If your shower smells like rotten eggs, you have hydrogen sulfide. Here's how to find out where it's coming from and how to get rid of it for good.
Updated
Quick answer
The smell is hydrogen sulfide. If only the hot water smells, the water heater's magnesium anode rod is usually the cause, and replacing it often fixes it. If the cold water smells too, the sulfur is in the well, and air-injection oxidation is the long-term whole-house fix. A sudden new smell is worth a bacteria test.
That rotten egg smell is hydrogen sulfide gas dissolved in your water. It usually comes from sulfur-reducing bacteria living in groundwater, in the well itself, or in your plumbing. Your nose picks it up at very low levels, so even a little is hard to live with.
Besides the smell, hydrogen sulfide makes water taste bad, tarnishes silverware, turns copper and brass fixtures black, and corrodes plumbing over time.
Run the cold tap and the hot tap separately. Where you smell it tells you where the problem is.
The magnesium anode rod inside many water heaters reacts with sulfate in well water and produces hydrogen sulfide. Swapping the anode type often clears it up; we check this during the test.
The gas is in the water coming out of the ground. It needs treatment where the water enters the house.
The smell may be coming from the drain, not the water. Fill a glass, step away from the sink and smell it.
A new smell can mean bacteria have taken hold in the well. Shock chlorinating the well followed by a bacteria test is the usual first step.
Our Iron & Sulfur Filter injects air to oxidize hydrogen sulfide, traps the sulfur in the media bed, and backwashes it out automatically. No chemicals. It handles up to 5 ppm sulfur, and removes iron and manganese at the same time, which often come along with it.
If your well also has hardness, sediment or bacteria, our Well Water System covers all of it in one install.
At the levels usually found in household water, hydrogen sulfide is mainly a nuisance: bad smell, bad taste, black stains and corroded plumbing. A sudden new smell is worth a bacteria test, since it can mean contamination in the well.
Usually the water heater. Its magnesium anode rod reacts with sulfate in the water and makes hydrogen sulfide. Changing the anode often fixes it.
Small carbon filters can reduce light odors but clog quickly on well water with real sulfur. Air-injection oxidation is the long-term fix for whole-house sulfur.
Yes. We check where the smell is coming from, test your water on-site, and tell you what will fix it.
Free on-site test, a filter matched to your water, and a lifetime warranty.