Rotten egg smell in my well water

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Saw a similar thread, but that was on a shared well.

Private well, we have been here 13 years. A few months ago our well water began smelling like rotten eggs. Not every day, it came and went. We have a Reem gas heater that was here when we bought the house. Water softer was put in 7-8 years ago but a pro water softener business. I asked them about the smell and they recommended installing a new anode in my heater. Which I did. A powered unit.

The smell came back.

Suggestions?

 

[PCustoms]

Test the water before firing parts and chemicals

 

[jack stand]

Hydrogen peroxide fixes my occasional well smell. It's been about 8-10 years since I've treated it.

 

[mike93lx]

How water or cold water? Presumably your spigots bypass the softener. How does that smell?

I agree on a test. You should be having that done regularly anyway

When did you last completely flush the water heater?

 

[NUTTSGT]

Like Mike says, you need to eliminate items to determine where the smell is coming from.

Might actually be Sulphur in the well.

 

[PCustoms]

Might actually be Sulphur in the well.

Might be sulphur, iron bacteria, anode issues (likely not in OP case) or some other issue.

OP needs a water test to see what he needs to fix.

Threads like this always get the same responses of various chemical and mechanical (filter/softener) suggestions) that worked for "my" well, but the problem is each situation needs a different solution.

 

[jblnut]

Might be sulphur, iron bacteria, anode issues (likely not in OP case) or some other issue.

OP needs a water test to see what he needs to fix.

Threads like this always get the same responses of various chemical and mechanical (filter/softener) suggestions) that worked for "my" well, but the problem is each situation needs a different solution.

100% right there.

My own well has changed it’s needs a couple times over the years but it’s always been something hydrogen peroxide has solved and something I’ve discovered with a well test. I test our wells every other year. We have 11 total between the building sites and irrigators.

 

[Debcrow]

Usually hydrogen sulfide. Is your well head sealed?. Possibly with heavy rain to get organic matter into well.
Agree, for sure get your well water tested.

 

[mike93lx]

When I had well, I needed treatment for arsenic, iron/manganese, and hardness. Every year, I tested both before and after the treatment, so I could see if the incoming water was changing and if my treatment was working. Plus to check for all the nasty bacteria that can be in the water.

It wasn't cheap, but considering the water was free, and you know, the health risks, it was easily justified

 

[cgrutt]

I had that issue with a vacation house that I used to own. It was caused by hot water tank. The hydrogen sulfide would accumulate in hot water tank during week when nobody was there and be released when we ran hot water. It would clear up after a few minutes and be fine while we were there and using water regularly but would come back again if we let house sit unoccupied for a week or more. There are at least two kinds of anodes believe aluminum or magnesium. Believe the magnesium style is better for preventing the formation of the sulfuric gas but it happened with both styles.

I wound up adding a whole house filter and treating with bleach about once a month. Eliminated problem but water would then smell like chlorine for a while after treatment. Not ideal.

As stated need to figure out if its the hot water heater or the well. Easy enough to do just check if smell occurs only with hot water (heater) or both hot and cold (well). You can add a clorinating injection tank with metering pump to treat water permanently. But have water tested to see if they can determine cause. There are other filtering methods such as UV etc that may be needed depending on cause. I believe the basic charcoal whole house filter did help but didn't completely eliminate smell in my case. Chlorine worked.

 

[Lassen Forge]

SO2. PLEASE this is when you need professional help. Sulfur Dioxide is nothing to f*** with,

 

[PCustoms]

SMH

 

[mike93lx]

SO2. PLEASE this is when you need professional help. Sulfur Dioxide is nothing to f*** with,,

The Sulphur smell in water isn't Sulphur dioxide.

 

[ptt49er]

What service do you guys use to test your water? I've never found a testing service that didn't feel like a gateway to forced sales techniques.

 

[PCustoms]

What service do you guys use to test your water? I've never found a testing service that didn't feel like a gateway to forced sales techniques.

Mine goes to a state lab.

Good reminder I haven't done mine in a few years. Probably like $100 for the "full" test now, which checks a whole list of possible contaminates.

 

[mike93lx]

What service do you guys use to test your water? I've never found a testing service that didn't feel like a gateway to forced sales techniques.

I used a local testing lab, recommended by my well guy. They just did analytics, so no sales pitch and they didn't share the results with anyone else.

Specifically this lab: https://www.nashobaanalytical.com/

I would not use a "service" that posts up at the entrance at home depot, or the like

 

[ptt49er]

Mine goes to a state lab.

Thanks for that tip, looks like SC offers testing services but aren't doing any mineral and metal testing until after Oct. 1. I'll have to set a reminder on my calendar.

 

[30-30remchester]

If the smell is coming from the well water, one solution that often works is to aerate the water. Done by pumping into a well ventilated holding tank and the water is then pumped from the holding tank to the house.

 

[jblnut]

What service do you guys use to test your water? I've never found a testing service that didn't feel like a gateway to forced sales techniques.

