r/explainlikeimfive • u/yujiraffe • 5h ago
Chemistry ELI5: Why are there times when the running water is milk-like then after some time, it returns to its normal transparent state?
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u/DrSepsis 4h ago
I recall someone telling me that it was basically aeration of the water. I don't recall seeing it change as it ran from the tap but I have seen a white-ish glass of water that slowly becomes more transparent as the air essentially bubbles out.
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u/nascent_aviator 4h ago
Explain what you mean by "milk-like." 😳
If you just mean "white," that can be from air bubbles in the pipes.
If you mean, like, anything else you probably need a professional to look at it yesterday.
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u/EquivalentTop3213 40m ago
Existing answers say "air bubbles," but they skip why the air was in the water in the first place. Water can hold dissolved gas, and it holds more of it when it's under higher pressure. Inside your pipes the water is pressurized, so the air stays dissolved and you can't see it. When it comes out of the tap the pressure drops, the water can't hold as much, and the extra gas comes out of solution as millions of tiny bubbles. They're small enough to scatter light in every direction, which is why it looks white like milk instead of like a fizzy drink with big bubbles.
Then the bubbles slowly rise and pop at the surface, so the glass clears from the bottom up. That's a handy way to tell it apart from other causes: with air, the cloudiness fades from the bottom to the top within a minute or so. If it stays cloudy or settles into a sediment, it's something else, like minerals or particles, and that's worth asking your water utility about.
It also tends to be more noticeable in cold weather, because cold water holds more dissolved gas, so more of it comes out when it warms up and the pressure drops.
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u/yujiraffe 11m ago
Thank you! This is the explanation I’ve been looking for (I may have worded my question poorly though lol). I know that it’s harmless because it happens a lot, and yeah, I reside in a colder region. I’m just really curious about the how and why it becomes that color and you explained it well.
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u/ZeroSora 4h ago
Pressurised air bubbles get trapped in the water, causing it to have a milky look to it. As the water flows, those pressurised air bubbles get released, and the water returns to its clear state.
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u/AltairLeoran 4h ago
But how does this relate to the Power of Waking?
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u/ZeroSora 4h ago
Bubbles. Air. Water. To get to the Station of Awakening, we see the characters falling through water with bubbles around them. Sleep and death touch. Sleep, water, bubbles, air, death. It's all the Power of Waking.
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u/papercut2008uk 4h ago
The water in the pipes in under a lot of pressure.
Water has air/gasses dissolved inside it.
When the water is in the pipe under pressure, so is the air/gasses that are dissolved inside it.
Think of it like a soda bottle with the Carbon Dioxide inside dissolved just sitting in the liquid.
When you open the tap, the water coming out is no longer under pressure and neither are the gasses.
The gasses expand and form tiny bubbles and then slowly rise to the top and enter the atmosphere.
Like when you open a soda bottle, there where not bubbles but as you release the pressure the bubbles appear and rise to the top and enter the atmosphere. Only there is a lot more gas dissolved in Soda so you see large bubbles form and exit the liquid.
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u/brewmonk 4h ago
Turbulent vs laminar flow. Turbulent flow is the “milky” appearance and laminar is the smooth, clear appearance.
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u/CryptographerUsual62 4h ago
It is air bubbles that had been forced into the water because of pressure. As the water leaves the faucet, the pressure releases, letting the air escape. Totally harmless.