Replaced Faucet. Now water smells of plumbers putty!

emperor_black

Replaced a Kitchen faucet which was over 12 yrs old I'm assuming. The sink has three holes. I got a $78 Glacier bay retractable faucet. It had a base which covered up the two side holes leaving the center open. They suggested using plumbers putty around the big screws which go into those two holes and the base can be screwed from underneath the sink. That's exactly what I did.

I led the water lines through the center hole, connected to the existing old water lines. Yeah, I had purchased new ones to replace the old water lines. But try as I might, I could not unscrew the old ones. I was about to call a plumber but figured out how to use the old ones.

The first time you turn on the water, it smells of plumbers putty. I have no idea how thats happening. If you let the water run for a few seconds, the smell goes away. Any idea how the water smells of the putty? How can I make it go away? Is it a bad faucet?

thanks!

Sam

emperor_black

Bump before I decide to take everything out.

drtbk4ever

I too am confused why the water smells like plumbers putty as it doesn't sound like you put it inside the water lines?

Is it in fact the water that smells like plumbers putty or just the general sink area? Maybe running the water disipates the odor in the area.

I would leave it for a bit longer if possible to see if problem continues. But I am not an expert.

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Bill

A DIY Noob that knows just enough to be dangerous.

emperor_black

the water was fine before the new faucet. Actually very tasty water in San Jose, CA. Even now, after running it for a few seconds, its fine. But the first drink, it tastes horrible and smells of putty.

Thurman

I've had this smell hang around for a few weeks after installing a new faucet. IMO--it may be that the smell is in the general area, and running the water changes your "smeller" over. before I would take out anything I would give it more time.

Scuba_Dave

Possibly when you fed the pipes thru the holes you hit the putty
But sounds like you removed the new feeds & re-used the old ?
Maybe still smeared some on the pipes ?

emperor_black

I cleaned out the holes completely of all the old putty. I could not remove the old lines. I connected the old lines to the faucet's lines. Other than the screw base that holds the faucet's base, there's no putty anywhere.

however, i do have another doubt. Other than the two water lines, the faucet had a plastic pipe to which I connected the long hose that holds the retractable faucet's spray. Could the putty smell be getting to that plastic pipe somehow?

concretemasonry

Run the hot water for a few minutes and then take a sample to smell and taste. Do the same with the cold water.

The hot water should clean the plumber dope out much quicker since it will dissolve most things faster..

Your sense of smell can easily be more discerning than taste and the odors can carry over before you even taste.

Dick

Alan

Glacier Bay....

Clear the bridge!!!! Dive Dive Dive!!!

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AllanJ

Maybe there were some oils or residues inside the tubing and channels inside the faucet assembly, left behind after the manufacturing process.

This should dissipate after a few on-off usages with hot water.

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emperor_black

Its almost two weeks now and the smell is almost gone. Only when I turn it on the very first time in the morning, there is a smell. But its nowhere that strong and I'm not gonna worry about it anymore.

Even though the putty is only at the base, the base of the faucet itself is hollow which means some smell can get into the faucet itself and when the first water comes out, it carries the smell along with it. That's my best take on the situation.

this thread can be closed. Thanks everyone!