ᐅ First water from the tap is stagnant and contains limescale.
Created on: 15 Jan 2024 07:31
U
Ubibubi
Hello everyone,
We have been living in our newly built house for a few months now and have noticed that the first cold water in the morning from any tap (whether in the kitchen or bathrooms on the ground or upper floor) always tastes very stale and has a strong presence of limescale, despite having a water softener installed. When I let the first 300-400 ml (10–14 fl oz) run, the taste normalizes and the limescale content gradually decreases. I wonder if this is normal due to the standing water in the pipes overnight or if there is something wrong with the plumbing installation. The water hardness test kits also recommend letting the water run for a minute before testing. However, in daily life, this is not very practical and leads to considerable water waste. My expectation would actually be water quality similar to sparkling water and a normal taste right away. What do you think could be the cause?
By the way, the water softener installed is a BWT Perla One. We also have a Conel CLEAR 2.0 backwash filter. Activating the filter freshly does not seem to affect the issue described above. We also use a Grundfos Comfort PM recirculation pump, which runs once a day for a few minutes. The domestic hot water storage tank is a WAS ECO 165 l (44 US gallons), integrated with our Weishaupt LS8-B heat pump.
Thanks in advance for your opinions!
We have been living in our newly built house for a few months now and have noticed that the first cold water in the morning from any tap (whether in the kitchen or bathrooms on the ground or upper floor) always tastes very stale and has a strong presence of limescale, despite having a water softener installed. When I let the first 300-400 ml (10–14 fl oz) run, the taste normalizes and the limescale content gradually decreases. I wonder if this is normal due to the standing water in the pipes overnight or if there is something wrong with the plumbing installation. The water hardness test kits also recommend letting the water run for a minute before testing. However, in daily life, this is not very practical and leads to considerable water waste. My expectation would actually be water quality similar to sparkling water and a normal taste right away. What do you think could be the cause?
By the way, the water softener installed is a BWT Perla One. We also have a Conel CLEAR 2.0 backwash filter. Activating the filter freshly does not seem to affect the issue described above. We also use a Grundfos Comfort PM recirculation pump, which runs once a day for a few minutes. The domestic hot water storage tank is a WAS ECO 165 l (44 US gallons), integrated with our Weishaupt LS8-B heat pump.
Thanks in advance for your opinions!
B
Benutzer 100116 Jan 2024 15:23In der Ruine schrieb:
Circulation for cold water? Luxury, luxury.Read the text again and you'll see that what you wrote doesn't make sense; it's about hot water.
Offtopic schrieb:
Read the text again, then you’ll know that what you wrote is nonsense — it’s about hot water. Ubibubi schrieb:
that the first cold water in the morning from the tap Regarding the question:
I have been doing it this way forever, and I have never liked the first water from the tap, whether with or without water softening, in single-family houses, multi-family houses, holiday apartments, whatever.
If it’s really about 400ml (14 fl oz), I don’t understand all the fuss here. Sorry, I’m usually nicer, but this already sounds like a classic first world problem.
Try this: Take a glass of good-tasting water (that has run for a bit) and leave it standing overnight. Does it taste just as good the next morning as it did the day before?
In der Ruine16 Jan 2024 18:53Offtopic schrieb:
Read the text again and you will see that what you wrote is nonsense; it’s about hot water.May I return your compliment. I hardly believe that the person seeking advice draws a nice 55°C (131°F) water in the morning.Tolentino schrieb:
Regarding the question:
I have always done it this way, and I have never liked the first water from the tap, regardless of whether it's in a single-family house, multi-family house, vacation home, or anywhere else, with or without water softening.
If it really is about 400 ml (14 fl oz), I don’t understand all the fuss here. Sorry, I’m usually nicer, but this sounds a lot like a first-world problem.
Try this: Take a glass of good-tasting water (after letting it run) and leave it standing overnight. Does it taste as good the next morning as it did the day before? Maybe I didn’t express myself clearly. It’s not primarily about the amount of water, but whether this is "normal" or not. I didn’t notice this in previous apartments in this way, so I wonder why it is so different now. And why the water hardness is increasing again. My first thought was that something might be wrong with the plumbing system, so I wanted to hear some opinions on this.
By the way, regarding your test: I actually do this every day because I always leave a glass of water at my bedside at night. When I take a sip from it in the morning, it doesn’t taste as stale as the first water from the tap.
In der Ruine17 Jan 2024 09:11I could imagine that even with softened water, some lime scale builds up in the pipes or faucets.
If extremely low-lime water then remains standing in the pipe, it might dissolve lime scale deposits again.
Whether this has anything to do with the high sodium content, I cannot say as a non-chemist.
Our "concrete water" here in Berlin tastes quite good, even though it feels gritty between the teeth. However, I always let some water run because I prefer it cold.
@Offtopic, maybe I should consider installing a cold water circulation line after all ;-)
If extremely low-lime water then remains standing in the pipe, it might dissolve lime scale deposits again.
Whether this has anything to do with the high sodium content, I cannot say as a non-chemist.
Our "concrete water" here in Berlin tastes quite good, even though it feels gritty between the teeth. However, I always let some water run because I prefer it cold.
@Offtopic, maybe I should consider installing a cold water circulation line after all ;-)
I think it’s normal to let the water run before drinking it. I always find tap water tastes better after running for 10–20 seconds.
I actually missed the part where you mentioned you also performed a hardness test that showed a higher value.
I can’t explain this effect. I also can’t think of any “error” in the installation that would cause something like this. Is the value then as high as the completely untreated water before the water softener? Or is the value somewhere in between?
I actually missed the part where you mentioned you also performed a hardness test that showed a higher value.
I can’t explain this effect. I also can’t think of any “error” in the installation that would cause something like this. Is the value then as high as the completely untreated water before the water softener? Or is the value somewhere in between?
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