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sulfur smell in rural household with well water #873911

Asked June 20, 2024, 11:16 AM EDT

Hello - It might be a long shot but wish to inquire of you just the same. Our home is in a rural setting in the Manning/Buxton/Banks area of Oregon. The home is ~10 years old and has copper pipes throughout. We struggle with a sulfur smell in our hot water inside the home. Professional plumbers diagnosed it as mineral build-up in the water heater so replaced it but to no positive effect. I understand there is more to the home's water-management system besides the water heater, such as a pressurization system in the crawl space which might be contributing to the issue... unsure. We continue to try to root-cause the issue so we can address it. My question to you: is it common / possible that the sulfur smell originates in the water itself under ground, such that anything we do to the home-based systems won't necessarily successfully address it? Any suggestions you might offer? It's difficult to root-cause the issue in part because every professional we have come amazingly concludes that we need to hire them to replace whatever it is that they sell (plumbers, re-pipe specialists, etc.) Shocker... Thank you in advance for any guidance you can offer. Kevin Moe

Washington County Oregon

Expert Response

Kevin,

Hydrogen sulfide is very common in well water. It and the other mineral buildup that you mentioned do not have any health effects. https://extension.psu.edu/hydrogen-sulfide-rotten-egg-odor-in-water-wells is my favorite publication and discusses treatment options. Unfortunately, most of them are fairly expensive. 

If the sulfide is coming from the well, you should also smell it from cold water faucets, and outside hose spigots. The hot water heater can accentuate the smell. Even when you have you tank replaced, well owners with high mineral content should replace the anode rod each year. The rod which is placed through a hole on the top of the tank and screwed down is sacrificial attracting the minerals and breaks down to help reduce mineral buildup on the heating element - which can cause early failure. 

Most folks live with the smell as part of the joys of well ownership, it is typically slightly less in the winter when we have more water entering the aquifer, and the peak is typically the last months of fall before the rains start.
Chrissy Lucas-Woodruff Replied June 20, 2024, 3:20 PM EDT

Hi Chrissy –

 

Thank you so much for your helpful reply with reference to some very useful information. This helps tremendously. We’ll go through it and send another reply if there are any follow-up questions.

 

Kind regards,

Kevin

 

From: ask=<personal data hidden> <ask=<personal data hidden>> On Behalf Of Ask Extension
Sent: Thursday, June 20, 2024 12:21 PM
To: Moe, Kevin R <<personal data hidden>>
Subject: Re: sulfur smell in rural household with well water (#0143829)

 

The Question Asker Replied June 20, 2024, 5:14 PM EDT

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