Yuk! Stinky household water!

[DixyDoodle]

It goes without saying that we have a well. But the last few weeks, the water is becoming so rank that I can't stand it!

We had to have a wire repaired in our well a few weeks ago....coincidence? I think not! I've been trying to get hold of the plumber who repaired it to see if they shocked the well when they were done (most do, but these guys, I don't know if they do it). I know that you should always do your well after opening it for work, so I find it very funny that the water is so stinky now.

I did a water test with the health unit and the water is fine. Drinkable and all that if you like drinking water that reeks. It has the MOST horrible rotten egg smell I've ever smelled with well water. But here's the thing: it is most noticeable when we use the hot water.

So what do you think? Is it maybe the well, and just needs to be shocked? Or something possibly wrong with our hot water tank? Is there something we can do to check the tank ourselves?

Hopefully, we can catch the plumber today and see what he did or didn't do. Any tips appreciated, though!

Thanks!

DD

[HillsideHouse]

We had the same problem, smells really good eh? I almost puked in the shower. It turned out to be the anode rod inside the hot water tank. We replaced ours with an aluminum one. Here is a website that explains it pretty well.

http://www.holmestead.ca/reserved/hw-anode/anode.html

Good luck!

Hillside

[BillHoo]

A deteriorating anode will produce rusty water, possibly with a metallic smell. I don't think it would produce a nasty rotten egg stink.

If it's an open well, I would look down there to se if maybe a raccoon or possum fell down there and drowned.

[Bearfootfarm]

http://www.extension.umn.edu/info-u/...ent/BD307.html

"Odor-producing bacteria are often referred to as "iron" or "sulfur-reducing" bacteria. They use iron or sulfur in their life cycle and give off hydrogen sulfide gas. That's the rotten egg odor. The bacteria may form slimy colonies in pipes or toilet tanks and can stain laundry. However, the odor is usually the most objectionable problem.

Iron bacteria can get into wells when maintenance is done on piping, well casing, or pumps. Bacteria can get in when work is done on indoor plumbing, or when a hot water heater is installed. Finally, they may get into water supplies through a direct connection to surface water or shallow groundwater seepage.

Once established in your well or water supply, bacteria can be very hard to eliminate. After work is done on your well or plumbing, thoroughly disinfect the system. This kills bacteria that enter the water before they get a foothold. If there is a connection to surface water or bacteria are strongly established, repeated disinfection may be necessary. Disinfection eliminates or reduces bacteria to tolerable levels."

Shock chlorination is the most common way to disinfect a well. You need to calculate carefully how much chlorine is appropriate for your well size and depth. Make sure the entire system gets disinfected and that chlorine remains in the system 6 to 8 hours. For directions on how to disinfect your well, request publication #5941, Treatment Systems for Household Water Supplies: Chlorination. Treatment

[DixyDoodle]

Yeah, that's what I thought: probably shock the well just to be on the safe side. The plumber is not going to be around until Monday, so we'll have to put up with it for now.

I forgot to mention that we have a brand new (less than 6 months old) water softener and and iron filter, so iron is probably not the problem. It's a drilled well with a tightly closed cap.

Thanks for all the advice!