"But my uncle swears he can taste plastic every time he visits a house with PEX plumbing—could be psychological maybe?"
Funny you mention that, my mom says the exact same thing whenever she visits my sister's place. I honestly never noticed it myself, but now I'm wondering if it's one of those things you only taste once someone points it out...like when someone mentions a weird noise and suddenly you can't unhear it. Could definitely be psychological, or maybe some people are just more sensitive to certain tastes?
Funny you mention that, my mom says the exact same thing whenever she visits my sister's place.
My dad used to complain about the same thing whenever he visited my brother's new house. I was skeptical at first, figured it was all in his head, but after hearing others mention it...maybe some folks really are just more sensitive to certain tastes? Hard to say.
I've seen this happen at a few of my rental properties, actually. One tenant swore the water tasted metallic and had weak pressure, but when I checked it out myself, everything seemed fine to me. Then again, another renter in the same building didn't notice anything at all. Makes me wonder if certain pipes or fixtures can cause subtle differences that some people pick up on more easily than others? Or maybe it's just personal preference and sensitivity...who knows.
I did end up swapping out some older pipes in one place, and the complaints stopped after that. Could've been coincidence or placebo effect though. Has anyone tried testing their water quality professionally, just to rule things out? Might be worth a shot if it's really bothering people.
I haven't had professional testing done yet, but honestly, I'd recommend it if you're noticing weird tastes or pressure issues. When we first moved in, the water didn't taste quite right to me either—my partner thought I was imagining things, but turns out we had some old galvanized pipes causing rust buildup. Swapped them out and the difference was night and day. Maybe certain people are just more sensitive to subtle changes...but why risk it when it comes to water quality? Has anyone else found pipe material makes a noticeable difference?
Pipe material definitely matters. I've seen copper pipes improve water taste noticeably, but honestly, changes in pressure usually come down to buildup or corrosion inside the lines. Galvanized pipes are notorious for that—good call replacing yours. I'd still test just to be safe though.
