Why does my water taste of chemicals?
A TCP or medicinal taste is often caused by chemicals in rubber or plastic components from your kitchen appliances reacting with chlorine in the water. While these chemicals are not usually harmful, they can taste unpleasant.
What to do if your water smells of chemicals
Kettles
If you only notice the taste in hot drinks, try boiling water in a clean saucepan. If the taste is no longer present, it’s likely because of the kettle gasket that seals the elements to the side of the kettle.
The problem may well go away with time if the kettle is new. Boiling fresh water each time may also help to keep the taste to a minimum. If the problem persists, contact the manufacturer for their advice.
Washing machines and dishwashers
Chemical tastes can be caused by the hose that feeds your dishwasher or washing machine. To stop this, try shutting off the hose by turning off the water valve that feeds your dishwasher or washing machine when you're not using it.
If the valve is difficult to get to, you might want to get a plumber to move it or fit a check-valve so the water can't go back into your supply pipe.
We can send you a check-valve free of charge - this should stop your drinking water having a chemical taste.
Tap washers
Sometimes the washer inside kitchen taps and stop-taps may be the cause of an unusual taste in your drinking water.
If there is a second mains-fed tap in the house, try using water from this. If no taste is noticeable then the cause is probably the tap washer in the original tap.
If no other suitable tap is available, run the tap for a short time before tasting the water.
Other fittings
Many kitchen tap fittings use flexible or braided hoses and other rubber-like materials. Some of these fittings can create taste problems. The best way to eliminate these is to ensure that all your drinking water fittings are approved by Water Regs UK (they will be labelled as approved if so).
Please be aware, although it is against the Water Fittings Regulations to install any unapproved product to your drinking water pipe, it is not illegal to sell them and many unapproved plumbing products are freely available.
More information
How to fit a check valve
If you're having trouble with water feeding back from your dishwasher or washing machine, we can send you a free check valve to fix the issue. In this downloadable guide, we explain in simple terms how to fit it.
What's an approved fitting?
An approved fitting is a plumbing product approved by Water Regs UK. Using approved products means you have a guarantee of the quality of the product you are using.
Contact us
You should be able to find everything you need on this page to solve your water taste or smell issue. However, if you've tried everything suggested here and your water still tastes or smells like chemicals, please get in touch and we'll be delighted to help.