My
Water Stinks! What can I Do ?
First, you must learn a little about your
nose: Once you smell some things, your sense of
smell is dulled for a short while, and you can't
make accurate judgments of smell. For instance,
if I blindfold you, let you smell gasoline, hand
you a piece of onion to eat and tell you it is
an apple, you can't tell it's not because your
nose isn't working properly!! (Your sense of taste
isn't working either -- smell and taste are closely
related and affect each other!)
So, to correctly analyze
your problem, you need to become a detective.
The best time to locate the smell is after you
have been away from home for a few hours -- this
allows your nose to become sensitive to "that
smell" again. With your 'sensitized' nose, go
to an outside spigot -- one that the raw, untreated
water flows from. Turn it on, let it run a few
minutes, then smell it. If it smells -- we found
it. If not, we must look further. (Many, many
smells are not in the raw water at all, they are
introduced into the water inside the house.) Go
to a cold, treated water spigot inside the house,
turn it on and let it run a minute; then smell.
If this water smells, and the outside, untreated
water didn't -- you must have a device (cartridge
filter, water softener, etc.) in the water line
that needs to be cleaned and sanitized.
If it is a cartridge,
or 'string' filter, replace the element and sanitize
the housing. If you have a water conditioner call
the Company where you bought the unit for advise
on how to sanitize the unit. If you rent the unit,
just call! You can sanitize the unit by pouring
Hydrogen Peroxide or Chlorine Bleach in the brine
well of the salt tank, and placing the unit into
regeneration. Check with the seller, or, if they
are no longer in business, any Professional Water
Conditioning Dealer for how much to put in your
particular unit.
If the cold, treated water
inside didn't smell, turn on the hot water and
let it run a few minutes -- does it smell? If
it does, chances are you have a sacrificial anode
inside your hot water heater that is "coming apart
at the seams" and throwing off a "rotten egg"
odor. This obnoxious smell will drive you right
out of your shower! The only solution is to remove
the anode from the heater, voiding your warranty,
or replace it with a new one made with aluminum
alloy. This anode is placed in a (glass lined)
hot water heater to seal up any cracks in the
glass lining and prevent corrosion of the heater
tank. You will find the anode on the top of the
heater; remove the tin cover and insulation --
look for what looks like a pipe plug -- about
3/4 inch in size with a 1 1/16"fitting. Turn off
the heat source and the water; have someone hold
the tank to prevent it from turning, and unscrew
the "plug". You will find that the 'plug' has
a 30 - 40 " long pipe (or what's left of one)
attached to it. Hopefully, most of the rod is
still attached -- just corroded. If so, replace
the plug with a real pipe plug and throw the anode
away. If part of the rod has corroded off, and
fallen into the heater, you may have to try to
fish it out. Either way, before you plug the hole,
pour about 2 pints of chlorine bleach into the
heater first. This will kill the smell left in
the heater. If, after a week or so, the smell
returns, you must fish out the rod that is in
the bottom of the tank. Good Luck!
OK, It's my Raw Water
That Smells -- Now What ?
First, you must determine what is causing
the smell, and how strong it is.
Minor,
musty smell
If it is a minor, or low-level smell, you
MIGHT be able to solve it with a small, point-of-use
carbon filter. You can place these types of filters
on the water line going to the cold water where
you draw you drinking water. Or, you might solve
it with a whole-house filter on your incoming
water line to filter all of the water inside your
home.
Because carbon removes
smells by ADsorbtion, ie, the smell "sticks"
or "adheres" to the carbon particles, you must
be careful not to exceed the manufactures recommended
flow -- some filters even have a flow restriction
built in them. If you run water through them too
fast, you will not remove the smells. Whenever
you place a carbon filter in your water line,
you must be sure to replace the element and sanitize
the housing on a regular basis. Carbon filters
remove organics from water, and the bacteria found
in water like to eat organics -- the carbon filter
is a nice, dark place, just full of food for them
to grow and reproduce in. Regular and routine
replacement will help prevent any buildup of bacteria
in the cartridge.
Strong,
rotten-egg smell
Strong, rotten-egg odors in the raw water
is usually the result of the decomposition of
decaying underground organic deposits. As water
is drawn to the surface, hydrogen sulfide gas
can be released to the atmosphere. In strong concentrations,
this gas is flammable and poisonous. It rapidly
tarnishes silver, turning it black. It is toxic
to aquarium fish in sufficient quantities. As
little as 0.5 ppm hydrogen sulfide can be tasted
in your drinking water.
Strong,
musty smell
If you are unlucky enough to have this
problem, you should look for a company that has
local experience in dealing with this problem.
There are three basic ways to solve this problem
for homeowners.
Filters
Installation of a whole house filter
loaded with a media that is specific for hydrogen
sulfide removal is successful many times. These
types of filters must be recharged with chlorine
or potassium permanganate. The removal capacities
of these types of filters are usually fairly
low, and must be sized to contain enough media
to prevent premature exhaustion, and subsequent
passage of the smell to service. It is also
typical that the amount of hydrogen sulfide
can fluctuate rapidly, causing great difficulty
in sizing the unit. In addition, potassium permanganate
is extremely "messy", and will leave stains
that are very difficult to remove.
Feeders
Feeder systems consist of a small pump
that injects small amounts of chlorine (usually)
into the incoming water. The water must then
be held for a short period of time to allow
the hydrogen sulfide to precipitate out of the
water. This tank should be designed in such
a manner that the water that enters it will
mix thoroughly with the water in the tank, to
assure complete reaction. The water then should
pass through a filter to remove both the precipitated
matter and the chlorine remaining in the water.
You should be aware, however, that whenever
you mix chlorine with organic materials (remember
where hydrogen sulfide come from!), the chances
are very high that trihalomethanes (possible
cancer causing carginigns) will be formed. Also,
feeder maintenance is high, you should be prepared
to "play" with the unit frequently.
Aeration
Aeration consists of breaking the incoming
water into small droplets (spray) into the air,
drawing fresh air through that spray, collecting
the water into a storage tank, repressurize
the water, passing it through a particulate
filter to catch any particles that might be
carried out of the storage tank. The air drawn
though the spray must be vented outside the
house -- remember, it is toxic and explosive.
Although this system necessitates another pump
to repressurize your supply, you are not adding
any chemicals to your water, which makes it
attractive. This system is low maintenance and
no chemicals to purchase. Initial cost may be
higher, however, and space requirements may
be greater.
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