Shopper finds an odd smell in Costco bottled water and warns others to be careful: "It smells like..."
In addition to the recalls of products such as eggs and meat over contamination risks, as well as the displeasure caused by membership verification at its store, Costco is also facing trouble from consumers calling it out for inferior quality products on social media. This time, something as basic as water from Costco is under the scanner and TikTok user @quantum.jedi recently uploaded a video on the platform about it. She alleged that the bottled water which she bought from the supermarket chain smelled funny. This is a cause for concern as unclean water can lead to diseases that in some cases might even be fatal.
In the video, a man could be seen taking out a bottle of water from a package of several such bottles. He opens the cap, smells it, and is instantly revolted. “What’s going on @costco ?? The smell burns your nose,” the caption of the video read. There are several reasons why water could smell funny and none of them are healthy.
“Alright, so we’re smelling the Costco water because it smells like dog water. It smells like dogs. Not all of them do but some of them do. Trying to figure this out,” the TikTok user said in the video. “Smells like dog, wet dog,” she added. Most people are aware of what a wet dog smells like and if water smells like that, it clearly isn’t fit for consumption. Viewers also chimed in with similar experiences with Costco-bought water.
“Lol the machinery used to bottle water is NEVER cleaned. Bottled water is absolutely disgusting,” one user called @soficating commented. “I’ve noticed it too, seems to come from the cap / drinking part of the bottle it’s so gross,” quipped another user named @Bobo.
@quantum.jedi What’s going on @costco ?? The smell burns your nose #waterqualityfail #bottledwater ♬ Oh No - Kreepa
It turns out that normal water isn’t the only thing from Costco that has disappointed customers. Their alkaline water also doesn’t have the best reviews. TikTok user @vianht05 purchased it and tested it to see if the product was what it was advertised to be. Alkaline water has a pH level of more than 7 and it is supposed to improve hydration, and Costco claimed that the pH level in its product was 9.5
When the TikToker bought some pH strips to test the water, the pH level came to be 6. This was not even more than 7 which is required for alkaline water. “I ended up finding out that for the Costco water, the pH was at 6.0,” she said. “And the total alkalinity was at a zero. I guess that’s why they have the disclaimer on here, pH 9.5 at the time of bottling.”
Viewers joined the chorus of criticism in the comments section of the video. “I’ve heard once you put pH water in plastic it cancels out the pH,” one user called Michelle Nicole commented. “Something about when you open it it’s no longer at the same pH and it’s all alkaline water not just Costco… it’s pretty much a gimmick,” quipped another user.
For more such content about Costco, follow @quantum.jedi on TikTok.
