Why does clean water develop a "musty" smell ?

Question

I washed some dishes, cups, glasses and the like, in hot sopy water so they were squeeky clean.
I placed them upside down to drip dry on a draining board and when I return to them the next day, there is a funny smell inside that is gone after a few seconds. A sort of mildy unpleasent musty water smell..... what causes this ?

Its also a smell associated with water in fish tanks and water thats been kept in a container for a long time, even when clean.

Not a strong pungent smell, but a mildly sweet but unpleasent smell.

? · Accepted Answer

Some bacteria / mold apparently can live on water alone, especially if they have a light source.  This is why water will become stagnant if the water is not constantly aerated.

I used to have problems with a shower head.  It always seemed to grow mold on it.  The mold was living on water alone, unless it somehow managed to eat the metal of the shower head (which is unlikely).  I now drain the shower head after every use, so the mold is no longer a problem.  However, this taught me that some molds require very little "food" as long as they have water.

Hope this helps explain your experience.

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oneman2dogs · Answer

This is common in unsoftened well water; you have hard water. If this is not well water, I would suggest contacting the water department to see if they have done any recent work on the pipes and explain the odor to them; they may ask you to bring in a sample to be tested.

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Why does clean water develop a "musty" smell ?

2 Answers