A soapy taste can be caused by many different contaminants on the way into your glass. So in order to get to the root cause of the soapy taste in your water, we’ll need to eliminate the other potential causes.
The most common causes of soap taste in your water
- Contamination. A contaminated cup or dish that hasn’t been cleaned properly is the most likely occurrence if the tap water is tasting a little bit funny. You can test this by properly rinsing the cup and trying again.
- Medications. Specifically, Telavancin, an antibiotic used to treat skin infections, bacterial pneumonia, and staph infections as a side effect, causes a soapy taste in the mouth.
- Genetics. Some foods like coriander affect people with a mutation in their OR6A2 gene, which causes them to taste soap when ingested.
- Backflow from appliances. If you experience a strong antiseptic smell or flavor in your water, you may be getting backflow from your washing machine or dishwasher.
How to fix a soapy taste in your water
Fortunately, for the majority of instances of a soapy taste in your water, the contamination occurs outside of the water supply (other than any backflow issues). This means you don’t need expensive filtration systems to fix a soapy taste, however, you can use an active carbon filter at the tap or in a jug to improve the taste if you are unable to identify the soap source.
If you are having issues with your water you can use our ‘Taste Series’ to find the source of the issue in your water supply:
- The Taste Series
- Why does Cold Water Taste Better?
- Why does my water taste bad?
- Why does my water taste bitter?
- Why does my water taste funny?
- Why does my water taste like blood?
- Why does my water taste like chemicals?
- Why does my water taste like chlorine?
- Why does my water taste like metal?
- Why does my water taste like plastic?
- Why does my water taste like soap?
- Why does my water taste salty?
- Why does my water taste sour?
- Why does my water taste sweet?
- Why is my tap water smelly?
- The Taste Series
The Taste Series – Why does my water taste ______? Water can have many different underlying tastes; some […] - Why does Cold Water Taste Better?
Ever thought about why we drink cold water or prefer ice-cold water? At one point, you may have […]
- Why does my water taste bad?If your tap water tastes bad it is likely from a contaminant. If you can narrow down what […]
- Why does my water taste bitter?
A bitter taste in drinking water can be caused by the presence of metals, a high ph, or […]
- Why does my water taste funny?If your tap water starts tasting funny then it is best to get to the root cause of […]
- Why does my water taste like blood?There are a number of different reasons why your water may taste like blood. A high iron content […]
- Why does my water taste like chemicals?
Usually, your tap water should taste or smell relatively neutral. However, if there is a new or existing […]
- Why does my water taste like chlorine?
The smell and taste of chlorine or a bleach-like smell in tap water is usually a residual amount […]
- Why does my water taste like metal?
A metallic taste in drinking water can be caused by the presence of one or a combination of […]
- Why does my water taste like plastic?Although it most commonly occurs when you let water sit in a plastic bottle for too long, plastic […]
- Why does my water taste like soap?A soapy taste can be caused by many different contaminants on the way into your glass. So in […]
- Why does my water taste salty?
When you have a glass of salty-tasting water it’s automatic to assume that it just has a little […]
- Why does my water taste sour?A sour taste is most commonly caused by acidic water. Water with a lower pH level will begin […]
- Why does my water taste sweet?A sweet taste in your drinking water can be caused by various contaminants, some of which are harmless […]
- Why is my tap water smelly?Pure water is supposed to be odourless, colourless, tasteless, and neutral. However, tap water is not pure; it […]
