# Sulfur smell in DHW



## Medman (Sep 20, 2010)

Relatives of mine have been having this problem.  Well water looks and tastes fine, but once the water sits in the DHW tank for a while it comes out smelling like sulfur (rotten eggs).  They have been considering a tankless water heater to rectify this problem, but it is a costly solution and they want to make sure there is value in it.  Local plumbers are not really in favor of tankless, but I think that is just lack of experience on their part.

I know we have some professionals here on the forum - opinions?


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## vvvv (Sep 20, 2010)

tankless is a mistake with well water, they get plugged with minerals. replacing sacrificial anode rod may help


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## Medman (Sep 20, 2010)

Their well water has been tested for minerals and dissolved solids, iron, etc.  They have a softener and a polisher tank now, but the testing agency (Culligan) says they don't really need them - they got sold on their current system by a different water treatment company, which has since gone out of business.  The only issue seems to be dissolved sulfur, which comes out of solution when the water sits in the DHW tank.  If you run cold there is no issue with odor; only the hot has the smell.


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## Highbeam (Sep 20, 2010)

Sulfur stink is often from iron bacteria. They take up residence in the water heater where they thrive on the high temps. Before the softener installation they likely got this funk growing in the tank. No chlorine in well water to kill bugs. Most homes with wells and no softener will have stinky hot water on old water heaters.


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## vvvv (Sep 20, 2010)

Highbeam said:
			
		

> Sulfur stink is often from iron bacteria. They take up residence in the water heater where they thrive on the high temps. Before the softener installation they likely got this funk growing in the tank. No chlorine in well water to kill bugs. Most homes with wells and no softener will have stinky hot water on old water heaters.


is there a critical temp the water heater can be run for so long to kill the funk?


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## oldspark (Sep 20, 2010)

Do they put chlorine in the well once in a while which is a good idea, I have a shallow well and never get the smell and have had water heaters for 20 years or so.


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## benjamin (Sep 20, 2010)

You can try replacing the magnesium anode rod(s) with aluminum.  That's worked for me every time I've run into this problem.


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## TMonter (Sep 20, 2010)

Check this site too:

http://www.waterheaterrescue.com/

Like people have mentioned this is usually an issue with bacteria and sometimes the sacrificial anode.


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## mayhem (Sep 21, 2010)

Whenever my tap water starts smelling like sulfur I know its time to replace the house water filter.


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## Lucky Phil (Sep 21, 2010)

I removed my water softener when it died, and didn't replace it.  I also replaced the water heater, as it was a thousand years old.  We have the sulfur smell on one faucet only; the cold water in the main bathroom.  I shut off the water and drained that line through a sink in the basement, then filled the line with bleach and let it sit.  It worked for quite a while, but the smell is coming back slowly.  I may have to do it again.  My wife doesn't like the idea of putting bleach in the well, but I'm going to have to do it anyway.

We don't know why it's only that one faucet, as it's used a lot.


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## mayhem (Sep 21, 2010)

Follow the feed lines back and see where that faucet branches off.  In my house, one of the outdoor taps runs off the main feed before the water filter canister.  Its possible that this one faucet is getting its water feed from an unfiltered or unconditioned source and the smell is coming right out of the well, the other taps in the house are getting the smell filtered out in some way...maybe by the house filter or simply distance, dunno.


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## oldspark (Sep 21, 2010)

Lucky Phil said:
			
		

> I removed my water softener when it died, and didn't replace it.  I also replaced the water heater, as it was a thousand years old.  We have the sulfur smell on one faucet only; the cold water in the main bathroom.  I shut off the water and drained that line through a sink in the basement, then filled the line with bleach and let it sit.  It worked for quite a while, but the smell is coming back slowly.  I may have to do it again.  My wife doesn't like the idea of putting bleach in the well, but I'm going to have to do it anyway.
> 
> We don't know why it's only that one faucet, as it's used a lot.


 Bleach in the well is a good thing once in a while as it helps kill bacteria and you should be doing it on a regular basis.


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## Medman (Sep 21, 2010)

Thanks for the replies.  Yes, bleach is used in the well every two years.  I will have them check the anode in the tank and possibly replace it with aluminum for now.
Great information!


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## mayhem (Sep 21, 2010)

oldspark said:
			
		

> Lucky Phil said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I've never heard this before.  How much bleach and how do I apply it?  Just pop the well cap off and dump it in?  My well has been in daily use for nearly 8 years now and I've never done a thing to it except filter the water on its way in.


