Water Tastes Sweet — What Does it Mean?

If the water tastes sweet in your home, it may seem like there is cause for concern, especially if you’ve never noticed it before. And sometimes it takes a guest to point out a taste to water in your home that you may have become accustomed to. The good news is that there are some possible reasons why this could happen that are not cause for any serious concern. So let’s get into answering the question, “why does my water taste sweet?”

Water Tastes Sweet: Possible Causes

We’ll get into the three possible causes and then talk about what you can do when your water tastes sweet.

Pipes Can Cause a Sweet Taste

Believe it or not it can be something as simple as your pipes causing the sweet taste. Pipes can also give water a salty taste, it just depends on the pipes, and this can happen whether the pipes are old or on the newer side. It doesn’t mean you need to be alarmed, however.

You don’t need to hire a plumber for the expensive job of fixing this issue. What you can do is simply flush the pipes out. You can do this by letting the water run for a minute or two before you get your glass of water. This should be enough clear out pipes and eliminate the taste you are picking up.

Mineral Content in Your Water

Something else that can cause this type of taste can be the mineral content in your water. Certain trace minerals, which are completely normal, can impart a sweet taste. Usually it is calcium that causes this.

Is It Something You Ate?

One last possibility is that the taste has to do with something you’ve had to eat or drink recently. To me this seems unlikely, since you’re probably experiencing the sweet-tasting water more than once or twice before you deciding to search online for possible causes. However, just to be thorough we should also consider if it is a food or drink-related taste that you’re detecting.

What Can You Do About The Sweet Taste In Your Water?

If you have tried flushing the pipes and still find the sweet taste in your water, you could look into filtration since it probably has to do with mineral content.

You have several options available to you. All of these options can remove minerals, improve your water’s taste, and increase the purity and safety of the water you and your family drink in your home.

Water Filter Pitchers

You can switch to using a pitcher water filter such as the popular Brita. These pitchers can be purchased for about $30-50 depending on the exact brand and model that you choose. There are a lot of high-quality brands to choose from besides the Brita.

Whole-House Filtration Systems

A whole-house water filtration system can also solve this problem for you. These are installed at your main water supply to filter the water throughout the house. These can cost a couple hundred dollars and up to over a thousand.

This is a typical whole house system:

Faucet Mount Water Filter

You can also opt for one of these faucet-mounted filters. Most of us have come across something similar before, as they’re been popular in home kitchens for decades. This is a very affordable solution, with a price range of around $20 to $60.

Under Sink Water Filter

With an under sink water filter, you simply install it underneath your kitchen faucet where it is out of sight. This is nice as it will maintain the clean, uncluttered lines of the faucet itself, as opposed to the faucet-mounted filters which can create a bulky look at your sink. These aesthetics may or may not matter to you, but it’s nice to have a lot of options. These units typically can be installed quickly and easily via your cold water line. You can find these for about $80-200. 

Final Thoughts

If the water tastes sweet in your home, you don’t need to be alarmed. Try flushing pipes by running the water for a moment before you get your drink. If this doesn’t alleviate the taste sensation you’re experiencing, you may want to look into one of the many affordable filtration options that are on the market.