Water that taste like you washed a dog in it :(

[Andsectoid]

I am moving into a house and the water dispenser on the fridge was shut off because the hose had a leak. Water had been sitting in the fridge during this time. After replacing the hose I ran 10 gallons through the system. I let the system sit and cool. The water the resulted from the system was cold but tasted so badly I could not sleep. I know that the house does have hard water and I was planning on getting a filter but I know from the hose I removed that there are deposits in the system. Could the deposits prolong the bad taste even after I get a filter? How the heck would I get rid of that? I know the fridge is 20 something years old. I do not want to buy a new one because I am renting for the first year. I really do not want buy a filter if it will not help the taste.

[RivaOni]

pour some bleach down it and then rinse for a while, should burn the crap off it

*please note, if you try this, i am not to blame for anything that goes wrong as i do not know what i am talking about*

[Andsectoid]

With my luck teh bleach would flavor the deposits. So I would have bleached-dog flavored water.

[Blackmage]

A filter for the entire house or just the faucets? hard water sucks for showers imo. it'll leave an itchy feeling on your skin.

[Andsectoid]

Took a shower last night and I was fine.

[Hoth]

Yeah the regular faucet water is fine.. The fridge water.. if that can't be fixed will then we will just restrict our other roomie to only using that. I wonder if clorine might work??

[Andsectoid]

Someone else suggested that I run vinegar through the system and let it set over night. Then the next day make a paste with baking soda and water and run it through the system.

They theorized one of two things might happen:
1.The vinegar will start to eat away at some of the deposits and might ever be obsorbed in the process. Using the baking soda combination will react with the vinegar and eliminate further deposits.
Or
2.The fridge will explode.

It was noted that either would be an interesting result.

[Satine]

I believe vinegar will get any deposits out, as that's how I clean my coffee pot. (Run it through a cycle with vinegar in the resevoir. Smells kinda funky but does the job). Baking soda would probably remove any remaining odors/tastes. But I doubt your fridge would explode. Though I'd give it a good flush with water before I drank from it again.

And DO get a filter. It will keep deposits from building up in your pipes and eventually blocking them, which is one of those major plumbing problems you'll pay a plumber lots of money to fix. The house I grew up in had a whole-house filter that used rock salt. Worked like a charm, but there are newer models that are a lot smaller and don't require 50 lb. bags of rock salt to work. It may be a bit expensive, but it'll save you a lot of trouble and money down the road. Pipe deposits are no fun.

[Andsectoid]

My Pipes Are Clean!!

I filled the system with vineger. Let it sit for 2 days. Added more vineger. Let it sit for one more day.
I noticed it coloring on the pipes washed off.
I hooked the water back up and washed out the system and low and behold the vineger worked like a charm. After washing the vineger out of the system I decided not to put baking soda through the lines because you cannot taste any vineger and I didn't like the idea that it might much things up.

ty for the info everyone.

[Daijaga]

I used to work for an appliance repair facility - it IS a good idea to replace your filter, andy. Funny how those old wives tales like vingar throught the lines work. Theres a bunch of good everyday remedies in lore like that - meat tenderizer on your bee sting, that sort of thing.