Why Does My Hot Water Heater Smell Like Rotten Eggs?
The smell of sulfur – that rotten egg smell all of us are so familiar with, even if we’ve only smelled it’s a handful of time in our lives – is never something you are looking forward to.
And it’s definitely not something you are expecting to smell when you turn on your hot water taps at home.
Unfortunately for a lot of homeowners out there, living with hot water that smells like rotten eggs is a reality that they have had to get used to. But what if we told you that you could quickly clear out any hot water heater smell like rotten eggs from your home completely, and do so without spending a mountain of money along the way?
Interested in learning a little bit more?
Let’s dive right in!
The Root Cause Behind A Hot Water Heater Smell Like Rotten Eggs Issue
You’re going to get all kinds of people telling you that you have water quality issues, a total failure of your plumbing system, a breakdown in your hot water heater, and a number of other catastrophic – and expensive – root causes behind your water heater smelling like a bunch of rotting eggs.
But the real culprit is something much simpler and much more basic (as well as something a lot easier to take care of).
You see, when a specific bacteria found in all water supplies starts to mix with sulfur compounds, aluminum compounds, and magnesium sacrificial anode (a fancy way of describing a hardware component in most all hot water heaters) the chemical reaction produced is hydrogen sulfide gas – and your hot water carries that gas out into your home and makes everything stink to high heaven.
Two Fixes For This Hot Water Heater Smell
If you are willing to go the DIY route, shutting down your hot water heater and disconnecting the cold water valve to drain water from the tank before mixing in a 3% hydrogen peroxide solution into your tank will be more than enough to troubleshoot the problem for yourself.
If, on the other hand, you aren’t comfortable getting the hydrogen peroxide ratios right – and potentially causing new problems with all of the hot water pumping throughout your home – hiring the right professionals to tackle this issue for you is quick, inexpensive, and provides a reliable result you can take to the bank.
META:
Effortlessly troubleshoot hot water issues all on your own when your system is starting to smell like rotten eggs.
REFERENCES:
http://www.benjaminfranklinplumbingiowa.com/hot-water-heater-smells-like-rotten-eggs/
http://www.waterheaterrescue.com/Troubleshooting/stinky-water-in-hot-water-heaters.html
https://deltaplumbingatlanta.com/news/does-your-water-heater-smell-like-rotten-eggs
https://www.aztecplumbing.net/blog/2017/may/why-does-my-water-heater-smell-like-rotten-eggs-/