Maine Water disinfects the public drinking water with chlorine to prevent contamination by disease causing organisms. You may notice a chlorine smell or taste some or all of the time. We pay very close attention to the levels of chlorine with routine testing and continuous monitors.
Internal plumbing systems sometimes are stagnant such as overnight when people are sleeping or when buildings are unoccupied for a period of time, such as when residents are at school or work or on vacation. Stagnant water can give an off taste or smell to the water so flushing the water lines, making sure to run all faucets in the building, greatly reduces stagnation and flushes out metal contaminants from the plumbing that have leached into the water as water sets in the pipes.
If a building has been idle for a period of days or weeks, it will be very important to run cold water, starting at the nearest faucet to the meter (at the water pipe entrance into the building), working all the way to the farthest faucet from the meter. If the building is two or more stories tall, flush starting at the lowest floor working up to the highest. In this case flushing each faucet well is important. Remember to clean the aerators at the ends of the faucets as well.
Sometimes sink drains release gases if they have accumulated materials like food, soaps, toothpaste, hair etc. An off odor will be released when the water is turned on, forcing gases up through the drain. Cleaning the drains should take care of this.
If you notice a mold-like smell, you could have environmental mold growing around the wet areas of your shower, tub, toilet, and sinks. Mold does not come from the water but needs water to grow and thrive. Mold spores are in the air and are common causes of discoloration around water fixtures. Regular cleaning and elimination of mold sources will reduce growth.
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