Rotten Egg Smell In My Well Water (non-fishing)

[mukluk]

I have a drilled well; Approx. 200 ft. deep.with a water conditioner. (salt). The water at hot water tap has a rotten egg smell and iron deposits yellow the faucets etc.

I need help deciding which filtration system to purchase. Any opinions appreciated. Thanks in advance Jim

[mercman]

http://www.purahome.com/

 

I have used thier Plasmawave air cleaners, and the have a complete line of water treatment and filtration systems.They can answer all your concerns.

 

 

They are in St Catherines

Edited August 22, 2012 by mercman

[Sinker]

We run 4 of these at my work, and they were so good, I put one in the house too. I had the same water problems you do. Works great!

 

http://www.homespring.com/

 

S.

Edited August 22, 2012 by Sinker

[G.mech]

You have sulphur water....lived with it for years and it's no fun. Filters, softeners, and UV sterilizers do nothing to remove sulphur from water, you need a unit specifically for this task. Here is a link to the Culligan site with the Sulfur-cleer system but other water treatment companies have them too. They also help with the iron contamination which is causing the rust stains.

 

 

 

http://www.culligan.com/en-ca/d/homes/whole-house-water-filters/sulfur-cleer/

[Garnet]

My buddy Drew Schiller is the Clearflow North license well contractor/ plumber. Just looked at his card looks like everything wells. 1 877 987 7222.

 

Card says Kawartha Lakes an Haliburtan I would still give him a call.

[dok]

Theres a couple things you can try one is shocking well and getting chlorine into hotwater tank and leaving it for a night than sending it to waste. The other is how old is hot water tank an has the annoid rod been removed. As far as treatment theres a unit we have at our place called iron breaker it uses no chemicals and does not restrict the well pump. What ever filter you go with you need to make sure you have enough water to wash it alot of these companys will just install it with out checking your flow rate leaving you with a unit that will work great for a while untill it plugs up because its not washing. We got ours from D&S Water Well Service ltd in uxbridge. Hope this helps

Edited August 22, 2012 by DOK

[ecmilley]

a cup of borax into the well most times can clear up sulpher problems temporarly

[jim]

a cup of borax into the well most times can clear up sulpher problems temporarly

 

A Patterson Iron Remover did it for me. No chemicals or salt. If I remember correctly, they are in Peterborough.

[whiskywizard]

You may not have a water problem at all.

 

If you only get the smell from the hot water, you should check your water heater anode before you do anything else. In the top of the water heater is a screw-in sacrificial anode. If it's fully eroded (sacrificed), you will get that sulfur smell and you'll see increased corrosion in the tank - which leads to the rust stains.

[Old Man]

Dissolved Hydrogen Sulfide gas in deep wells is common, that's where your rotten egg smell originates from. The iron staining could be high iron content or iron bacteria in your well. A shock chlorination with 10% Sodium Hypochloride will take care of any iron bacteria problems. Google "shock chlorination of well" and you'll find a lot of information on the process. There are many different options for iron mineral removal. The addition of a manganese green sand filter to the system is one of them. Your best bet is to get the water fully tested and then consult a water treatment specialist.

Edited August 22, 2012 by Old Man

[Sinker]

The homesprings unit I linked above will take care of all your problems. I had the same issues, and am also a drinking water system operator for my job where we run 4 of these. Its a great unit. Look into it. Many water specialists don't even know about it.

 

It will get rid of your smell, the staining, and any bacteria, viruses, sists....pretty much anything. It will turn raw sewage into drinking water. Pretty amazing system!!!

 

 

S.

[misfish]

The homesprings unit I linked above will take care of all your problems. I had the same issues, and am also a drinking water system operator for my job where we run 4 of these. Its a great unit. Look into it. Many water specialists don't even know about it.

 

It will get rid of your smell, the staining, and any bacteria, viruses, sists....pretty much anything. It will turn raw sewage into drinking water. Pretty amazing system!!!

 

 

S.

 

Listen to the NEWF.

 

The rock is a prime example of what your talking about.

 

S.

[LefroyFisherman]

I have the same problem with my well, I live in Lefroy and we have extremely hard water. I will probably be shocking the system soon. But where would I buy the homesprings and how much? didn't see that on the site?

[wallyboss]

I had the same issue and it was coming from the hot water tank.

 

Try this first,

you'll need 2 people to do this. 1 at the hot water tank and the other at the sink in the kitchen.

1) Turn off power to the water pump.

2) get rid of all pressure by opening tap and letting run until water stops coming out.

3) put a cup of Javex in a bowl.

4) insert kitchen tap spout in bowl.

5) Get the person at the hot water tank to turn on tap at bottom of tank.

6) that should cause the tap in the kitchen to suck in the Javex into the hot water tank.

7) Let sit overnight and next morning let hot water run until the smell of Javex is gone. I used to run a hose from the tap at the bottom of the Hot water tank to my sump pmup hole and drain the tank. You'll be surprised at what comes out of there.

 

That should take care of the smell.

 

If that doesn't work then you can try the more expensive ways mentioned above

Edited August 22, 2012 by wallyboss

[mukluk]

Thanks to each and everyone for your input in to this matter. Greatly appreciated. Makes it easier for me to decide which way to go in solving this problem. Jim

[Daplumma]

You may not have a water problem at all.

 

If you only get the smell from the hot water, you should check your water heater anode before you do anything else. In the top of the water heater is a screw-in sacrificial anode. If it's fully eroded (sacrificed), you will get that sulfur smell and you'll see increased corrosion in the tank - which leads to the rust stains.

 

 

Ding ding ding!This is almost the correct answer. The presence of the rod is the issue.

Joe

[Rattletrap2]

Ding ding ding!This is almost the correct answer. The presence of the rod is the issue.

Joe

 

Joe, correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe you can change the anode to a different type of metal in some areas. If the existing one is predominantly aluminum, you can get one that is higher magnesium content? Something like that.

 

I had the same issues with the hot water tank in my trailer. I could not access any anode, but a 1/4 cup of bleach introduced into the pre-filter housing cured the problem for years. I just ran the hot water tap after letting it sit for a few hours and waited until the smell of chlorine was gone.

[aplumma]

Remove the magnesium anode rod and flush out the heater. Contact manufacture and ask for an aluminum rod to replace it with. If one is not available remove all traces of the magnesium rod and use it as a plug. This will put you at risk for corrosion but it will be the lesser of two evils. The chlorine bath is used if the smell is from a bacteria growth the same thing can be accomplished by raising the temperature of the water to 160 degrees F for 2 hours and then setting the thermostats back to there original place. Warm every one in the house that the water will be abnormally hot till you cycle the heater to below the temperature it was set at.