Sulphur smell from well water

[japple]

I have well water in my home and have lately noticed a sulphur smell whenever I turn on the tap. Can anyone tell me what this might mean?

[Botany]

1. means nothing in most cases

lots of ground water formations have that "rotten eggs" smell water still good for showers, toilet,
garden, and so on ...... you might have to get a water softener for cooking and drinking or buy
big jugs of drinking water.

[SujiwanKenobee]

2. Well water weirdness

I can't tell you why it is appearing *now*, but my grandparents well water always had a sulphury egg scent to it--something about the well location as my great grandmother one house down didn't have that same issue. However, no one ever got ill from the water. It did make for some weird tasting koolaide though!

[Frosty1]

3. Does both the hot and cold water smell?

[dflprincess]

4. George Bush has fallen into your well

Sorry, I couldn't resist. :evilgrin:

[hobbit709]

5. Naw, if he fell in it would just stink of crap.

Sulfur smell would be Cheney.

[dflprincess]

10. Cheney would cause the sulfur smell as well

but the first thing I thought of was when Hugo Chavez spoke at the U.N. the day after Bush did and said (paraphrasing big time) "Yesterday the devil came here & you can still smell the sulfur."

[Raine1967]

6. I had a sulfur well in my home in NY --It could mean a few things.

In my family home the water from was a Sulfurous vein of water. We always had it -- it got MUCH worse when the water table dropped. (and it got couldy)

In our case it was a natural occurrence as Everyone on our hill used the same aquifer and had the same water. Mostly we didn't drink the water because it just was gross, but as far as bathing, it was really quite spectacular. I was able to use a fraction of detergent to wash clothes and dishes. So I found it to be a good/bad thing. The key is, why is this happening now, how old is your well and how long have you been residing there? Does it go away after you run the water for a bit?


This might help answer some of your questions: http://www.pureintake.com/PI/hydrogen_sulfide_gas.aspx It really depends on a lot of things -- Do your neighbors have sulfur water as well?

[sharp_stick]

7. We had that on the farm

when I was growing up. It smelled and tasted terrible but it wasn't to a level where it was bad for you. It was finally solved with a filtration system and chlorination.

It wasn't a cheap alternative then but I think the prices may have come down since. Most water treatment, well drilling companies should be able to check and offer you options.

A couple of sites with decent info for you. I have no interest in any water treatment companies BTW, they just offer some ideas.

http://www.excelwater.com/eng/b2c/h2s.php

http://www.water-research.net/sulfur.htm

[Saturday]

8. After having the same problem for 20 plus years....

we read online that our well probably needed to be chlorinated to kill bacteria. We were told to "shock" it. We did that but the smell continued not long after the shocking. We now chlorinate our well every week. By doing this we have eliminated the smell completely. We do not drink the water but we probably could. After all, municipalities chlorinate their drinking water.

ETA - I wanted to add we chlorinate by just pouring x amount of Clorox bleach in the well weekly. The amount would be determined by how bad your well is.

[japple]

9. I think it's just with the hot water, but I'm still trying the sniff test. I

have been living here 6 yrs, my parents 30 years before. The well has been here for 30+/- years. A new pump was installed about 8 yrs. ago, and a new hot water heater about 5 yrs. ago. The water tastes fine, which probably means (from what I've read above and following the links provided)that it's a problem with the hot water heater. I filter all of my drinking water through a Brita charcoal filter. It tastes great. Most of my neighbors have city water.

Edit to add: Many thanks for all the good responses.

[conscious evolution]

11. My parents have that problem

Try this-it works for them.

Shut off power/gas to water heater.
Shut off water supply.
Drain the tank then close drain valve
remove one of the water lines
Pour a one liter bottle of hydrogen peroxide into water heater and let sit for a couple of hours.
Drain the peroxide.
reconnect water lines and refill with water.
turn power/gas back on.

They have to do this every couple of months.

[japple]

12. Thanks! I'll have to give this a try. eom

[TxRider]

17. If it's only in the hot water

And you just put in a new water heater not long ago..

It could well be the corrosion protection rod in the water heater, it's a sacrificial anode placed there to corrode instead of the water tank corroding.

They come made of two things, either a magnesium alloy, or aluminum.

The magnesium type can put off a sulphur odor as they corrode, the aluminum type does not. You can either pull it and plug the hole, or pull it and go buy an aluminum anode.

The rod generally is hanging from what looks like a 1" hex head usually on the top of the water heater, or on the side for small water heaters like in an RV.

[ClarkUSA]

18. Thanks, that's smart advice re: buying aluminum anodes.

I am going to try that.

[efhmc]

13. Happens when taps not on for a while but then goes away

quickly, at least where I am.

[lizziegrace]

14. I have the same problem

it's intermittent, but mainly occurs when the weather warms up.

I bought a filter for the shower head since I hate having my hair smell like sulfur. You can find them at Home Depot and the filter cartridges are replaced every six months. Time to replace mine. Sulfur smell is back again...

[newfie11]

15. All my relatives near Sulfur OKlahoma had this

in years past. I have no idea now but with the town named that I think it was normal for that area.

[TxRider]

16. It means there is a little hydrogen sulfide down in the water table, common.

It's harmless just unpleasant.

The way to remove it is exposure to oxygen.

Put it in a pitcher and a few hours later the smell will have gone from just oxygenating with air.

If it isn't very strong, using a galvanized steel tank on your well, and keeping a proper air head in it using an air control valve system will allow the air in the tank in contact with the water to remove the smell before it gets to the house.

The smell is very very common when using a tank on your well with an air bladder in it as the water does not contact any air before it come out of your faucet. They are usually blue metal tanks with an air fitting on the top, I would never use one on my well as I like having the water contact the air in the tank and letting it oxygenate.

If it is very strong, you can buy a chlorine injector that can be set to inject just enough into your well tank to oxidize the sulphur.

This is standard water well stuff.