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I stayed with a friend in a major city and got up in the middle of the night to get a glass of water from the bathroom sink. Literally tasted/smelled like pool

I stayed with a friend in a major city and got up in the middle of the night to get a glass of water from the bathroom sink. Literally tasted/smelled like pool water. Buddy told me the next morning he has a countertop reverse osmosis purifier for that exact reason.

woodruffw 2y ago
That's water chlorination, not fluoridation. Different chemical with a completely different purpose.
rootusrootus 2y ago
As someone else mentioned, that is chlorine, not fluoride. If it were me, I would test the water for free chlorine and combined chlorine. At generally accepted safe levels (4 ppm or less), chlorine has very little odor; many people cannot detect it at all. Combined chlorine, on the other hand, is the smell most people associate with poorly maintained pool water. And anything above 0 ppm combined chlorine is bad news, especially in drinking water. FWIW, a properly maintained pool should not smell strongly of chlorine, either.
- coldpie 2y ago
  Indeed. I'd be curious to know what city this was. Most US cities have very high quality tap water, and tap water that contains levels of chlorine sufficient to smell would surely make the news.
  - Eumenes 2y ago
    This was Brooklyn
    - jessekv 2y ago
      Interesting, as NYC is one of the cities that supposedly have a UV kill stage, and mostly use chlorine for residual. https://www.trojantechnologies.com/en/applications/municipal/drinking-water https://www.trojantechnologies.com/en/applications/municipal...
- toast0 2y ago
  After living without utility water for several years, it's really easy to smell and taste chlorination in utility water systems. Some systems use a lot more than others, and systems I used to live with and never smelled are detectable now; could be they increased chlorination, but I think I'm no longer acclimated.
- jessekv 2y ago
  For those interested, in the industry these are known as DBPs. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disinfection_by-product https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disinfection_by-product

woodruffw 2y ago

That's water chlorination, not fluoridation. Different chemical with a completely different purpose.

rootusrootus 2y ago

As someone else mentioned, that is chlorine, not fluoride. If it were me, I would test the water for free chlorine and combined chlorine. At generally accepted safe levels (4 ppm or less), chlorine has very little odor; many people cannot detect it at all. Combined chlorine, on the other hand, is the smell most people associate with poorly maintained pool water. And anything above 0 ppm combined chlorine is bad news, especially in drinking water. FWIW, a properly maintained pool should not smell strongly of chlorine, either.

coldpie 2y ago
Indeed. I'd be curious to know what city this was. Most US cities have very high quality tap water, and tap water that contains levels of chlorine sufficient to smell would surely make the news.
- Eumenes 2y ago
  This was Brooklyn
  - jessekv 2y ago
    Interesting, as NYC is one of the cities that supposedly have a UV kill stage, and mostly use chlorine for residual. https://www.trojantechnologies.com/en/applications/municipal/drinking-water https://www.trojantechnologies.com/en/applications/municipal...
toast0 2y ago
After living without utility water for several years, it's really easy to smell and taste chlorination in utility water systems. Some systems use a lot more than others, and systems I used to live with and never smelled are detectable now; could be they increased chlorination, but I think I'm no longer acclimated.
jessekv 2y ago
For those interested, in the industry these are known as DBPs. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disinfection_by-product https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disinfection_by-product