Water draining from the washer sometimes smells like rotten eggs. What causes this smell?

Question

I know I have hard water and I don't use a water softner.

Answer 1

Well water has minerals in it, the harder the water the more minerals that are present. When you have hard water the rotten eggs smell is due to high sulfur content in the water, if you get a softener it should take care of some of the smell but not all. A new well is reall the only option unless your on a city water system, then your just screwed. The reason your getting more smell in the wash is due to the soap reacting with not only the sulfur in the water but your clothes. Hard water does not clean as well as soft water due to the minerals that are in the water and if you notice it almost seems slimy when you wash your hair after being on vacation or using regular chlorinated water.

Sewer gas is a mixture of gases formed during the decomposition of household or industrial wastes. These include hydrogen sulfide, ammonia (which are toxic), as well as methane, carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides. It can smell like rotten eggs this may be caused by the fact that there is no trap in your line for the washer, if the dicharge hose does not have an upsidedown u shaped piece on the end & your hose just simply outlets directly into your soil pipe this is your problem. the hose for the washer discharge should act as a trap & contain water all the time, much like the drain under the sink has the u shaped piece on it.

Answer 2

I get this same problem sometimes too and i just run a large bottle(not a gallon jug) of white vinegar in it through a cycle. Whether the smell is caused by minerals or some sort of bacteria that thrive on moisture i don't know..but i do know that a good dose of vinegar works great for quite a while. If this works you can just keep up the maintenance by doing this every month or so. White Vinegar isn't expensive to use. You can also use white vinegar to get the musty smell out of a load that was forgotten in the machine. Just run the load again with a cup of white vinegar and whatever detergent it is you use...works wonders.

Answer 3

This happened to me when I moved to a new apartment. It is from the lack of water moving through the pipes for a long time. Basically no one has turned on the water in a while. It just takes time to get the smell out. Try leaving the hot water running for an hour or two to flush out the pipes or until the it stops smelling, that what we did. It smelled horrible, but it worked.
Good Luck!!!!!!!

Answer 4

Maybe the oil from your skin smells like rotten eggs and is mixed in with the leaking water.

Answer 5

Sewer Gas

Answer 6

If you smell it a lot and you have well water they dug to deep. If it is just your hot water it is something in the bottom of your hot water tank

Answer 7

Probably minerals. You need as water softener probably. Your water tank may be filled with minerals also which shortens the life of it.

Answer 8

i think the smell comes from the pipes which leads to the sewer

Answer 9

try leaving the lid open when its not in use. also do a load without close use extra bleach to clean the system