Bubbly Or Milky Water Coming From Your Faucets Recently?

It happens. Especially in winter, and there’s no need to panic! It is a perfectly normal and harmless condition.

At Park Tower, this condition can be expected when it is very cold out because of how our water is circulates under pressure. Our water all comes from the City and enters the building very cold in the winter months. And when it is super cold (as it has been) it can tend to have a lot more air dissolved within it. Not unlike carbonated beverages. Then when you turn on your water, particularly the hot water, you can expect it to release dissolved gases as depressurizes coming out of our faucets.

The good folks at the USGS (United States Geological Survey) have a great explanation to help with this one:

“Why does my drinking water look cloudy sometimes?

Once in a while you get a glass of water that looks cloudy; maybe milky is a better term. After a few seconds it miraculously clears up! The cloudiness is due to tiny air bubbles in the water. Like any bubbles, the air rises to the top of the water and goes into the air, clearing up the water. The water in the pipes coming into your house might be under a bit of pressure. This causes gases (air) that are dissolved in the pressurized water to come out as the water flows into your glass, which is under normal atmospheric pressure.” (Click Here to view from source)

Here is a You Tube link which is very helpful to visualize this phenomenon: