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how do i get rid of a bad smell in my hot water

by Sister Kovacek Published 1 year ago Updated 1 year ago
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  • First, turn off the power of the heater
  • Close the main shut-off valve
  • Open both a nearby hot water tap and the temperature and pressure relief ( TPR) valve
  • Drain the tank until the water level is below the TPR valve, then shut both off
  • Add some 3% hydrogen peroxide (approximately 1-2 quarts per 40 gallons, adjusted according to your tank’s capacity)

To get rid of the bad odor, you'll want to contact a plumber to flush and disinfect your tank. Doing so will remove the bacteria and particles that create hydrogen sulfide. During a water heater flush, a plumber can replace your anode rod if it is corroded to prevent the smell in the future.Feb 21, 2020

Full Answer

How to remove smell from hot water heater?

To remove the smell from the water tank or when hot water heater smells like sulfur, consider sanitizing the tank using hydrogen peroxide. Almost all water heaters have “anode rods” which in a cathode-anode reaction, produce excess ions that wear off the anode rod and adhere to the inside glass lining of the heater, preventing corrosion.

How do you get rid of smelly water in Your House?

As the first step to this process, you can add hydrogen peroxide or chlorine bleach to the piping and sanitize it. If the smelly water returns, it may be necessary to replace the old galvanized iron pipe with copper piping. Most odors reported on city water are from water heater smells.

How to get rid of rotten egg smell in hot water?

Powered titanium anode is the ultimate solution to cancel all rotten egg smell in hot water. Reply Lauraon May 24, 2019 at 8:55 am Our house was having the “rotten egg” smell in our hot water for some time after putting in a new hot water heater 9 months prior.

How to get rid of sulfur smell in house?

We had the home a couple years and this sulfur smell started. We put in a water softner & changed out the old water heater, but that didnt help. We just have to run out all of the water for about 40 minutes when we arrive & the odors gone.

How to get rid of a smelly glass?

Why does my water heater smell bad?

Why is water heater maintenance important?

How does a water softener work?

What does rotten egg water smell like?

Why does my drain smell?

Can hydrogen sulfide get into water?

See 2 more

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Why is my hot water smelling bad?

If the odor is present only in your hot water, it is usually created by the presence of sulphate-reducing bacteria (sulfur bacteria) in your hot water tank. In some cases, it can also be caused by a chemical reaction between your magnesium rod and the hot water.

How do I stop my hot water from smelling?

If the cold water does not contain odors, but the hot water smells bad, then a thorough sanitizing of the water heater tank with 1 to 2 pints of store-bought hydrogen peroxide will eliminate the odor and smell from the water heater.

What causes hot water to smell like rotten eggs?

What Causes it? The rotten egg smell is because your water contains traces of hydrogen sulfide. Even extremely small amounts can make your water smell badly. In most, but not all, cases there is a buildup of hydrogen sulfide in your water heater (more about that later).

Why does my faucet water smell like sewer?

The smell of sewage in water is usually down to a build up of bacteria found in your pipes, usually a build up of hydrogen sulfide due to your hot water heater either running at a low temperature or has been out of use for a period of time.

How do I get rid of the rotten egg smell in my water?

Chlorine bleach can effectively remove medium to high levels (over 6 mg/l) of hydrogen sulfide. The chlorine in the bleach chemically reacts with (oxi- dizes) the hydrogen sulfide eliminating the "rotten egg" odor. Chlorine bleach also reacts with iron or manganese, and disinfects water supplies.

Can I shower if my water smells like rotten eggs?

A rotten egg odor is a sign that the sulfur levels in your water may be too high. Sometimes, a strange smell indicates the presence of other contaminants. It's understandable if you don't want to drink or bathe in foul-smelling water, nor should you have to.

Why does my water smell like rotten eggs only one faucet?

There are three main reasons for the sulfur smell in one faucet; bacteria in the water heater, bacteria in the water supply, or bacteria in the drainage. If it's the lattermost, you're likely to experience this particular odor when you're near a particular faucet. If that's the case, you can easily fix it.

Can I drink my water if it smells like rotten eggs?

In most cases drinking water that has a strong rotten egg odor, although particularly unpleasant, is perfectly safe to drink. However in some rare occasions the odor may be caused by sewage or other contaminates in a building's water supply, which could cause health problems.

Why does my water heater smell like pool water?

But it is not enough to bother anything. It's way better than the alternative. How often it needs to be repeated depends on your water usage, your water quality, and your water softener. When my water softener needs to be regenerated it will often trigger the bad smell in the water heater. Usually I treat it when I first smell it getting bad and that is the end of that.

Why remove magnesium rod from water heater?

Very often when someone who lives in the area puts in a new water heater they opt to remove the magnesium rod in them. The rod is there to help preserve and extend the life of the water heater. The idea is that the water will attack and eventually consume the rod and not eat holes in the tank itself.

What happens when water goes out the bottom of a water heater?

