... (30 year old) home that’s on a well system. This problem is usually the most relevant for homeowners with well water supply. Hydrogen sulfide can be fatal in high doses, and it's flammable, but because it has such a distinctive odor, it's usually detected well before it becomes dangerous. Not surprisingly, this is a consequence of high levels of iron in your well water. If you can screw on a water hose then you can install this system. H 2 S is a mineral that is released from the earth and finds its way into groundwater. Do you have red/black water problems? Like water hardness, acidity is a natural condition of some well water that is a nuisance but generally not a health hazard. Last Updated November 23, 2020 by Anthony. However, if your water comes from a private ground well, your water is not subject to the EPA’s regulations for water systems. There are neutralizer filters for low pH. Could it be hard water? The Sulfur Eliminator can eliminate that also. To be blunt, “if it smells and tastes like dirt, it’s probably dirt.” Sometimes sediment from your water supply may find its way through your plumbing. Here are a few possibilities: Removing the rod can remove the smell, but shorten the life of your water heater tank. A little sulfer egg smell, to be expected. My hot water smells like rotten eggs: Hydrogen sulfide is a colorless gas that smells like rotten eggs. If what’s in your water tastes like dirt and smells like dirt, it might actually be dirt. The water was nice, soft, really no smell... the the hot summer months came. Water brochure UWSP-Well Water Quality Viewer Center for Watershed Science and Education, UW-Stevens Point ... MY WATER SMELLS LIKE SOLVENTS OR PAINT THINNER, CONTINUED POSSIBLE PROBLEM HEALTH ... corrosion of metal pipes. I have noticed it more in my shower and I rarely notice it from kittchen or any other place. Our product is a maintenance free system that is installed on any tap/spigot on the well system. From sulfur to musty and sewage odors, here are five common strange well water smells and their causes. Angel Water Inc. is here for you! Generally, a sewage-like or rotten egg odor in your tap water results when sulfur-reducing bacteria grow in your drain, water heater, or well. The Sulfur Eliminator uses your well system to function and no other power is needed. The problem is that the water (very often well water) reacts with the magnesium rod in the water heater and makes the water smell more like something from a … Sediment From Your City Water Or Well. Hot Water Smells Like Rotten Eggs? See WATER STAINING CONTAMINANTS for an explanation of how iron and manganese bacteria in a water supply system piping or tanks or heaters and water tanks can produce odors including sewage-like smells. There are a number of ways sulfur bacteria can enter the well, but the most common is the absence of oxygen, which creates sulfide gas. Sediment. The odor issues can cause numerous problems for the inhabitants, and often becomes a topic of conversation when guests are around. Most people don't have a problem with their hot water smelling bad. Well owner's are responsible for protecting their drinking water. If you get your water from a well and are smelling a chlorine or bleach odor, you may need to have your water system flushed. Send a sample to a laboratory certified by DNR to perform sulfate analyses. connections, metal piping and well casing. Our water filters have been bringing clean, healthy water and peace of mind to families like yours for over forty years. But for those who do it can be horrible. Unfortunately, however, water could also smell metallic because it contains lead. In most cases the rotten egg smell does not relate to how clean the water is in a well. In rare cases, pollution can cause the gas to form. On the other hand, if your water smells like sulfur or rotten eggs, there could be decaying organic matter in the groundwater causing an emission of hydrogen sulfide gases. When you encounter a gross onion smell in your tap water, you can take steps to get the smell out of the water. I put Iron out in my softener system let it sit a while then flushed out the water. What makes it smell like metal? If your water tastes like bleach, it is probably due to elevated levels of chlorine –a chemical added to 98% of U.S. public water systems as a disinfectant. My water smells like rust swear it's like I'm bathing with a rusty pipe, it's very hard as well, even watching your hands you still have the smell of rust or whatever it is.I had a new heater put in last year. If your home draws water from a well, you may have experienced rotten egg smells coming from your water. When we moved in, we were told that the water runs through a filteration system. To fix the problem, we’ll need to find the root cause of the gas. If the water tastes bad from all water sources in your house, then perhaps it is coming from your city water supply or well. Call Angel Water Inc. in Barrington, IL at 847-382-7800 for your FREE consultation. We are renting a home that has a well water supply system. Water with a pH below 7.0 is considered acidic; above 7.0 it is basic or alkaline. As far as it looked in the basement, it