Four Reasons Your Water Smells Bad

Do you smell rotten eggs but don’t remember eating any eggs last night? It is probably the water in your home that is smelling. Smelly water is a common issue caused due to various reasons, mostly not harmful and easy to fix. Here are the most common ways your home’s water can smell and why.

1) Rotten Eggs Smell

If you smell rotten eggs, it is caused by naturally occurring sulphur bacteria in your water supply. This comes from a lack of oxygen in the well, which produces hydrogen sulphide or sulphur containing chemical reactions in the water. If your water only smells like rotten eggs when you use the water heater, it is probably due to chemical reactions within the water heater itself. You need to contact us to fix this issue.

2) Earthy or Musty Smell

The earthy or musty smell is usually caused due to iron bacteria in the water supply. It occurs when the bacteria feed on a chemical reaction between oxygen and iron, leading to smelly water. Although it is not harmful, it can still be annoying to deal with, and it can lead to a buildup of slime on the faucets and fixtures. The best solution to this problem is to treat iron bacteria with a chlorine chemical feed system.

3) Fishy Smell

Something smells fishy, doesn’t it? The fishy smell is another naturally occurring nuisance that occurs due to elevated levels of chloramines, barium, and cadmium. Chloramines are used to disinfect the public water supply; barium and cadmium are naturally occurring metals that often find their way into the home’s water supply. A fishy smell is not at all harmful.

The fishy smell can also occur in water if there’s an organic matter growing or decaying in your water supply, well, or pressure tank. The organic matter that gives such a smell to the water include algae, fungi, and bacteria. A water purifier is the best solution to this problem.

4) Bleach Smell

Does your water smell like your swimming pool? It is because of the chlorine present in your water supplied by the main source of water in the city you live in, especially if you live close to the distribution plant. The government adds chlorine to the public water supply to disinfect it, but it usually does not smell. Sometimes, it can dry out your skin due to excessive amounts and give a funky taste and smell to your water. Use the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines to test your water, and if the chlorine content is higher than 2.0 ppm, you need to contact your water supply authority or the health department.

Smelly water can be a nuisance, and at most times, it is not harmful, but it’s better to err on the side of caution when it comes to drinking water. Contaminated water can be quite harmful to your health. If you notice any funky smell in your water, you should contact LG Home Comfort for the best solutions.