Same place I bring my manure and silage samples

 

[PCustoms]

Same place I bring my manure and silage samples

I've heard of testing water for manure, are you testing your manure for water?

 

[jblnut]

I've heard of testing water for manure, are you testing your manure for water?

Manure gets tested for Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium and various micronutrients. I also test a separate sample for ***** starch and other nutrients related to how well it was digested by the animal it came out of so I can adjust diets as needed. The animal diet samples I test on a quarterly basis.

Well water that is consumed by a living breathing thing gets tested more often than the water we use for irrigation.

 

[LopezBart]

Rotten egg smell is hydrogen sulfide; it can be caused by several things, including organic material decay, or reduction of calcium sulfate in the well water by a magnesium anode in the water heater. The human nose is very sensitive to this compound as you may have noticed.

 

[PCustoms]

Rotten egg smell is hydrogen sulfide;

Not always, but hey, generalizing is free and doing an actual test costs a few bucks

 

[^&right]

Thank you so much for the response's guys. There is a company where I always had water tested whenever we bought our homes I never thought to have this done again. The first time this happened was when we returned from a vacation and the house had sat dormant for a good week. I've learned a lot from these responses.

Curious. How do you treat with hydrogen peroxide?

 

[mepstein]

I get that sulfur smell every 5-7 years. I've been in my house for 30. I dump some pool chlorine in the well, run the water through all the taps and then run the water until the sulfur and chlorine smell is gone. I don't know if that's the "right" way but it's worked for me.

 

[mike93lx]

Thank you so much for the response's guys. There is a company where I always had water tested whenever we bought our homes I never thought to have this done again. The first time this happened was when we returned from a vacation and the house had sat dormant for a good week. I've learned a lot from these responses.

Curious. How do you treat with hydrogen peroxide?

It's an injection system.

 

[RoninB4]

Curious. How do you treat with hydrogen peroxide?

-That would depend upon whether you're treating the well or the water heater. I just did this to my water heater about two weeks ago when inspecting/replacing my anode. Bacteria lives/grows in the water heater, it's dark and wet in there so it's ideal for growth. Water heater shut off, water incoming shut off, electrical disconnected. Pour a few pints in the tank, let it sit a few hours (overnight is good) drain out the tank spigot (this should be done anyway) and button it back up. I always run the hose into a white bucket to observe what's coming out and how fast it's coming out. Hydrogen peroxide is NOT dangerous like chlorine bleach, any residue in the tank that gets ingested won't be noticed or affect you like the chlorine compounds. Chlorine compounds can have bad effects on the human body from what I've read so I prefer Hydrogen Peroxide in the water heater. Treatment produces an immediate result for me.

I have used chlorine bleach on my well, I've got a lot of iron in my water. I run the water out until I don't see any of the resulting black particles in the runout water, usually after about 300 gallons. I shut off the valves to the filtration system and the house so it runs out directly from the well pump so I don't corrode/damage the filtration system or house plumbing. I will likely investigate using something else when I shock the well again due to the large amount of water needed for flushing the well itself.

Your house plumbing, your situation, and your ability are all factors here. It's not difficult but it does require some planning and follow through. I would strongly suggest reading up on either procedure/chemical treatment so you know what/why/which is best for you. Water should be tested by a qualified lab, most of those inexpensive home test kits aren't considered very reliable from what I've read.

 

[PopcornSutton]

When I hooked up with my wife, she had this house and the hot water stunk. Relatively new heater too but well water. So I had some 2" copper and fittings so I rigged up a standpipe on the supply line where I could valve off this 2" pipe and fill it with bleach, then cap it and let it into the tank. Lasted for a week or so and came back. So I took the anode out and the smell has never come back. 23 years later still have the same tank and no stink.

 

[mike93lx]

When I hooked up with my wife, she had this house and the hot water stunk. Relatively new heater too but well water. So I had some 2" copper and fittings so I rigged up a standpipe on the supply line where I could valve off this 2" pipe and fill it with bleach, then cap it and let it into the tank. Lasted for a week or so and came back. So I took the anode out and the smell has never come back. 23 years later still have the same tank and no stink.

With no anode?

 

[PopcornSutton]

With no anode?

Brass plug.

 

[mike93lx]

Brass plug.

I'm impressed the tank has lasted this long

 

[HoosierBuddy]

I'm impressed the tank has lasted this long

One of two things:

1. The tank was coated perfectly at the factory and there is no direct contact between the water and the tank. (most likely situation).

OR

2. The tank is electrically contiguous with piping that is anodic to the tank's steel and that plumbing is being sacrificed to protect the tank.

I can picture 2 happening with galvanized plumbing....but what are the odds that is what is being used here. Most likely is that the water heater tank is a unicorn that just doesn't have any defects. Most aren't like that.

 

[Caneil]

SO2 smell can often be bacteria eating iron. A good water test will tell. Then you get to go down the rabbit hole of ferric or ferrous and the different treatment plans. Sterilize the well, filter the iron out, add a charcoal filter and you're all good. It's kinda fun, more fun if it's someone else's well