they’re usually related to what’s going on in your water supply. Read on for some more insight into why your water might be suddenly leaving a salty taste in your mouth.
What chemicals make water salty?
As we noted above, usually water tastes salty due to a problem at the supply end. For example, people in coastal areas sometimes experience this, likely due to saltwater making its way into the local aquifer. However, since we are quite inland here in central North Carolina, that’s probably pretty unlikely. What’s much more possible is that you’re tasting chloride ions or sulfates. If “chloride” sounds familiar, you’ll recognize that it’s a common part making up most salts. Chloride ions can enter the water supply in a number of ways, from irrigation drainage to industrial waste.
Additionally, sulfates could be the culprit. These are the salts that are made when sulfuric acid experiences a chemical reaction with other types of chemicals—many of these reactions occur naturally all around us, so what you’re tasting could be excessive runoff from rainwater or groundwater. That said, manmade sulfates can also seep into the water supply after being used in shampoos, detergents and other types of cleaners.
Is salty-tasting water dangerous?
The chemicals described above can sound scary and intimidating, but fortunately it appears that salty water is not usually the sign of a serious health risk. Sulfates carry with them the risk of diarrhea, which is usually not dangerous in and of itself, but could exacerbate certain existing health problems. When your water tastes salty, it’s not necessarily time to hit the panic button from a health perspective, but it can still be an unsettling experience.
What can I do about salty water?
Since we’ve established that salty water normally occurs at the source, the best thing you can do to shield yourself and your family is to install water purification systems inside your own home. If you’re only worried about how your drinking water tastes, you can add filters that mount right onto your faucet—this can be a DIY job, and is really quite simple.
Alternatively, if you’re really worried about why your water tastes salty, you can call in a professional plumber who will install a whole-house solution, either a filtration option or a reverse osmosis system that will remove contaminants from your water.
If you’re curious as to why your water tastes salty, you can get some more in-depth answers by submitting a sample to Royal Water Works Inc. Our professional team can perform a battery of tests to determine what exactly the problem is, and can then offer recommendations on solutions. Give us a call today to learn more!
Categorised in: Drinking Water