Yesterday I rinsed a soda bottle, put some bleach in it, and set it on the side to soak. About 4 hours later I did the same with another soda bottle, but I noticed that the water in it was yellow compared to the first bottle. Thinking that I didn't rinse it well, I re-rinsed it, but the water was still yellow. I put a few drops of bleach in it and left it over night. In the morning the 2nd bottle was as crystal clear as the 1st bottle.

Obviously, I never noticed this about my water before, and I'm wondering if this is a health concern. I don't believe it's iron because the laundry isn't stained and neither is the diswasher (I live in FLA and have city water.) I planned to call the water company tomorrow to ask them about this, but I would appreciate any input anyone here may have.

Is this water good for drinking as it is, and is it good for storing even with bleach added? (Yellow water kinda grosses me out--think I'll stick to soda till I know for sure!!)

Thanks for any help!

-- JA (JA4you@aol.com), March 28, 1999

Answers

JA,

You answered your own question: "(I live in FLA and have city water.)" That's normal, you just never noticed it because you've never looked at it in a bottle before.

-- @ (@@@.@), March 28, 1999.

Enough said!

-- Dogpee (dogpee@inwater.com), March 29, 1999.

"Why is my water yellow?" Duh, that should be self-evident: quit drinking out of the toilet bowl. And don't eat the yellow snow.

-- Y2K Pro (2@641.com), March 29, 1999.

We have a shallow cistern type well and the water discolors when it is raining heavy. Otherwise it stays cyrstal clear and is fine. Healthwise it doesn't seem to bother anything.

You on city well, resevoir or river water?

-- waterboy (livingwaters@heavenly.rain), March 29, 1999.

I know what you mean JA, I moved to Florida 10 years ago from the midwest, and was horrified with the quality of the tap water here. As a matter of fact, the house I moved into had sat empty for a month before I moved in, and when I first walked into the bathroom, I thought someone had used the toilet and not flushed it. The look on my face after I flushed it and it refilled with the same color water must have been interesting.

It's interesting - the heavy discoloration seems to vary by the time of year. During the rainy season it is fairly clear, but in the winter the yellowness returns. I have purchased bottled water since day one for drinking and cooking (and the animals). I now am the proud owner of a British Berkfeld filter, and it seems to do a nice job of cleaning up the taste. While it was fairly expensive, the filters are long lasting with proper care.

-- Online2Much (ready_for_y2k@mindspring.com), March 29, 1999.

-->waterboy,

I'm not sure. Would there be a concern if it's resevoir or river water? I don't understand why my water should be discolored if it is already being chemically treated by the water company.

-->Online2Much,

Funny you should mention the British Berkefeld water filter. I have a print out of the description from Noah's Pantry. I was planning to call and order it today. It's good to know it is recommended by another Floridian! Thanks!!

-- JA (JA4you@aol.com), March 29, 1999.

JA, if you are on city water, your water may be temporarily yellow due to the water pipes being "flushed" at high pressure to remove any rust and/or sediments inside. my municipality does this cleaning twice a year, spring and fall. you get yellow water for a couple of hours because of all the iron. it's ok for washing, except i wouldn't use it to wash clothes. the best bet for drinking is to get water from a part of town that isn't having the pipes cleaned, or filter your yellow water.

-- jocelyne slough (jonslough@tln.net), March 29, 1999.

JA,

The pipe (hydrant) flushing can cause yellowed or brown tinged water in some systems. However if you were in Milwaukee and got the don't worry about line from the water department when yellowed water preceeded the cryptosporidium outbreak, you might have severe reservations about discolored water being OK. If memory is correct a half million people found out the hard way. (I was one of them, and it was nasty...)

jh

-- john hebert (jt_hebert@hotmail.com), March 29, 1999.

In Florida and southern Georgia, it's been my experience that the water has a yellow tint because of the sulphur content. A good tap filter can remove that and all the other minerals in your drinking water. I venture to guess that you don't have a really bad sulphur problem, because in places where there's lots of that particular mineral in the water, some people think they've got a sewer leak into their drinking water.

WW

-- Wildweasel (vtmldm@epix.net), March 29, 1999.