Smelly water

[GFNER]

water coming from my well stinks like rotten eggs, my neighbor had the same problem and bleached his well. Has anyone else done this? any tips would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

[Tom7227]

http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/eh/wells/waterquality/disinfection.html

[BobT]

The smell of rotten eggs is a common problem. It could be caused by hydrogen-sulfide gas. Pour water from your tap into a clear glass. You will probably see that it looks cloudy with lots and lots of small bubbles. As you watch it, you should see the cloud rise.

When I bought our house we had a deep well pump located at the top of the well casing in the old milk house of the barn. I tore down the old barn and bought a new pressure tank which I moved into my house. The new tank was a pre-charged bladder tank. A friend that once worked for a local well driller warned me that I may have trouble with a rotten egg smell and told me what to do if it became a problem.

For the first few years it was not a problem but eventually it became noticeable and got worse over time. Eventually it got so bad, you couldn't take a shower without gagging. I'm serious! It was that strong. So I decided to try my friend's advice.

I bought a bladderless pressure tank from FF and installed it in the water line just after it enters the house. The odor was gone almost immediately. We did the same thing to our church and it works great.

Here's how it works. My supply comes in to the tank about 1/2 way up the side of the tank and goes out to the house from near the bottom of the tank. When I turn on my water supply, I trap all the air in the tank. This provides a place for the gas to evaporate out of the water before it leaves to supply the rest of the house. The smell was gone almost instantly.

About once or twice a year I recharge the system with fresh air. I open a bleeder valve I installed on top of the tank and let the water pump force all the air out of the tank. Then I close the valve, turn off the water supply, and open a drain valve I also installed on the output pipe of the tank. Then I open the bleeder valve so the tank will drain completely. Takes about 30 minutes to completely drain the tank. As the water is draining it is drawing fresh air in from the top of the tank. When it is done, I close the valves and turn on the water supply to trap the fresh air in the tank. Here's a drawing.

[delcecchi]

Iron in the water "iron bacteria" can also give an odor. Chlorine will help that.

[Hoey]

you should see the cloud rise.

What does the cloud rising indicate?

I am experiencing the same problem of smelly water and smelly air near the electric water heater which is near the bladder pressure tank. A plumber I spoke to recommended removal of the anode in the water heater. I did this and the water seems to smell better, but I still have a smell in the area of the water heater and pressure tank.

[delcecchi]

I used to have that. New water heater is way better for reasons I don't understand.

[BobT]

What does the cloud rising indicate?

You're seeing the gas bubbles in the water.

[Craigums]

Water treatment is something I know quite a bit about.

If it is on the hot water side only it is the anode rod in your water heater presumably reacting with your water (especially if you have a softener and your current anode rod is magnesium based), you would need to replace the anode rod with an aluminum or zinc based one.

If the odor is on the hot and cold water side it is Hydrogen Sulfide and will be most evident is the spring and fall when water tables fluctuate the most. You can try shocking the well with chlorine to see if goes away (you may have to do this fairly often while the H2S is at it's peak). If the odor is very mild you may want to try installing a disposable carbon filter (this will remove the odor temporarily, how long the filter lasts depends on how much H2S is in the water and how much water is being used in the home). If neither option seems to be correcting the issue for a reasonable amount of time you will need to either install a chemical feed pump that will inject small amounts of chlorine into the water or a aeration system that will bleed the H2S off into the atmosphere.

[BobT]

or a aeration system that will bleed the H2S off into the atmosphere.

That's pretty much what the bladderless tank does but for a lot less cost.