Why does my tea taste like TCP???

andrew-b

Auntie-Dolly wrote: »

I thought it was just me! The boiled water from my kettle tastes of TCP, but only if I fill it up from the cold tap. The stuff from the hot tap tastes fine. I have a plastic kettle, but I don't think it can be that.

If your water is being stored at all don't use it from the hot tap - potential for all sorts of nasties (think dead rodents/birds in cold feed tank or legionella if not hot enough)..if you've got a combi boiler it's apparently ok though probably not economical (think it was discussed recently what was cheaper).

Andy

misgrace

andrew-b wrote: »

Incidentally in case you missed it us southern water customers will all be on water meters soon..
http://www.bbc.co.uk/kent/content/articles/2009/09/03/sw_water_meters_feature.shtml

..it was inevitable i guess!

Very interesting, I'll have to check who I am with now, as I was with three waters, but they are someone else now, or have sold to someone else.

I dont want to go on a meter.:eek:

whitty999

I have tasted this tcp taste and thought it was only my own taste buds,someone told me its something to do with iodine in the water not sure what they meant,i have a metal Morphy Richards kettle and the one before was metal so might be the metal from the kettle?

andrew-b

jenner wrote: »

im pleased about the water meters, we pay well over the odds

BTW, you can request to go on a meter voluntarily if you want. It used to be that you had a year to change your mind but i don't suppose they'll allow that anymore! So if you know it's going to work out cheaper request it asap.

Canucklehead

andrew-b wrote: »

Water meters will be bad news for us. I knew it was coming as i'd seen their previous plans but i thought we had a couple more years before they would start to roll them out. Still it will take years to implement and i expect our water bills will go up to pay for it meter or not. I have usage figures from being on a meter at the flat that i can compare with (though i think our usage has gone up being a bigger property with more to clean, and a garden hose etc).

Andy

Good morning: It is costing us roughly the same on rates in this property as it did on the meter for our rental (same type/size of property)I suspect consumption is about the same as our new combi has a higher flowrate than the WB carp non-condensing in the rental but the toilet is low flush. More changes coming in with the revised Part G., The water butts come in handy in the garden.

Southern Water has a handy calculator for estimating water usage/bill on a meter.

HTH

Canucklehead

Canucklehead

andrew-b wrote: »

BTW, you can request to go on a meter voluntarily if you want. It used to be that you had a year to change your mind but i don't suppose they'll allow that anymore! So if you know it's going to work out cheaper request it asap.

According to Southern Water's website that is still the policy.

HTH

Canucklehead

Pauls

We had a new extension built a couple of years ago, and as soon as we'd had the kitchen fitted our tea started tasting funny. worked out that if I ran the tap for a couple of seconds before filling the kettle it got rid of the taste.

I looked under the sink at the time and there is some little white plastic thingy full of little grey balls plumbed into the pipe work. I presume it's some kind of lime filter to protect the dishwasher (on the cold feed??), and I guess this is where the taste was coming from

andrew-b

Page 22 of the southern water business plan goes into more details of their plans .

And page 22 again of the southern water strategic direction statement has some info too.

589,000 meters at a cost of £123million. Which works out an average of £208.83 per meter install. Also mentions them favouring AMR (automatic meter reading) and mentions "Pilot tariffs to accompany the metering
programme 2010-15" so perhaps it will make our water bill cheaper after all.
Plumbers and electricians might get some extra business out of it i guess to fix leaks and restore broken earth bonding. But I wonder where we stand legally if they force us onto a meter at their cost but without upgrading earth bonding at the same time? Should be the water companies responsibility IMHO if they force you onto a meter.

Andy

Canucklehead

andrew-b wrote: »

Page 22 of the southern water business plan goes into more details of their plans .

And page 22 again of the southern water strategic direction statement has some info too.

589,000 meters at a cost of £123million. Which works out an average of £208.83 per meter install. Also mentions them favouring AMR (automatic meter reading) and mentions "Pilot tariffs to accompany the metering
programme 2010-15" so perhaps it will make our water bill cheaper after all.
Plumbers and electricians might get some extra business out of it i guess to fix leaks and restore broken earth bonding. But I wonder where we stand legally if they force us onto a meter at their cost but without upgrading earth bonding at the same time? Should be the water companies responsibility IMHO if they force you onto a meter.

Andy

Hi...first, apologies to the OP for going seriously 'off-piste'..
The Consumer Council For Water is an excellent avenue for venting concerns. Waterwise is also an excellent resource...and ,of course, OFWAT.

Potable water will become an even more valuable (and expensive :eek:)resource as the years progress Food (or should that be drink) for thought:think:
Lots of dosh will also be made in producing and fitting water saving devices, sanitaryware, brassware etc.

Canucklehead

sarah_elton

jenner wrote: »

its a taste i have noticed in some tea rooms sometimes, or cafes, is it the metal then? but my old kettle was metal too

This can happen when detergent is left on mugs from washing up; i.e. they aren't rinsed properly after washing. Used to get this in my work restaurant on both cups and water glasses, varied in how bad it was.

If you wash up at home, don't rinse, and leave items to drain on the draining board then leftover bubbles gather round the rim and you can taste them when you have a drink.

To OP - do you have a neighbour or someone you can borrow a kettle from? You could try making tea with another one and compare.