Can installing a water purifier ensure safe drinking water when faced with foul-smelling tap water?

Who among us hasn’t experienced this? Sometimes, when you turn on the tap to get a refreshing drink of water, a strange odour hits you. This is no small matter—foul-smelling tap water is quietly affecting the lives of many people. Take Yuhang District in Hangzhou, for example. Recently, many residents noticed that their tap water had a sewer-like odour, or even a faecal smell, and the water coming out of the tap had noticeable impurities and a yellowish-brown colour. This issue caused a stir in the neighbourhood group chat, with everyone complaining that the tap water in the surrounding areas had similar problems. Even after letting the water run for a while, the situation didn't improve, and many households' pre-filters were clogged and damaged.

Tap water with an unpleasant odour poses a problem for drinking. Who could drink a glass of water with a strange smell without hesitation? When brewing tea or coffee, the strange smell interferes, making the beverages unpleasant to drink. Using water with an unpleasant odour for cooking or making soup also significantly reduces the taste of the food. Imagine spending hours preparing a delicious meal, only for the taste to be ruined by the odour in the water—how disappointing! When washing your face or brushing your teeth with this water, it feels like it doesn't clean properly, and you can't help but wonder if using such water long-term might affect skin and oral health. Odorous tap water not only disrupts daily life but also raises health concerns. Where does the odour in the water come from? Are there any harmful substances? These questions leave residents feeling anxious, and everyone is eager to find a solution to resume drinking water with peace of mind.

Causes of odorous tap water

Common causes

The causes of odorous tap water are quite complex. Anaerobic decomposition of algae is a major issue. For instance, in the recent tap water odour incident in Yuhang District, Hangzhou, investigations revealed that under specific natural climatic conditions, anaerobic decomposition of algae produced sulphur compounds, leading to the odour. During hot weather, algae proliferate in water bodies, and their anaerobic decomposition releases unpleasant odours. The proliferation and decay of microorganisms should not be underestimated either. If microorganisms proliferate in household water pipes, their decay after death can produce odours. Additionally, the decomposition of organic substances in water can also emit unpleasant odours. Gases dissolved in water, such as sulphur dioxide, hydrogen sulphide, and nitrogen-hydrogen compounds, can also cause odours. Industrial wastewater pollution is also severe. If industrial wastewater containing impurities such as petroleum or phenols is discharged into water bodies, tap water may develop an odour. During disinfection, chlorine added to water may impart a disinfectant odour to tap water. Aging urban water supply networks, particularly older pipes with rusted or scaled inner walls, may release odorous substances when water flows through them.

Characteristics and hazards of odours caused by different factors

Odours caused by different factors have distinct characteristics and risks. The most common is the disinfectant odour, which can be detected by approaching the tap and smelling a bleach-like scent—this is the residual chlorine in the water. While appropriate levels of residual chlorine ensure microbial safety during water transportation, prolonged consumption of water with excessive residual chlorine may disrupt intestinal microbiota balance and react with organic compounds in the water to form carcinogens, increasing the risk of cancer. Odours caused by anaerobic degradation of algae or microbial proliferation and decay are typically fishy or putrid, resembling the smell of swamps, septic tanks, or rotten fish and shrimp. Such odours often indicate the presence of harmful substances like sulphur compounds in the water. Long-term consumption may irritate the skin and respiratory tract, causing skin itching, respiratory discomfort, and impairing organ function. Odours caused by industrial wastewater pollution are even more complex, potentially including pungent chemical odours or petroleum-like smells. These odours indicate the presence of toxic substances such as heavy metals or phenols in the water. Long-term exposure can lead to accumulation in the body, causing chronic poisoning and severe damage to the nervous system and kidneys.

Can water purifiers solve odour issues?

Faced with the various issues caused by odorous tap water, many people pin their hopes on water purifiers. Can water purifiers truly resolve odour issues and allow us to drink water with peace of mind?
 

