Why do you shout over the 9.1% inflation rate but are willing to pay nearly $5 for a liter of bottled water?
It’s because tap water, though fit for drinking, usually smells or tastes bad because of dissolved organic contaminants like VOCs, chloramines, iron, and sulfur.
So, here’s the solution:
You could make the taste of your tap water better by adding small pieces of fruits, lime, herb leaves, mint leaves, lemon juice, or small pieces of lemon, cucumber, and other fruit juices.
Want to know how to make tap water taste better in detail? Then keep reading as we promise you 7 lesser-known methods to make tap water taste like bottled water.
Best Methods For Making Water Taste Better: Cheatsheet
In 2022, the US bottled water revenue amounted to 83.02 billion US dollars. Why so big market, I hear you ask?
Simple. People are ditching their home’s tap water for the taste of bottled water, so much so that they are ready to spend thousands of dollars on the packaged stuff. But since you are here, I’ll not let you burn a hole into your pocket.
I experimented with some methods, and here’s the complete cheat sheet for improving the taste of tap water.
| Methods | Effectiveness | How easy to implement | Cost Involved | Side-effects if any |
| Invest in a water filter | Highly effective | Moderately easy | It depends upon the type and brand of filter you are installing | No side effects as such; installing a RO filter involves wastage of water (with each filtration) |
| Chill your water in the refrigerator and add lemon/mint | Effective | Very easy | Minimal cost (the market price of lemon or mint) | Dripping too much lime/lemon in your tap water may be harmful to your teeth |
| Use an alkaline water filter pitcher | Very effective | Very easy | $25 – $100 (approx) | No side effect |
| Use a faucet aerator | Very effective | Easy | $7 (approx) | No side effect |
| Boil water | Effective | Easy | No cost (only a minimal price of the gas) | No side effect |
| Add mineral drops in water | Effective | Easy | $5 – $40 (approx) | No side effect |
| Use alkaline filter water bottle | Effective | Easy | $8 – $27 | As such, no side effects but the plastic with which the bottles are made may be harmful to your body and the environment. |
Invest In A Water Filter
A water filtration system can easily eliminate the potential contaminants from your tap water responsible for its bad taste and make it taste or smell better. There are various types of water filtration systems.
Air Injection Filter
Is your water suddenly tasting like metal?
Then, purchasing an air injection filter and installing it at the main water line of your house or your water heater upstream is a good option. It will oxidize the contaminants in your tap water, such as iron, sulfur, manganese, etc., that are responsible for your water’s rotten or metallic taste and lock all bad stuff inside a greensand media. The final output is filtered water with a great taste and smell.
How Effective?
This process is very effective.
Is It Easy To Implement?
The process is moderately easy to implement.
How Much Does It Cost?
An air injection filter may cost anywhere between $1000 to $2000.
Does It Have Any Side Effects?
No, it doesn’t result in any side effects.
Activated Carbon Water Filter
Want to eliminate tap water’s chlorine taste/chemical taste?
Then, installing an activated carbon filter in your home is the best way to deal with it. This filter adsorbs chlorine and other chemicals from your tap water, making it fit for drinking.
Activated carbon filters come with NSF 401 certifications. You can either include this filter as a single phase in whole house filtration systems or use it alone in small POU systems like water filter pitchers to get clean water.
How Effective?
This process is very effective.
Is It Easy To Implement?
The process is moderately easy to implement.
How Much Does It Cost?
An activated carbon filter costs between $300 to $1000 (approx).
Does It Have Any Side Effects?
No, it doesn’t have any side effects.
KDF Filters
You can also purchase a KDF media-based water filter to remove the metallic taste in tap water. With this filter, you will get water free from various common metals such as copper, nickel, mercury, lead, etc. When combined with an activated carbon filter, the KDF filter gives the most thorough water filtration.
How Effective?
This process is very effective.
Is It Easy To Implement?
The process is moderately easy to implement.
How Much Does It Cost?
A KDF filter price ranges from $70- $130 (approx).
Does It Have Any Side Effects?
No, it doesn’t have any side effects.
RO Filter
A RO filter is the best option among all types of water as it removes all the foreign particles in your tap water and improves its smell and taste.
You can also rent a RO filtration system at your home instead of purchasing one, which will be a budget-friendly way of treating water’s poor taste and smell.
Even bottled water is sealed after undergoing through reverse osmosis process so that it can be free from various chemicals, metals, dissolved solids, and other contaminants that make the water taste bad.
The water is sent through the semipermeable membrane in reverse osmosis systems. The tiny pores in the membrane only permit the water particles to seep through it. I have been using a RO water filter at my home for about 5 years, and my family members have never complained about the water’s bad taste or smell since I installed it.