The water trying to get out the bottom is creating a vacuum at the top of the water heater. If you open the valve that was installed air rushes in and water then goes out the bottom. Anything you put in the funnel will get sucked down into the water heater.

How to get sticky plastic pipe off?

If you do it fast the pipe will not be sticky. If you wait a few seconds it will soften the plastic and it will stick to your paper. Spread glue on both the pipe and the fitting and while pushing it together twist it a little also.

What do you need to clean a pipe?

You need paper towels to clean the pipes and fittings. You need a saw to cut the pipe. A hack saw works good. A saw with big teeth will not. You need a file and utility knife to clean up the cut ends. You need a marker to mark the fittings and pipe and a wrench and pliers.

Can you modify a water heater?

Because of the way water heaters are made it can be pretty easy to do this modification. Even someone with no experience can do it. A few basic tools and some plumbing parts.

Does alkali water smell bad?

My alkali water does just that, it reacts with the rod and makes the water smell really bad. In fact it even turns the water black. So when I turn on the hot water out gurgles this stuff that is like something from a volcanic hot spring.

What to do if cold water smells?

If you run your cold water and notice an odor, it’s best to call your local water utility and report the problem. Even though the water entering a pipeline from the city water treatment plant can be free of odor, the water may develop odors directly in the distribution line.

How to get rid of odor in cold water?

As the first step to this process, you can add hydrogen peroxide or chlorine bleach to the piping and sanitize it.

Why does my water smell like sulfur?

Most odors reported on city water are from water heater smells. If your hot water has sulfur or ‘rotten egg’ odor to it, the odor is being produced right in the water heater. To remove the smell from the water tank or when hot water heater smells like sulfur, consider sanitizing the tank using hydrogen peroxide.

Why does my water heater smell like rotten eggs?

Sulfur or “rotten-egg” odors can develop in water heaters and in corroded iron piping even if the water is chlorinated city water. This usually occurs if the water has a low chlorine residual, high levels of sulfates, and/or the water has sat inactive for days or weeks.

How long does peroxide stay in a water heater?

Close the inlet valve when the tank is full. 9. Leave the peroxide mixture in the heater for 1 to 3 hours. 10. After a few hours, open the cold valve again, open all the hot water faucets and allow the peroxide mixture to clean the hot water supply pipes.

How long does it take to drain a hot water tank?

12. After 15 minutes , purge the hot water supply lines and drain the water from the tank through the heater drain valve, flushing out any sediment if present. Close the drain valve.

How to tell if cold water has a smell?

To determine the source of the smell, it is important to check to see whether the cold water contains odor or just the hot water. Run the hot water to notice the odor. Then move to another faucet and run the cold water. If the cold water has an odor, then the source is in the cold water. If the hot water alone has an odor, ...

What is the best solution to sulfur smell in hot water?

In conclusion, a powered anode is the ideal solution to these problems, because in addition to eliminating this sulfur smell in hot water in a few hours, these anodes are made from insoluble titanium, which limits their debris.

Why does my hot water smell?

If the odor is present only in your hot water, it is usually created by the presence of sulphate-reducing bacteriain your hot water tank. In some cases, it can also be caused by a chemical reactionbetween your magnesium anode and the hot water.

How long does it take to remove the sulfur smell from a water heater?

By creating an environment in the water heater where the sulphate-reducing bacterium is not able to survive, the Corro-Protecanode will be able to stop that sulfur smell in only 24 hours. In addition to being guaranteed for 20 years, the Corro-Proteconly takes 15 minutes to install.

What does a water heater smell like?

These unpleasant smells are commonly described as ”water smells like rotten eggs” or ”sulfur smellin hot water”.

How to get rid of chlorine smell in home?

A temporary solutionwould be to do a concentrated chlorination treatment (chlorine bleach), which involves adding a predetermined amount of chlorine to your well and circulating the water through all your ducts. Once the smell of chlorine is noticeable throughout your home, simply let the water run until the smell disappears.

Why is sulfur smellis in hot water?

If the Sulfur Smellis present in both hot and cold water, the problem usually stems from the presence of hydrogen sulfide gasin the water underground. Since it’s coming from your water supply, this problem is the most expensive to fix.

Does a water softener help with sulfur smell?

It is important to know that a water softener will not solve the sulfur smell problem. Be aware that there are other kinds of odors in hot water tanks. This article is only about how to deal with sulfur odor problems. If you have other issues, you can read our full article :

Why does my water softener smell bad?

Your water softener smells bad for the same reason your water and drain smells bad. Over time, the bacteria in your water supply grows. The bacteria.

Why does water smell when coming out of the faucet?

There are a few reasons water stinks coming out of the faucet. All the reasons are because of one naturally occurring ion. But, we’ll talk more about this as we continue.

Why Does My Cold Water Smell Like Rotten Eggs?

If your cold water also smells like rotten eggs, the problem is your water supply.

What does a corroded rod smell like?