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## Lucky Phil (Sep 21, 2010)

I did it last year; just dumped a gallon of bleach in, circulated through the house, then ran to the ground, as per instructions on the internet.  This year, I found a different site that said I should mix 1/2 gallon in a 5 gallon pail of water, dump it in, then do the recirc thing.  No water filters or softeners in the house.  I do notice a light brown by the drains, so I guess I should put in a filter.  Not sure what kind or how large, though.


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## oldspark (Sep 21, 2010)

See if this is any help.
http://www.madera-county.com/envhealth/pdf2/Disinfect Private Well System Using Bleach.pdf?cf03800915=143A9DC91!MjA0MDMwNDA4OmNvcnByYWRpdXNzc286gpxFYDlDKtDWRJaayjbYIQ==


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## stee6043 (Sep 21, 2010)

I had this exact problem with my well water.  Our solution was a GE whole house filter that can be picked up at any big box store.  We grabbed the largest unit (I think 30,000 gallon) and installed it upstream of our softener.  Using a charcoal filter (which I also buy at Home Depot) all ordors have disspaeared from my water.  I can, however, tell when it's time to change the fitler because I do get the wrotten egg smell back for a few days.  I've been very pleased with my setup.


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## oldspark (Sep 21, 2010)

That is suppose to be all clickable, how do I fix it?


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## Lucky Phil (Sep 21, 2010)

Isn't working for me.  Is there a dot in the wrong place?


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## oldspark (Sep 22, 2010)

Lucky Phil said:
			
		

> Isn't working for me.  Is there a dot in the wrong place?


 I dont get it the whole thing is supposed to be a clickable and it will not do it. If I copy and paste the whole line in the address line on my computer it will work.


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## mikeyny (Sep 22, 2010)

Years ago I worked on a farm that used migrant workers. We used a Chlorinator to keep the water system safe for them.  We checked the chlorine level daily. It was a simple pump from grainger that injected chlorine from a seperate 50 gal tank into the water stream enery time the well pump came on. I think that is a very common set up to keep water safe from bacteria in a somewhat public system. I dont see why it coud'nt be used on a typical household system when there is a concern of bacteria in the water, although  I am not so sure it would eliminate the sulfur smell though.


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## DiscoInferno (Sep 22, 2010)

We have this problem off and on due to iron/sulfur-reducing bacteria, which themselves are harmless but form a nasty sludge in the toilet tanks and water heater.  Shocking the well and the water system generally takes care of it for a while plus reduces the iron levels in the well.  I dump 1-2 gallons of bleach directly in the well, run the water through a hose back into the well until the water coming out smells like bleach, then run all the faucets and toilets and empty the hot water to fill the system with bleach.  Then let sit for 12-24 hours before running a hose to clear the system.  Do not run bleach through any charcoal filters; it will use them up quickly.


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## Lucky Phil (Sep 22, 2010)

Geez... it posted twice.


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## Lucky Phil (Sep 22, 2010)

Try this:

http://www.madera-county.com/envhealth/pdf2/Disinfect Private Well System Using Bleach.pdf

Thanks for the info.


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## DAKSY (Sep 22, 2010)

Turn off the feed to the hot water tank & drain down an inch or two.
Open the plug on the top of the tank & pour in one pint of Hydrogen Peroxide. 
It'll kill the bacteria & eliminate the smell. 
I do it about every two months. 
I had half a mind to jerry-rig a small feeder to allow a slow drip of the peroxide into the tank, 
but I never got around to it.
Good Luck!


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## billb3 (Sep 23, 2010)

oldspark said:
			
		

> That is suppose to be all clickable, how do I fix it?



some forum softwares don't like spaces and space substitution characters that servers have no problem with.
sometimes it's easier to just cut and paste


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## rustynut (Sep 23, 2010)

lp, 
  It's called "disinfecting your well and can be done anually or so but is a bit of work.
I use a gallon or so in my well.
Be advised that the bleach will shut down the enzimes in your septic system so you want to drain it off away from your septic system.
I usually take the one farthest away and run draining outside until no bleach is smelled. 
Then go back thru each faucet and pull water until no bleach is smelled.
Seems like mine only gets done every couple of years.
The info that i got after looking around was to pull that sacrificial rod out.
Not sure if this may cause problems but has been fine for 3 or 4 years now.
Draining your hot water tank anually is good for it (to flush it out) as well.
Most of this info came from the local county extention and seemed to work fine for me.
Smell went away and has stayed away.
Good luck with this
rn


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