looked all good. Call us today for water softeners in Barrington. While not typically harmful, offensive odors are nuisances, and can usually be fixed. Chlorine Small amounts (levels below 4 mg/L) of added chlorine are not harmful to your health. Many water contaminants contain some metal. These unpleasant smells are commonly described as ”water smells like rotten eggs” or ”sulfur smell in hot water”.. Sulfur is the typical culprit behind the infamous rotten egg smell. A number of factors can cause tap water to smell bad, including concentrations of metal from the pipes used to deliver it, organisms living in the water, chemicals used to remove organisms living in the water, and environmental contaminants. Did I do it right? Usually, if your water smells like sulfur or rotten eggs, the reason is because your water has high Hydrogen Sulfide (H 2 S) content. Chemical reactions inside water heaters can also produce sulfur bacteria. 1 Answer. It’s especially common in well water located near shale, sandstone, coal, peat, or oil. Odors from tap water are a common complaint and usually signify nothing dangerous. OTHER CLUES & CONSIDERATIONS CONFIRM IT POSSIBLE FIXES LICENSE REQUIRED The water smelled like burning metals and had a lot of black crud coming out of the faucets. If it's a well, acid water can eat pipes. One of the most common reasons water tastes like metal is because . Water that smells like fuel or oil has most likely been contaminated with petroleum products that have leaked out of a damaged fuel tank. We have well water (that is filtered) and it comes out odorless from every other outlet except the one faucet. Hydrogen sulfide is a colorless gas that can exist naturally in groundwater. Shocking your well is simply part of well maintenance, but if you notice the taste coming back after only a few weeks or months, contact a water professional for a more in-depth analysis of where the taste is coming from. There could be a number of things that make water taste like metal. Obviously: Such a contaminants“cocktail” is hardly suitable for drinking. If your well water smells like dirt… Whether you would describe the smell as musty, earthy, or dirty, you’re effectively describing the same thing: iron bacteria in your water supply. Plumbing and water treatment companies are often faced with complaints pertaining to bad odors emanating from the water heaters. Some sulfur bacteria form deposits that can clog a well screen and pump piping. The U.S. EPA doesn’t regulate the pH level in drinking water, but it recommends levels from 6.5 to 8.5. However, in order to make sure well water is safe to Water Smells like Rotten Eggs. I have rusty well water and it smells like metal!? Murky water is yet another sign of a potential pump problem. Water that tastes like metal when it comes from the refrigerator has a sharp, biting flavor. Water that tastes or smells like a wet dog may be caused by metal plumbing, bacteria, treatment chemicals or organic material in the source water, according to Waterlogic, a water … My water has always smells mostly like rotten eggs. which is why it could taste and smell like metal. When you get into your shower, the last thing you want to do is clean yourself in water than smells like onions. I followed the instructions on the bottle. Sulfur bacteria samples are difficult to collect and ... MY WATER SMELLS LIKE FUEL OIL OR DIESEL FUEL, CONTINUED POSSIBLE PROBLEM HEALTH CONCERN? Anonymous. gas that smells bad. Relevance. And it’s a common problem for water from private wells. Public water systems use water treatment and monitoring to protect consumers from such contaminants. My advice would be to get a water softener because it could remove some excess minerals. tap water almost always contains a large concentration of dissolved minerals. As metallic pipes age and corrode, metal particulates chip away from the walls and enter the water supply. Super-aeration works too, but that's 3-5k$, so that is rarely used except if there is lots of radon as well (like me). 1. If your hot water smells particularly metallic, flush your water heater. Metal particulates also build up in water heaters over time. Installing a water filter or water softener (which removes excess minerals from your water) will fix the problem in this case. Water with a lot of copper from etched pipes smells rusty too, actually. at my campground out in the country the water smells like eggs because it contains alot of sulfur. Drinking water can expose people to a variety of harmful pollutants and pathogens. Effects on health Sulfur bacteria are not harmful. But have before. High iron content in your water supply can contribute to this problem when you use well water. This could be another reason your house water smells like metal. Is there anything else I can do? Iron, zinc, copper, and manganese are just some of what could be making your water have that metal taste. The rotten egg smell in well water comes from hydrogen sulfide, a gas produced by certain bacteria in the groundwater. I live in an oldish, but not so old, I don't think anyways, apartment complex if that helps any. Answer Save. 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