Why Your Water Feels Slimy (& Tips To Fix It)

Ever wanted to wash your hands or have a shower and the water felt like someone let a school of fish loose in your pipes? No one likes that slippery feeling that tap water sometimes has, and it can leave homeowners confused. But why does your water feel slimy? While the slimy feel could be from softened hard water or water with high pH, some other causes could be algae and iron bacteria.

This slimy feeling is actually common with soft water. Given the horrors hard water can cause in your home, treating it to remove the dissolved calcium and magnesium is a necessity that can lead to an unwanted slimy result. Different types of softeners exist, but salt-based water softeners are the most common, and the summary of their function is the exchange of hard water minerals for sodium ions (or salt). However, the sodium ions can alter the texture of the water and cause a slippery feel, even after rinsing. Water with high pH can also feel slimy because of increased alkalinity. Increased pH levels usually occur when the water source has carbonate, bicarbonate, or hydroxide compounds dissolved in it.

Slimy water could also indicate microorganism infiltration due to poor water treatment systems. These often allow algae and bacterial growth in the water, which can cause a change in water texture to something more sticky or slimy. Certain water sources also have iron bacteria infiltration, which produces a slimy material that sticks to the piping structures, eventually contaminating your home water supply.

Most cases of slimy water texture are a result of treating hard water, which is a hidden downside of water softeners. However, it is still possible to remove the excess heavy minerals without the resulting slimy texture. The trick here is to avoid salt-based water softeners and go for alternative salt-free types. As the name implies, they don't contain salt and neutralize the heavy minerals rather than substitute them for sodium ions. The aim is to condition the heavy minerals so their particles don't build up on faucets or shower heads. In other cases where the slimy feel of the soft water is due to a change in pH and increased alkalinity, installing a reverse osmosis system will help balance the water's pH.

You can equally deal with the slimy soft water issue by switching to pure soaps, which are void of additives and softening agents. If you can't make this switch, then consider using less soap than usual when washing or bathing with soft water. With hard water, you use more soap because the hard water chemicals and soap react first to create soap scum before letting you work up a lather for washing. However, since those specific chemicals are not present in soft water, you don't need as much soap anymore. Additionally, reactions between soap and sodium in softened water leave a slimy feel on the skin, so less soap will reduce that. You should also consider buying laundry detergents specific for soft water to form a better lather.

Aside from soft water, that slippery feel can be caused by algae growth. Installing a water filtration system is your best bet to fix this. A whole-house water filter is the way to go because it ensures your entire home water supply is filtered and has no negative effect on your water pressure. These filter systems can be quite expensive, though, ranging from $850 for a simple carbon or sediment filter to over $8,000 for the more effective reverse osmosis systems. If you have a residential storage tank, you'll also need to eliminate the conditions that allow this growth. Algae require sunlight to thrive and reproduce, so installing a UV-resistant opaque water tank will make it difficult for them to survive in your water.

Slippery water caused by iron bacteria typically happens if your water supply comes from a groundwater source with dissolved iron. Aside from the slimy feel, water contaminated by this bacteria can also have a reddish-brown color and bad odor, so it's hard to miss. If you have a private well supply, disinfecting the water with chlorine is the most common method of handling this issue. But if your water is from a public supply, the chances of the bacteria originating from your supply are low since 75% of U.S. municipal water is chlorinated. Instead, it's likely there is iron in your supply that attracted the bacteria to your pipes. In this case, a home water treatment system should be your go-to.