My Water Stinks!

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DIYStan

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I just replaced the pipe to my kitchen faucet and brand new Insinkerator hot water dispenser with PEX. The length of the new pipe from the supply line into the kitchen cabinet is only 4 feet, replacing 20 feet of 40 year old galvinized pipe.
The project has produced a tremendous increase of water pressure, however, there is a noticeable taste to the water, both from the faucet and the new appliance. The flavor is a mild form of what you get when drinking from the garden hose.
My questions to this distinguished forum are:
1 what am I tasting - is it toxic?
2 will it go away? How many gallons of water do I have to flush before it is safe to drink, or put in my aquarium?
Thanks for your help.

Btw, this is my first posting. I am very impressed with the information and level of discussion that I read in the various threads before deciding that these two questions have not been addressed recently.
 

Jadnashua

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How hot does the heater get? Pex does have an upper limit. Is the taste in both the hot and cold? I have some pex in my house, and do not have any strange tastes in the water. Maybe someone else will have some more useful info for you.
 

DIYStan

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Jim,
Thanks for the note.
We are measuring the water from the hot water unit at 180 degrees. The heated water doesn't pass through PEX once it is heated. The InstaHot gets the water and then dispenses the heated product through it's own faucet.
We are getting the odor from both the heated unit and the main cold water faucet.
We have run the water for a period of several minutes through both of the affected faucets, (actually ran the Intahot out of hot water and got cold water for a few minutes) and are still getting a diminished, but still noticeable odor.
I have a bit of a concern about my aquarium, I have been putting off a major (50%) water change on my 100 gallon aquarium until after getting my plumbing updated, because my fresh water supply was super weak with the 50 year old galvanized pipe supplying that faucet. I now have terrific water pressure, I am just a bit concerned about poisoning my fish.
 

Ballvalve

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As a general example, I removed the anode rod from a brand new water heater. It was covered with globs of teflon pipe dope along its 30" length. Mixed with the dope was a teaspoon full of metal shavings and tapping remains.

The fine Spanish fellow, beneficiary of NAFTA, that installed this for the corporate murderers of US industry at AO Smith, or its "holding company" was likely getting paid by the piece.

And the anode rod, which could have been magnesiuim instead of poisonous aluminum, was about 30" shorter than what it could and should have been.

Hey! the Corporation saved 28 cents and the CEO with the 40 million dollar McMansion received a 30 million dollar stock option for Christmas. Now he'll spend the year finding new ways to poison us and make a cheaper heater so next years bonus for sabotage will be higher.

Keep flushing and budget for the next one.

The ethical bankruptcy of corporate CEO's do not care a whit if your fish die.
 
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DIYStan

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I guess I am still trying to figure out which I should replace - the PEX or the heating unit!
I am not sure that the heating unit is the problem... the PEX material is common to both faucets and the odor smells like non potable hose. My only question is whether PEX has any history of outgassing noxious odors... or how long it will last.
I guess the heater could be sending contaminated water back into the water system into the faucet, there isn't any back flow preventer, but this unit is plumbed with a copper pipe from the household supply up to the control handle, down to the heater unit, and then back up from the heater to the faucet.
y'all are the experts, so I will respectfully listen to your comments, that sure seems a stretch.
By the way, I understand that nobody cares about my fish except for me and my daughters, which is why I am appealing to this forum for the wisdom to know if I have a problem to be concerned about.
Thanks

On the morning of day 3, the cold water faucet seems to smell like good ol' chlorinated city supply, the hot water still has a faint taint - although it could just be my mind since I am looking for it.
 
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Basement_Lurker

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I'm sure everything is fine and you just need to flush out the heating unit and special faucet some more. Pex wouldn't cause the taste issues you are experiencing, but there are people who possess a very fine sense of taste and smell...and they can taste any change in the water supply right away. And yes, some people do taste a faint plastic taste from pex piping, but some people also taste a faint copper taste from copper piping. I have no doubt that the heating unit and new faucet are the culprit as they need adequate flushing, but you probably are hyper sensitive now to the taste and smell of the water as well.
 
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