Why does bottled water only taste like crap AFTER you open it?

[desslok]

I have had various brands of sizes of bottled water for weeks, months, even years. Have left bottles in hot cars for weeks at a time. And every time, when you first open it and break the little safety seal, the water always tastes fresh. HOWEVER, if you open the bottle, take a drink, and then leave it on your table overnight it tastes aweful. I once went on a plane trip. On the way to the airport I opened a fresh bottle water, took some drinks and left it in the car while I went out of town. When I got back from my trip a week later, i took a sip of the same bottle that had been sitting in the car with the lid fully screwed tight, and the water tasted like rat poison infused toxic plastic with BPA sauce. Whats the deal with that?

[EliKoehn]

Probably because room temperature/warm water is a fertile environment for whatever micro-organisms were just introduced to it after you open it.

[paulinkansas]

It's the brother of the Tooth Fairy. His name is the Poop Fairy.

[LtGoose]

The plastic seeps into the water

Are you really this dense?

[ECGordyn]

It's the estranged brother of the Tooth Fairy. His name is the Poop Fairy.

This gets my vote. It's in your head OP.

I've never noticed a difference, but then again I finish bottles within 12 hours of opening, and never leave them in hot cars.

Run a chemical analysis on bottles left in different locations: hot car, cold fridge, room temp in sun all day, room temp in shade all day, endless possibilities to get to the bottom of this life mystery.

[air2fakie]

HOWEVER, if you open the bottle, take a drink, and then leave it on your table overnight it tastes aweful. I once went on a plane trip. On the way to the airport I opened a fresh bottle water, took some drinks and left it in the car while I went out of town.

I've never noticed a difference, but then again I finish bottles within 12 hours of opening, and never leave them in hot cars.

Am I the only one who opens a water bottle and just chugs them?

[TolerantLactose]

How do you know what it tastes like before you open it?

[ECGordyn]

Am I the only one who opens a water bottle and just chugs them?

I drink from 1.5 liter bottles. That's a little less than 1.5 quarts. Either way, a lot to chug, for me at least.

How do you know what it tastes like before you open it?

This FTW. At first I was gonna bring up Schroediger's Cat but figured it would be out of place in a nutrition discussion.

[AdamWW]

This FTW. At first I was gonna bring up Schroediger's Cat but figured it would be out of place in a nutrition discussion.

That dude loved the pussy

[EliKoehn]

Am I the only one who opens a water bottle and just chugs them?

Me too. I also always chug my glasses of water in one fell swoop, usually standing near the sink or cooler as well. Hydration feels like a task, not something to savor.

[snailsrus]

I don’t drink bottled water. Well water for life crew

[desslok]

Probably because room temperature/warm water is a fertile environment for whatever micro-organisms were just introduced to it after you open it.

So are you saying they bottle it in a vaccuum tight sterile “clean room”? It sits in room temperature or hot trucks for days, weeks, months before it gets to your store.

[air2fakie]

I don’t drink bottled water. Well water for life crew

I keep thinking your new profile pic is pointed down at the toilet of a clogged port-a-potty at first glance until I remember what it is (srs).

[EliKoehn]

So are you saying they bottle it in a vaccuum tight sterile “clean room”? It sits in room temperature or hot trucks for days, weeks, months before it gets to your store.

True. I would guess it's sterile as it's bottled, but I also don't know the process. It couldn't be like canning because it would melt the plastic. Maybe not like a superconductor manufactory, but also not the same as having saliva directly introduced to it.

I do know what you're saying about that stale taste though, and in my experience it is only apparent after it's been opened, yeah. However I also almost never leave any water in the bottle, so it's a rare experience nevertheless.

[air2fakie]

So are you saying they bottle it in a vaccuum tight sterile “clean room”? It sits in room temperature or hot trucks for days, weeks, months before it gets to your store.

I think some teenager making minimum wage spits into each bottle before he puts the cap on. Kinda like soda at McDonald's.

