Why Is My Faucet Water Cloudy?

July 06, 2017

Worried about tap water that comes out a little milky and cloudy?

If so, you’re likely dealing with one of these 4 issues:

1. Air bubbles

2. Hard water

3. Total suspended solids (TSS)

4. Methane gas

Cause #1: Air bubbles

Signs your have air bubbles in your faucet water:

Fill up a glass of water and let it sit for a few minutes. Watch the water. If the water clears from
the bottom up and becomes completely clear after a few minutes, the problem is most likely just
air bubbles.

Excess air bubbles can get into your faucet water due to:

 Trapped air in your plumbing

 Recent plumbing work

 Increased water pressure in your home’s plumbing

Cause #2: Hard water

Signs you have hard water:

 Cloudy water in a glass never clears

  You see white spots on glass dishes after washing them
 You have to use extra laundry detergent, otherwise your clothes are stiff and discolored
after washing

 White or discolored mineral deposits build on water appliances over time

Mineral deposits on a sink faucet aerator.

Hard water is water that has a high amount of dissolved minerals in it (mostly calcium and
magnesium).

Cause #3: High “TSS” concentration

Signs you have high levels of TSS in your faucet water:

 Water becomes clear after passing through a standard water filter

 There’s recently been construction, drilling activity or other ground disturbance near your
municipal water supply

So, what exactly is “TSS”? TSS stands for total suspended solids and refers to all the extremely
small solids in water that stay “suspended” in the water (don’t ever settle to the bottom).

Some of these solids include:

 Silt

 Sediment

 Clay

 Iron

 Manganese

 Algae

Although the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) doesn’t provide a standard for TSS
measurement in drinking water, unusual cloudiness due to TSS can lead to bacteria growth.
Cause #4: Methane Gas
Signs you have methane gas in your faucet water:

 You use well water

 Water sputtering from faucet

 White air bubbles in your water

Methane is a natural gas that can occur naturally in well water. This gas is colorless, odorless and
tasteless. According to the U.S. Department of Interior, methane levels in drinking water:

 Below 10 mg/L is considered safe

 Between 10 mg/L and 28 mg/L should be regularly monitored

 Over 28 mg/L requires immediate action (to lower methane levels)

How to get rid of it:

If you think you have methane gas in your drinking water, you’ll want to have a professional test
the water to measure the exact methane gas levels.