Our bathroom water tap imits a very bad sulfur smell to it since yesterday whenever we turn it on. Does anyone know what it could be and what to do about it?
2007-02-20 01:52:33 · 12 answers · asked by Anonymous in Home & Garden ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
I get that in the summer, but the smell goes away in the winter. We add some bleach to our well.
2007-02-20 02:28:01 · answer #1 · answered by Samantha 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You weren't specific on what kind of water you have in your house. Do you live in the country and have well water? If so a water softener will help a lot, but will not totally eliminate the problem.
There are filters and in-line water treatment systems you can buy but they are quite expensive.
Another possibility is your hot water heater. Do you have an electric one, or a gas one? If it's electric there is a long rod that's inside the tank that is made of a metal that reacts with the sulfur in the water to make the smell worse. If you're handy you can shut off the power to the water heater then remove and cut the rod off with a hacksaw. This will make the smell in the hot water less noticeable. That's the cheapest fix if the problem is the worst with the hot water.
Good luck
2007-02-20 02:43:25 · answer #2 · answered by mgrenia 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If it is coming from your water and your water is contaminated it should also show up at all the taps in the house.If it does show up at all sites check with a neighbour to see if they are experiencing the same thing. If it is just in the bathroom I would suspect it to be more the drain rather than the water supply. Fill a glass with water from the bathroom tap and check to see if it has an odour. If it does contact your city or municipality or district responsible for your water supply. Are you on a well? if so then you could have your supply contaminated. First off I would check with the neighbour to establish if it is confined to just your place of residence, good hunting.
2007-02-20 02:08:56 · answer #3 · answered by Steiner 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
This is a very common occurrence in areas with hard (lots of dissolved minerals, in your case sulfates) alkaline (high pH) water. The fact you are just now noticing it, suggests to me you have a new water heater or your city has started using a different source of water (probably a well). All water heaters have something inside called a sacrifice anode made of magnesium. Its purpose is to intentionally corrode (hence sacrifice) and keep the steel tank from rusting. This only works with water having a neutral or acidic pH, like all US surface water and most well water east of the Mississippi. Back to your probable alkaline water, here in North Dakota well water is alkaline and plumbers and DIYs always remove the anode. Talk around with neighbors, plumbers or city engineer to see if this might be your problem. If so, directions for removing the anode are in your owners manual. RScott
2007-02-20 03:11:07 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
If it's the hot water, then you probably have 'hard' water, with a high mineral content. It's actually quite healthy, but can react with the magnesium anode in your water heater. Slime and bacteria grow on the anode creating the rotten egg smell - that's not healthy. Solution is to either install a water softener ( which has other benefits), or have the anode in your water heater replaced with an aluminum one, which is designed not to react with hard. water. You can easily do it yourself, but you'll need Arnold Shwartzeneger to get the old one out or an impact wrench.
2007-02-20 03:46:15 · answer #5 · answered by squeezie_1999 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Are you on a well and in Florida?
We have sulpher in most all of our aquifer water. So occasionally the sulfur is more noticeable than other times.
Since it started abruptly it may go away. If not and it really bothers you , you will need filtration.
2007-02-20 02:03:25 · answer #6 · answered by ? 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i know that if you have well water it will cause a sulfer smell, but normal tap water should not hve this smell. maybe you should cal your local wastewater treatment plant or public works department and let them know. it may be a problem for them and they could fix it. or the bad news could be that they wil blow you off and you will have to call a plumber who will charge you just for even asking a question! good luck
2007-02-20 02:31:45 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Could be from a build up of sedament in your water pipes,,or Hot Water tank,,,,when was the last time you drained and flushed the hot water tank???
2007-02-20 02:00:51 · answer #8 · answered by Thunder 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sounds Like to me you have well water if its only the hot side you need to replace anode rod in water heater.
2007-02-20 06:26:27 · answer #9 · answered by bob r 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hi if you have natural gas to heat your home & water that means that you have a leak. So you should call your heating ppl asap.
If you don't have natural gas, you should still call your heating company (whomever heats your water) to find out if they suggest anything.
2007-02-20 02:16:47 · answer #10 · answered by belligerent assistant 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