My RO filter is a remineralization filter, and it adds the healthy minerals back into the water that the RO filter removes in the process of filtering water. So, we get a fresh mineral taste from our tap water.
How Effective?
This process is highly effective.
Is It Easy To Implement?
The process is moderately easy to implement.
How Much Does It Cost?
A Reverse Osmosis filter costs nearly $1500.
Does It Have Any Side Effects?
No, it has no side effects as such. But, installing a RO filter involves wastage of water (with each filtration).
Chill Your Water In The Refrigerator To Get Ice Cold Water & Add Lemon/Mint
Putting your tap water in the refrigerator also lessens the unpleasant taste of tap water. Infusing the cold water or ice water with a slice of lemon, lime juice, or mint further adds flavor to your water and makes it drinkable. You can also make it a fruity flavor by adding some fruit pieces to it.
Is The Process Effective?
Yes, the process is effective.
Is It Easy To Implement?
The process is very easy to implement.
How Much Does It Cost?
Only a minimal cost (just the market price of lemon or mint ?)
Does It Have Any Side Effects?
Yes, dripping too much lemon into the water may harm your teeth.
Also Read: 3 Reasons To Hydrate After Massage
Use An Alkaline Water Filter Pitcher
Bottled water tastes better than tap water because of its higher pH and healthy minerals.
What does this mean? Simple. With an alkaline water filter pitcher, you can make tap water taste like bottled water.
Fill the alkaline pitcher with water, and the pitcher starts its work of removing various harmful organic compounds and other contaminants like chlorine. Furthermore, the filter releases many healthy minerals into your water, resulting in a fresh smell and great water taste.
To use this filter, just fill it with tap water and give it some time before it filters the contaminants into its bottom chamber and makes your water ready for drinking.
You should change the alkaline pitcher every 3 months to retain good water quality.
Is The Process Effective?
Yes, the process is very effective.
Is It Easy To Implement?
The process is very easy to implement.
How Much Does It Cost?
It costs $25 – $100 (approx).
Does It Have Any Side Effects?
No, it doesn’t have any side effects.
Use A Faucet Aerator
This is a small device attached to the mouth of the faucet from where the water comes out. As the water passes through the aerator, it aerates and freshens the water, thus removing bad smells or tastes from the tap.
Is The Process Effective?
Yes, the process is very effective.
Is It Easy To Implement?
The process is easy to implement.
How Much Does It Cost?
It costs $7 (approx).
Does It Have Any Side Effects?
No, it doesn’t have any side effects.
Boil The Water
Boiling tap water also improves the water’s taste by separating its contaminants. How much time you should let the water boil depends on what kind of contaminant you want to remove.
For example, boil the water for a minimum of 20 minutes to remove chlorine from the water. You can also leave the hot water in the sunlight for the day.
Is The Process Effective?
Yes, the process is effective.
Is It Easy To Implement?
The process is easy to implement.
How Much Does It Cost?
The process requires only a minimal cost (the price of the cooking gas)
Does It Have Any Side Effects?
No, it doesn’t have any side effects.
Add Mineral Drops In Water
You can also make tap water taste good by dropping mineral drops that contain healthy minerals. You can choose the type of minerals you want to add to your drinking water and purchase the drops accordingly.
Is The Process Effective?
Yes, the process is effective.
Is It Easy To Implement?
The process is easy to implement.
How Much Does It Cost?
It costs $5 – $40 (approx).
Does It Have Any Side Effects?
No, it doesn’t have any side effects.
Use An Alkaline Filter Water Bottle:
These plastic bottles with built-in filters effectively eliminate chlorine and other contaminants from your water. So you will not get the chlorine smell from the water. These water bottles are easy and compact to carry, whether you go to the gym or travel somewhere.
Is The Process Effective?
Yes, the process is effective.
Is It Easy To Implement?
The process is easy to implement.
How Much Does It Cost?
It costs $8 – $27 (approx).
Does It Have Any Side Effects?
The plastic with which the bottles are made may harm your body and the environment.
Also Read: Is Alkaline Water Good For Pregnant Women?
