Why Does My Water Smell?

On February 25, 2026  By newsroom   Topic: Health And Fitness Skills

Common Causes of Water Odors

Chlorine:
- Used in municipal water systems to kill bacteria, viruses, and parasites.
- Excess chlorine can leave a swimming pool-like smell.

Rotten Egg Smell:
- Caused by dimethyl disulfide, produced by microorganisms in oxygen-poor environments.
- Found in soil and natural water sources.

Musty or Earthy Aroma:
- Linked to compounds like geosmin and 2-methylisoborneol, released by algae.
- Odor may be more pronounced in late summer when algae bloom and die.

Metallic Taste:
- Often from ferrous sulfate, a water-soluble form of iron in groundwater, common with well water.


Is Smelly Water Safe?

  • Most odors and flavors in tap water are not harmful to health.
  • However, addressing the issue can improve taste and encourage proper hydration.

How to Remove Odors and Improve Taste

  • Use a Water Filter:
  • Pitcher-style filters are affordable and effective.
  • They excel at removing chlorine, algae compounds, and metallic flavors.

  • Test Your Water:

  • Consider testing well water or tap water with unusual smells.
  • Find out if other contaminants are present that may require more advanced filtration.

How Experts Do Water Filter Testing

  • Filters are tested by professional tasters to assess how well they neutralize odors and flavors like chlorine, rotten food, damp soil, and metallic tastes.
  • Test Process:
  • Pure spring water is spiked with specific odor-causing compounds.
  • Filtered water is blind-tasted by 8–12 tasters who rate it for aroma and taste against pure water on a 0–10 scale (0 = pure spring water).

Top Water Filter Pitchers for Taste and Odor Removal

These models score Excellent or Very Good in tests:

Brita Everyday

Pur Plus

ZeroWater Ready-Pour


Pro Tips for Cleaner Water

  • Check local water quality reports to understand your water source.
  • Consider advanced filters for persistent issues or specific contaminants like heavy metals.
  • Explore under-sink filters for a more permanent solution.

Smelly water is solvable with the right tools—turn your tap water into a clean, refreshing drink!


Next: Read 2500+ consumer guides to shopping, electronics, appliances, home services, cars, money and more.
If you liked all this, consider supporting us by checking out SkillThing DOING Manuals

DOING Manuals


The AI Proof Career

Future-proof your work in the AI age.


31 Days to Escaping Job Search Hell

Escape job search hell right out of college. Get job-ready in 31 days.