How Water Purifiers Work

Water purifiers, also known as water filters or water quality purifiers, are water treatment devices that use advanced filtration and purification processes to treat water according to specific usage requirements. Their primary function is to remove impurities and harmful substances from water through physical or chemical methods, making the water cleaner and safer to use. Most common water purifiers consist of multiple filter cartridges and functional modules, each serving a distinct purification purpose. The pre-filter acts like a ‘large sieve,’ primarily removing large particles such as sand and rust from the water to protect subsequent filter cartridges and extend their lifespan. The activated carbon filter cartridge is the ‘adsorption expert’ of the water purifier. As a highly porous material with exceptional adsorption capacity, it effectively removes chlorine, organic compounds, odours, and certain heavy metals from the water. Chlorine is a commonly used disinfectant in water treatment plants, capable of killing bacteria. However, residual chlorine can affect the taste and safety of water. Activated carbon filters remove chlorine through physical adsorption and chemical reduction reactions, converting it into harmless chloride ions, thereby improving the taste and odour of the water. The reverse osmosis membrane (RO membrane) is one of the core components of a water purifier. With a pore size of just 0.0001 microns, it can block microscopic particles, heavy metal ions, bacteria, and viruses in water. During the reverse osmosis process, water passes through the RO membrane under high pressure, with contaminants being retained on the other side of the membrane and then flushed out. This technology can remove over 95% of dissolved solids in water, including harmful substances like lead, mercury, and arsenic, ensuring water purity. The post-activated carbon filter primarily further improves water taste and odour, making the water taste sweeter and more refreshing. Additionally, some high-end water purifiers are equipped with UV sterilisation devices, which use UV light to destroy the DNA structure of bacteria and viruses, preventing them from reproducing and ensuring completely sterile water output.

Effectiveness of different types of water purifiers in removing odours

There are many types of water purifiers available on the market, and their effectiveness in removing odours varies.

PP cotton filter cartridge water purifiers primarily filter out large particles such as sand, rust, and insect eggs from the water, but they are not very effective at removing odours and cannot solve odour issues on their own. Composite sintered activated carbon water purifiers use activated carbon as the primary filtration material, effectively adsorbing residual chlorine and odours from water, significantly improving water taste and odour. However, their ability to remove certain microorganisms and heavy metals is relatively weaker. RO reverse osmosis water purifier, with extremely high filtration precision, can remove almost all impurities, bacteria, viruses, and heavy metals from water. It has excellent odour removal performance, providing nearly pure drinking water. However, it also removes beneficial minerals from water. Water purifiers combine filtration and heating functions, allowing you to enjoy hot water anytime. In terms of odour removal, they are comparable to RO reverse osmosis water purifiers, effectively addressing odour issues through multi-stage filtration. Ultrafiltration machines have a filtration precision of approximately 0.01 microns, capable of filtering out bacteria, colloids, and large organic molecules. They also have some ability to remove odours from water, but their effectiveness in removing dissolved odour substances and heavy metals is limited. Ceramic filter water purifiers use ceramic filter cartridges to remove impurities from water, effectively filtering out large particles and some bacteria. They have a certain adsorption effect on odours but generally have average odour removal performance, and the filter cartridges require regular cleaning. From this perspective, different types of water purifiers have their own advantages and disadvantages in terms of odour removal. If the odour in the water is primarily caused by residual chlorine or general organic odours, a water purifier with an activated carbon filter can effectively improve the situation. If the odour is caused by complex factors such as heavy metals or microorganisms, an RO reverse osmosis water purifier offers a more comprehensive and reliable purification effect. When selecting a water purifier, it is essential to consider the actual water quality conditions at home and choose the most suitable option.

How to choose the right water purifier

Faced with the wide variety of water purifiers available on the market, how should one choose to truly solve the odour problem and drink safe water? There are quite a few considerations involved.

Understand water quality

Before purchasing a water purifier, understanding the local water quality is the first crucial step. Water sources and water treatment processes vary by region, leading to significant differences in water quality. For example, some regions may have water sources contaminated by industrial pollution, resulting in higher heavy metal content; other regions may have harder water with higher levels of calcium and magnesium ions, which can lead to scale buildup. As mentioned earlier, in some areas of Yuhang District, the odour in tap water is caused by anaerobic degradation of algae.
 