Why Does Tap Water Not Taste Good [9 Bad Tastes Decoded]
Tap water tastes bad for many reasons. For your convenience, we have classified different water tastes and illustrated the reason behind their “bad” or “weird’ tastes.
| Taste | Likely Reason | Whether Dangerous | How To Correct |
| Chemical/Bleach | Chlorine | No | Carbon filter |
| Bitter | Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) or corrosion of copper piping | No | RO filter or ceramic filter |
| Salty | Chloride or sulfate ions/rain and snow | No | RO filter |
| Metallic | Dissolved metals like iron, magnesium, zinc, etc. | No | RO filter/ultrafiltration system |
| Rotten egg | Hydrogen sulfide | No | Ceramic filter |
| Fishy/Earthy | Algal blooms or bacterial growth | No | RO filter or ceramic filter |
| Gasoline | Hazardous chemicals from fuel storage tank etc/ breakage of pipes | Yes | Call the water regulating authority to test if any harmful chemical is there in the water/call the local utility company or a licensed plumber to check the breakage of pipes |
| Sweet | Dissolved minerals like calcium, iron, etc / alkaline imbalance in the water | No | Install an alkaline ionization filter, a RO filter, or a ceramic filter |
| Pencil Shaving | Antioxidants found in plastic-made pipes | No | Replace the plumbing |
Chemical/Bleach Taste:
Due to its high chlorine deposition, we get a chemical/bleach taste in water. Though it’s not usually dangerous, you can get rid of this water taste by installing a carbon filter.
Bitter Taste:
We get the bitter taste of water because of a high concentration of Total Dissolved Solids (TDS). The bitter taste of water also results from the corrosion of copper water pipes. Though it’s not usually dangerous, you can get rid of this water taste by installing a RO filter or ceramic filter.
Salty Taste:
We get the salty taste of water because of chloride or sulfate ions deposition. The salty taste of water also happens due to rain or snow. Though it’s not usually dangerous, you can get rid of this taste of water by installing a RO filter.
Metallic Taste:
We get the metallic taste of water because of a high concentration of dissolved metals like iron, magnesium, zinc, etc. Though it’s not usually dangerous, you can get rid of this water taste by installing a RO filter or an ultrafiltration system. My RO filter has saved me from tolerating the metallic taste of my tap water.
Rotten Egg-like Taste:
We get the rotten egg-like taste of water because of a high deposition of Hydrogen sulfide. Though the water with a rotten egg taste is not usually dangerous, you can get rid of this taste by installing a ceramic filter.
Fishy/Earthy Taste:
We get the Fishy/earthy taste in water because of algal blooms or bacterial growth. Though it’s not usually dangerous, you can get rid of this strange taste of water by installing a ceramic or RO filter.
I got rid of tap water’s fishy smell by installing a RO filter at home.
Gasoline-Like Taste:
We get the Gasoline like taste in water because of the leakage of hazardous chemicals from a fuel storage tank. Another reason for this taste is the breakage of pipes. This problem is quite dangerous, and you should get rid of it as soon as possible.
Call the water regulating authority to test if any harmful chemical is present in the water. Also, call the local utility company or a licensed plumber to check the breakage of pipes.
Sweet Taste:
We get the sweet taste of water because of dissolved minerals like calcium, iron, etc. Such a taste of water also results from an alkaline imbalance. Though it’s not usually dangerous, you can get rid of this water taste by installing an alkaline ionization filter, a RO filter, or a ceramic filter.
Pencil Shaving Taste:
We get the Pencil shaving taste of water because of the antioxidants found in plastic-made pipes. Though it’s not usually dangerous, you can get rid of this water taste by replacing the pipes, which is a burdensome process.
How To Make Tap Water Taste Better FAQs:
How can you drink tap water without a filter?
Besides using a filter, you can treat tap water by boiling it or exposing it to UV light. You can also drop water cleansing tablets or put activated charcoal in the water to make it suitable for drinking.
Why shouldn’t you drink Dasani water?
You must avoid Dasani water because it comprises dangerous chemical compounds like potassium chloride. It can abort the fetus or stop the normal functioning of the heart.
Is Fiji Water just tap water?
No, Fiji water is derived from one of Fiji’s aquifers. The water of Fiji gets pumped through a human contact-free sealed delivery system. It’s filtered from all the particulate matter and microbiological particles and processed for disinfection by applying Ultra Violet light.
How long does tap water stay fresh?
Tap water remains fresh for up to six months if properly stored. However, the taste of water may slightly change in the process.
Does boiling tap water improve the taste?
Yes, boiling the tap water improves the water’s taste by separating its contaminants. The water boiling time depends upon what kind of contaminant you want to remove. E.g. to remove chlorine from water, you should boil the water for close to half an hour.
Adarsh is a Health & Nutrition Sciences graduate with expertise in environmental health. He is associated with ventures like Glacier Fresh Filter and Simpure Filter Systems. Through Aqua Professor, he intends to provide helpful information to every home to help them make smarter decisions.