They then convert the sulfate to foul-smelling hydrogen sulfide. Hydrogen sulfide smells like sulfur. Sulfur smells like rotten eggs. That’s the reason the water heater anode smells like rotten eggs.

Why does well water smell like eggs?

Well water is underground water. And underground water has a high concentration of SRB. SRB is what makes the gas that makes your water smell like eggs. Now you know why well water smells like eggs.

What is the smell of ion sulfate?

Ion sulfate becomes a smelly gas hydrogen sulfide during several different processes. To get rid of this problem, follow the steps we described in this article.

Why does soap go down the drain?

Food and other waste materials (including soap) go down the drain. More often than not, they get stuck there and can clog the pipes. Clogging causes more waste to get stuck. It also causes water to drain too slowly. Over time, bacteria begin to build up. These bacteria create a gas called hydrogen sulfide.

Dusty Smell

When the home heater is not in use for the hot days, and you start using it after months, you might notice a dusty smell coming out of your heater. It might be due to the dust that has gathered in the air ducts of your heater.

Plastic Burning Smell

It is a fact that things get debris with time, and it is possible for the home heater also. Some of the plastic pieces may fall into the air ducts of your heater, and when you turn your heater on, these pieces start burning, and you feel a severe odor.

Old Air Filter

If you are having an old heater, then it can generate bad smells that are not bearable. It is might clogged with dust and debris that does not fix with any solution. In this situation, you might need to replace the air filters. So do not panic and call your HVAC Company or go to a hardware store to replace the air filters.

Chemical Smells

When you start your heating system after switching seasons, you notice a burning sulfur smell. It is similar to the smell of rotten eggs. Your friends will not even spend few minutes with you in this smelly environment.

Musty Smells

As you know now, the AC gives heat on the cold days and cooling on the hot days. So it is possible that the moisture has reached into the heating system of your HVAC, and it starts to smell whenever you run it. It would help if you had the idea that the humidity is the favorite place for the mold to grow.

How to get rid of a bad water heater smell?

1. Before you start, check that the water inside the water heater to make sure that it is not hot to prevent burning yourself. Then, turn off the water pump and/or city water, and make sure your water heater is off. 2.

What to use to get rid of rotten egg smell?

To further prevent the rotten egg smell, use an aluminum-zinc anode. The zinc in a aluminum-zinc anode helps to eliminate the bacterial activity that produces the hydrogen sulfide, and the dreaded egg smell.

How many steps to skip when flushing a water heater?

If you are merely flushing your water heater tank (no hydrogen peroxide or vinegar), you can skip steps 7 through 9.

Why flush a water heater?

Flushing will help rid any calcified sediment and deposits that collect in water heaters over time. A flushing wand is optional, but highly recommended as it helps to increase the pressure of the fresh water and direct it deeper into the part of the water heater tank that is below the drain.

Why does my water heater smell like eggs?

Anaerobic bacteria reacts with magnesium or aluminum anode rods to produce a rotten egg smell. That’s why peroxide, which is a germicide, is commonly used for flushing water heaters. Yes, the same stuff some folks gargle with, and others use to clean wounds, works wonders to eliminate the egg smell from water heaters.

Does hydrogen peroxide kill bacteria?

Then we turned the bypass off again and let the water heater sit with the hydrogen peroxide. Peroxide kills bacteria almost immediately, but we let it sit in the tank for a while for good measure.

Can you turn on a propane water heater when it is empty?

Never turn on a propane water heater or water heater electric heating element when a water heater tank is empty. Even a brief power-on to the electric or propane heater element while the tank is empty can damage or destroy the heater element and/or water heater tank.

How to get rid of a smelly glass?

Fill the glass with hot water from the faucet or water source that smells bad.

Why does my water heater smell bad?

You may be wondering if the bad smell could be coming from your water heater. The most common cause of bad smelling hot water is anaerobic bacteria present inside your water heater. Anaerobic bacteria react with the sulfur, magnesium, and aluminum anode rods causing hydrogen sulfide gas which has a “rotten egg” smell in the hot water supply.

Why is water heater maintenance important?

Water heater maintenance is key to controlling bad smells in your hot water. As a water heater ages, sediment from the water supply collects on the internal water heater components and on the bottom of the water heater inner tank.

How does a water softener work?

Water softeners work by adding salt to the water supply to reduce the hardness of the water. Saltwater is very corrosive and will reduce the life of a zinc anode rod and eventually the life of the water heater itself.

What does rotten egg water smell like?

The third component of the water that smells like rotten eggs is typically either aluminum or magnesium.

Why does my drain smell?

The smell could be caused by bacteria from food, soap, or other substances that linger in your drain pipes.

Can hydrogen sulfide get into water?

There are a variety of ways in which hydrogen sulfide can get into your water supply ‒ your water heater is only one potential source . This article will discuss how hydrogen sulfide forms, the different ways it can get into your water supply, and what you can do to get rid of it.

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