If you want to know the quality of your own water, you can look at the local water quality report, the water company in many cities will regularly publish the water quality test data, in the official website, the public number of these places can be found. You can also directly ask the local water company to understand the water source, water treatment process and common water quality problems. If you want to know more intuitively home water quality, you can also use water quality testing tools, such as TDS pen can measure the content of dissolved solids in the water, residual chlorine test agent can measure the residual chlorine content in the water, through these data, it will be able to have a preliminary judgement of the quality of the water to figure out the source of impurities in the water, odours and the degree of contamination, in order to choose the right water purifier to provide a basis.

Determine the filtration needs

After understanding the quality of the water, it is necessary to determine the filtration technology and type of water purifier needed according to the actual situation. If the odour in the water is mainly residual chlorine and general organic odour, and the requirement for odour removal is relatively high, then priority should be given to water purifiers with high-quality activated carbon cartridges, which can effectively adsorb these odourous substances and improve the taste and odour of the water. If the water pollution in the region is more serious, there are heavy metals, bacteria, viruses and other harmful substances in the water, you have to consider the RO reverse osmosis water purifier, its filtration precision is very high, can remove a variety of impurities in the water, to ensure the safety of drinking water. If the family has the elderly, children or pregnant women and these special people, the purity of water and security requirements are higher, it is also recommended to choose a more comprehensive filtration effect of the RO reverse osmosis water purifier or with multiple filtration function of the water purifier. We also need to consider the family's water needs, if you usually drink water, but also use the purified water for cooking, soup, tea, then you have to choose a large water output, can meet the daily water scene of a variety of water purifier.

Focus on the brand and certification

Choose a well-known brand of water purifier, the quality and after-sales service is often more guaranteed. Famous brands generally have more mature technology research and development team, more strict production standards and more perfect after-sales service system. Like Qinyuan, Midea, Haier, these brands, in the field of water purifiers for many years, experienced, good reputation, product quality is relatively reliable. Also look at the water purifier there is no relevant quality certification and health permit approvals. For example, NSF certification, which is a very authoritative international certification body, its certification covers all aspects of the water purifier from material safety to performance verification, through the NSF certification, it shows that the water purifier in the taste improvement, heavy metal removal, structural integrity, and many other aspects of the strict standards. China's health permit is also a very important quality assurance, there is this shows that the water purifier after the health department's testing and auditing, in line with the relevant health standards, you can rest assured with.

Filter replacement cycle and cost

Filter is the core component of the water purifier, its replacement cycle and cost directly affect the long-term use of the water purifier effect and economy. Different types of cartridge replacement cycle is not the same, PP cotton cartridge filter large particles of impurities, easy to be blocked, generally 3 - 6 months to change; activated carbon cartridge adsorption capacity will be slowly saturated with the use of the cartridge, usually 6 - 12 months to change; RO reverse osmosis cartridge filtration precision, the service life of a relatively long time, most of them in 1 - 3 years. When you buy a water purifier, ask the merchant about the replacement cycle and price of the cartridge, and calculate the replacement cost of long-term use.

If the replacement cost of the cartridge is too high, the burden of late use will be very heavy; but if you can not afford to change the expired cartridge, the filtration effect of the water purifier will be greatly reduced, and may even cause secondary pollution, hazardous to health. Some brands of water purifiers have a filter replacement reminder function, through the indicator light or mobile phone APP to remind the user to change the filter cartridge, it can be convenient, when choosing the time to consider this factor

Other considerations

In addition to the above points, the selection of water purifiers have to consider a number of other factors. The water flow rate should be able to meet the daily water demand of the family. If you have many family members and use a lot of water, you should choose a water purifier with a high water flow rate, otherwise you may have to wait for a long time during the water rush. Applicable water pressure can not be ignored, different water purifiers on the water pressure requirements are not the same, you have to ensure that the home water pressure in the water purifier within the scope of application, otherwise it may affect the normal work of the water purifier. Installation should also be based on the actual situation of the family to choose, such as on-stage water purifier installation is simple, without the complexity of the pipeline transformation, suitable for renting friends or kitchen space for small families; under the counter water purifier will have to reserve space for installation in advance, but it does not account for countertop space, good-looking and practical. After-sales service is also very important, good after-sales service in the water purifier failure, timely repair, maintenance of these services, with more peace of mind.
 