[desslok]

True. I would guess it's sterile as it's bottled, but I also don't know the process. It couldn't be like canning because it would melt the plastic. Maybe not like a superconductor manufactory, but also not the same as having saliva directly introduced to it.

I do know what you're saying about that stale taste though, and in my experience it is only apparent after it's been opened, yeah. However I also almost never leave any water in the bottle, so it's a rare experience nevertheless.

I guess the thing is is it doesn’t taste rotten or stale, it simply tastes more and more like plastic the longer it is left in there. It taste like the bottle that it has been sitting in.

[desslok]

The plastic seeps into the water

Are you really this dense?

Ok Einstein then why doesn’t the plastic seep into the water before its open? The water and plastic are directly touching for weeks/years before this.

[paulinkansas]

Ok Einstein then why doesn’t the plastic seep into the water before its open? The water and plastic are directly touching for weeks/years before this.

It has something to do with Boyle's Gas Law. The equation is Pressure x Volume = N x Gast Constant x Temperature.

When you open the bottle and remove some of the liquid, the variables of Volume and N change. The other 3 variables stay the same. Before the bottle was opened, the maximum amount of plastic was dissolved in the liquid. When you change the 2 variables, more plastic is able to be dissolved in the water.

This is coming from a guy that has used toilet water to make his coffee when his pipes were frozen.

[EliKoehn]

It has something to do with Boyle's Gas Law. The equation is Pressure x Volume = N x Gast Constant x Temperature.

When you open the bottle and remove some of the liquid, the variables of Volume and N change. The other 3 variables stay the same. Before the bottle was opened, the maximum amount of plastic was dissolved in the liquid. When you change the 2 variables, more plastic is able to be dissolved in the water.

This is coming from a guy that has used toilet water to make his coffee when his pipes were frozen.

A surprisingly serious and scientific post from you, Paul.

[paulinkansas]

A surprisingly serious and scientific post from you, Paul.

The plastic reacts with the oxygen in the bottle. When the bottle is sealed, there is a miniscule amount of oxygen to react with the plastic. When more air is introduced into the bottle, there is more oxygen to react with the plastic.

I need 7 more college credits to have a minor in chemistry.

[EliKoehn]

The plastic reacts with the oxygen in the bottle. When the bottle is sealed, there is a miniscule amount of oxygen to react with the plastic. When more air is introduced into the bottle, there is more oxygen to react with the plastic.

I need 7 more college credits to have a minor in chemistry.

Interesting. I feel edified. I merely took the gen ed and it was one of the hardest classes in my whole course of study. Needless to say, I do not have a scientific bent...

[snailsrus]

I keep thinking your new profile pic is pointed down at the toilet of a clogged port-a-potty at first glance until I remember what it is (srs).

She has fallen in love with the dyer after I pull laundry out, she likes it cause it’s all warm and dark I think

[desslok]

The plastic reacts with the oxygen in the bottle. When the bottle is sealed, there is a miniscule amount of oxygen to react with the plastic. When more air is introduced into the bottle, there is more oxygen to react with the plastic.

I need 7 more college credits to have a minor in chemistry.

So you are saying the H2O becomes H2O2?

[paulinkansas]

So you are saying the H2O becomes H2O2?

O2 + plastic + light energy => poopy tasting water

[paulinkansas]

Interesting. I feel edified. I merely took the gen ed and it was one of the hardest classes in my whole course of study. Needless to say, I do not have a scientific bent...

It is akin to adding more black powder to your muzzle loader.

[desslok]

O2 + plastic + light energy => poopy tasting water

So it becomes H2OP?

[paulinkansas]

So it becomes H2OP?

Close. The CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics defines it as H2OPoopy. Really bad water is H2OPoopy^2.

[Darkius]

You can't taste it BEFORE you open it.

[snailsrus]

Ok Einstein then why doesn’t the plastic seep into the water before its open? The water and plastic are directly touching for weeks/years before this.

backwash….

[GeneralSerpant]

https://www.quora.com/Does-water%E2%...ntact-with-air