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The article touches very briefly on many possible explanations without ever coming to a conclusion. But I'm fairly certain it's the one they mention towards th

by TillE 11y ago

The article touches very briefly on many possible explanations without ever coming to a conclusion. But I'm fairly certain it's the one they mention towards the end: the evaporation of oxygen and the development of carbonic acid. That's why putting water in a closed bottle slows down the process.

jules 11y ago
What about tiny dust particles getting caught in the water?
dalke 11y ago
I've not noticed 'stale' water, so I'm a bit confused about the topic. If what you say is true, shouldn't places which use lake water, or places with a cistern, have the same stale taste to their water? Or those who melt snow for drinking water?
- pixl97 11y ago
  You don't drink lake water without further processing... Or at least you shouldn't if you want your insides to remain that way. Well water has an enormous range of taste, wholly dependent on a number of factors, including the soil/rock type that the well is sourced from.
  - dalke 11y ago
    While it's certainly possible to get water borne illnesses, the likelihood of that happening is low. Otherwise humanity would have died out long ago. Quoting from http://bwca.cc/tripplanning/waterfiltration.htm http://bwca.cc/tripplanning/waterfiltration.htm : > Thirty years ago, we didn't fret about lake-water microbes. We just drank the water straight or spiked it with iodine. Today, that is changed. Many of us grip our water filters and cautiously take a sip. In fact, Giardia and other water-borne pathogens often star in those scary mind-flicks we conjure from bears, bugs, and huge, wind-swept waves. > Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that six months of recurring diarrhea isn't something to ponder. Just don't panic if you swallow a mouthful of lake water. The Boundary Waters isn't a New York sewer. Much of the water is clean. The problem is, we can't distinguish the clean sources from the dirty ones. > That's why I filter, boil, or chemically disinfect the water I use for drinking, washing dishes, and brushing my teeth. On the other hand, canoe-country author Michael Furtman has roamed the Boundary Waters for nearly 40 years, and hasn't treated a drop and has never been sick. He's not alone. Quite a few Boundary Waters old-timers and wilderness guides drink the water. But they are careful about where they collect it. In any case, my water filter for camping is only a ceramic filter. It doesn't change the oxygen or CO2 levels. If TillE's proposal is correct, the output after filtering should still be 'stale'. What you said about well water is true, but my examples were structured to avoid ground contamination. If you collect rainwater, and let it sit for a day, does it taste 'stale'?
im3w1l 11y ago
But carbonated water tastes good.
- reagency 11y ago
  "Carbonated water" is an acid-base mixture, with more than one part of the mixture had "carbon" in it: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbonated_water https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbonated_water Just adding acid won't give you the pleasant taste. Also, humans ofte dislike trace flavors, even when they like the flavor : it subconsciously tastes "dirty".
  - coroxout 11y ago
    'Also, humans ofte dislike trace flavors, even when they like the flavor : it subconsciously tastes "dirty".' Interesting. This makes a lot of sense to me. I sometimes dilute fruit-flavoured soft drinks to reduce the calorie load, but there's definitely a point when they're mostly water where they suddenly become slightly unpleasant. Like, say up to 90% dilute is fine-to-nothingy, and 100% water is of course fine, but 95% dilute is worse than either. (See also reusing a soft drink bottle for water without rinsing it first.)
ac29 11y ago
My conclusion: warm, de-gassed water, like warm, de-gasssed beer, doesn't taste too good.
coroxout 11y ago
"The article touches very briefly on many possible explanations without ever coming to a conclusion." Agreed, which makes the "...and now you know the chemistry of why" closer all the more infuriating. I also agree that the evaporation/infusion of gases seems a likely explanation, because I've noticed that if I leave the fan on overnight near my glass of drinking water it starts to taste unpalatably stale a lot quicker. At least, it does to me.

by TillE 11y ago

jules 11y ago

What about tiny dust particles getting caught in the water?

dalke 11y ago

I've not noticed 'stale' water, so I'm a bit confused about the topic. If what you say is true, shouldn't places which use lake water, or places with a cistern, have the same stale taste to their water? Or those who melt snow for drinking water?

pixl97 11y ago
You don't drink lake water without further processing... Or at least you shouldn't if you want your insides to remain that way. Well water has an enormous range of taste, wholly dependent on a number of factors, including the soil/rock type that the well is sourced from.
- dalke 11y ago
  While it's certainly possible to get water borne illnesses, the likelihood of that happening is low. Otherwise humanity would have died out long ago. Quoting from http://bwca.cc/tripplanning/waterfiltration.htm http://bwca.cc/tripplanning/waterfiltration.htm : > Thirty years ago, we didn't fret about lake-water microbes. We just drank the water straight or spiked it with iodine. Today, that is changed. Many of us grip our water filters and cautiously take a sip. In fact, Giardia and other water-borne pathogens often star in those scary mind-flicks we conjure from bears, bugs, and huge, wind-swept waves. > Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that six months of recurring diarrhea isn't something to ponder. Just don't panic if you swallow a mouthful of lake water. The Boundary Waters isn't a New York sewer. Much of the water is clean. The problem is, we can't distinguish the clean sources from the dirty ones. > That's why I filter, boil, or chemically disinfect the water I use for drinking, washing dishes, and brushing my teeth. On the other hand, canoe-country author Michael Furtman has roamed the Boundary Waters for nearly 40 years, and hasn't treated a drop and has never been sick. He's not alone. Quite a few Boundary Waters old-timers and wilderness guides drink the water. But they are careful about where they collect it. In any case, my water filter for camping is only a ceramic filter. It doesn't change the oxygen or CO2 levels. If TillE's proposal is correct, the output after filtering should still be 'stale'. What you said about well water is true, but my examples were structured to avoid ground contamination. If you collect rainwater, and let it sit for a day, does it taste 'stale'?

im3w1l 11y ago

But carbonated water tastes good.

reagency 11y ago
"Carbonated water" is an acid-base mixture, with more than one part of the mixture had "carbon" in it: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbonated_water https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbonated_water Just adding acid won't give you the pleasant taste. Also, humans ofte dislike trace flavors, even when they like the flavor : it subconsciously tastes "dirty".
- coroxout 11y ago
  'Also, humans ofte dislike trace flavors, even when they like the flavor : it subconsciously tastes "dirty".' Interesting. This makes a lot of sense to me. I sometimes dilute fruit-flavoured soft drinks to reduce the calorie load, but there's definitely a point when they're mostly water where they suddenly become slightly unpleasant. Like, say up to 90% dilute is fine-to-nothingy, and 100% water is of course fine, but 95% dilute is worse than either. (See also reusing a soft drink bottle for water without rinsing it first.)

ac29 11y ago

My conclusion: warm, de-gassed water, like warm, de-gasssed beer, doesn't taste too good.

coroxout 11y ago

"The article touches very briefly on many possible explanations without ever coming to a conclusion." Agreed, which makes the "...and now you know the chemistry of why" closer all the more infuriating. I also agree that the evaporation/infusion of gases seems a likely explanation, because I've noticed that if I leave the fan on overnight near my glass of drinking water it starts to taste unpalatably stale a lot quicker. At least, it does to me.