Notes on the installation and use of water purifiers

After selecting the right water purifier, the correct installation and use is also very critical, so that the water purifier to play the maximum effect, to protect our drinking water safety.

Correct installation

When installing a water purifier, be sure to strictly follow the steps of the product manual to operate, if the installation process is not too sure, it is best to find a professional home installation. Take the common reverse osmosis water purifier, before the installation to determine the installation location, the general kitchen sink is more appropriate, where the space is relatively hidden, connecting the water source and drainage pipes are convenient. Installation, the first tap water valve off, and then install a three-way ball valve, one end of it to the raw water pipeline, the other end of the water purifier inlet, the remaining end can be connected to other water equipment. When connecting the water inlet pipe, wrap an appropriate amount of raw material tape around the joint to prevent leakage, and then tighten the joint with an adjustable spanner. When installing the pressure drum, gooseneck faucet and waste pipe, you should also pay attention to the installation order and sealing, don't have leakage problems. After installation, be sure to rinse the cartridge for 15 - 30 minutes before first use until the outflow is clear and odourless. This step removes impurities and protective fluids left in the cartridge during production and transport to ensure safe water quality.

Regular replacement of filter cartridges

Regular replacement of filter cartridges is the key to ensure the normal operation of the water purifier and the safety of water quality. Different types of cartridges, the replacement cycle is not the same. PP cotton filter is mainly filtered large particles of impurities, easy to be blocked, generally 3-6 months to change; activated carbon filter adsorption capacity will be slowly saturated with the use of the cartridge, usually 6-12 months to change; RO reverse osmosis cartridge high filtration precision, the service life of a relatively long time, most of them in 1-3 years. Not the actual replacement cycle of the filter cartridge will also be affected by the water quality, water consumption and these factors, if the region's water quality is poor, or the family water consumption is relatively large, the filter cartridge replacement frequency may have to be increased. Don't ignore this key step because you can't afford to change the filter, the expired cartridge not only can't effectively filter impurities, but also may breed bacteria, causing secondary pollution and health hazards. Nowadays, some water purifiers have a filter replacement reminder function, through the indicator light or mobile phone APP to remind users to change the filter cartridge, which is very convenient, we must pay attention to these reminders and change the filter cartridge in a timely manner.

Cleaning and maintenance

Regular cleaning and maintenance of the water purifier can extend its service life and ensure the purification effect. The shell of the water purifier can be wiped with a soft damp cloth, if there are stubborn stains, dabbed with warm water to wipe it, but do not use volatile liquids, such as alcohol, petrol, paint thinner, which may damage the surface of the machine. The tank and spout of the water purifier should also be cleaned regularly to prevent bacteria from growing. You can flush the tank with water every 1 - 2 weeks and wipe the spout with a clean, soft cloth. You should also regularly check the water pressure and connection lines of the water purifier to see if the water pressure is within the normal range and if there is any leakage or looseness in the connection lines. If the water pressure is not normal, you need to investigate the cause of the problem; if there is a problem with the piping, you need to tighten or replace the connecting parts in a timely manner.

Avoid improper use

When using a water purifier, avoid improper operation. Don't stop using the water purifier for a long time. If you don't use the water purifier for a long time, rinse it for 2-5 minutes before using it again to drain the water stored in the water purifier and prevent bacteria from growing. The ambient temperature of the water purifier is generally 4 - 45 ℃, don't let it directly in the sun, sunlight will make the water purifier algae bacteria; don't filter hot water, not to mention can't be installed in the back of the water heater, and pay attention to the winter cold anti-freezing. Also avoid using non-standard water sources, do not let the water purifier power line and gas pipe, methane gas pipe installed together, prohibited and power more than 500W of electrical appliances used in series.

The face of odour tap water, water purifier to a certain extent can indeed solve the problem, but it is not everything. It requires us to choose correctly, reasonable installation and standardised use, in order to play the maximum effect. I hope we all pay more attention to the water quality of their own homes, according to the actual needs, choose a suitable water purifier. Let us start with a glass of clean water, guard the health of yourself and your family, and stay away from the plague of odourous tap water.