Video · Tap Water Quality
Tap Water vs Bottled Water: Smell First, Then Taste
Tap water that smells like a swimming pool almost always owes it to the chlorine your utility adds to keep it safe. In this tap water vs bottled water test, that smell drops the tap to a four out of ten.
Job footageSwiftPro
- Topic
- Tap Water Quality
- Length
- 0:54
- Posted
- August 27, 2026
- Shot by
- The SwiftPro crew, Northern Virginia
What you’re seeing in this video
A boy sits at a kitchen table with two drinks: a glass of tap water from the sink and a bottle of water he just opened. Before tasting, he's asked to smell both.
One doesn't smell like anything. The tap water, he says, smells kind of like pool water. On taste he gives the tap a four, drinkable but not good, and the bottle an eight because it tastes like nothing at all. He drinks the tap water every day and takes it to school, and says the water at school is even worse.
So, what do we have here, [name]? Well, we have tap water from our sink and a bottle of water that I just opened up. What do you notice about the smell of the two? One smells not the best.
And the other one doesn't smell like anything. What does the one in the cup smell like? Can you compare it to anything? Kind of like pool water.
Let's do the taste test. Scale of 1 to 10, rate the two. Which one? So, this one I feel like it's a four.
It's drinkable, but it doesn't really taste the best. But this one, it tastes like nothing at all and I kind of like that. So, I'd say eight. An eight?
Eight out of 10? Yes. How often do you drink the water out of the tap? Every day.
I take it to school. Does the water at school even worse? It tastes like actual poop. Actual poop.
Do you want to know what's in your water? Go to myfreewaterreport.com today.
Why it matters in your house
- A pool smell means disinfectant, and it's a sign the water was treated, not that it's unsafe. A carbon filter removes most of the smell and taste.
- Bottled water isn't automatically cleaner. It's regulated differently from tap water and costs far more per gallon. Knowing what's in your tap is the better starting point.
- Your utility publishes a yearly water quality report. It shows what was measured in the system, not what comes out of your own pipes, which is why a home test helps.
Is bottled water better than tap water?
Not automatically. Tap water from a public utility is tested constantly, and plenty of bottled water is just filtered tap water. Where bottled usually wins is taste, because the chlorine is gone. A good filter at the kitchen sink gets you most of that taste for a lot less, without the plastic.
Want it done at your place? See Tap Water Quality at SwiftPro or call (703) 997-9757.
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