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How to Identify & Cure Odors in Drinking Water WaterAPedia © Enter your search terms Submit search form   Search This Website - InspectAPedia.com

• What are common odors in drinking water
• Causes of water odors
• Health risks associated with some water odors?
• How to get rid of odors in water

This article discusses how to identify, diagnose, and cure common odors that may be present in drinking water. We also discuss which of these odors may warn of unsanitary conditions. © 2008 Daniel Friedman, All Rights Reserved. Information Accuracy & Bias Pledge is at below-left. Use the links at page left to navigate this document or to go to Other Website Topics. Green links at left show where you are in our document & website.

"Honey - the Water Smells Funny!"

Scott Bradley, Aquacheck Water Testing Laboratory

Although water as a pure compound, H

The Threshold Odor Test Method

A subjective analysis called the Threshold Odor Test, number 2150b. in Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater, 19th ed., can give us an idea of the strength of the odor as compared to controls of varying degree of odor concentration. But how do you interpret what the underlying problem is when your water has a peculiar odor?

Sulphur Odors in Water

Some odors are a little more insidious and require a bit of background knowledge to deal with them effectively. If your source water runs through an area where naturally occurring sulfur is present, some sulfur may dissolve into the water.

Some of this dissolved sulfur turns to the gas, hydrogen sulfide, and this can give the water a rotten egg type odor.

Sulphur odors can also be caused by certain bacteria in the building plumbing system, a condition we also discuss below.

Since sulphur or "rotten egg" odors in drinking water are a very common complaint we'll look at this case first.

Diagnosing and Correcting Sulphur Odors in Water

• Sulphur or "rotten egg" odors in water throughout a home: if your water source is picking up sulphur, either seasonally (such as when water tables drop) or all year, you have a persistent sulphur source and the odor will be present at all plumbing fixtures in the home, possibly appearing stronger when water has not been run for some time - but see other versions of that clue which we discus below.
  
  
• Sulphur odors only at certain fixtures: In certain instances, someone in the household may complain of a sulfur odor in one part of the home, but not any other. This is usually explained because of the presence of sulfur reducing bacteria in a "dead leg" in the plumbing system. These bacteria are not typically pathogenic, or disease-causing, and one common type would be Desulfovibriole.
  If there is a portion of plumbing that has been cut and then capped off, creating a small area of non-circulating water, or a "dead-leg", then these bacteria can get a foothold and metabolize the available sulfur in your water - creating a strong odor from one particular sink or tap.
  
  
• Sulphur odors from water heaters: A frequent source of a sulphur-like odor in home water systems, regardless of whether your water is from a private well or from a municipal supply source, is a deteriorated sacrificial anode on the water heater tank. This anode, usually inserted into the water tank from its top, is intended to reduce water tank corrosion. Sacrificial anodes on water tanks can be replaced. If the odor is present only in your hot water, ask your plumber to try replacing the anode.
  
  
• Hydrogen sulfide release from hot water: Another source of sulphur odors in water the energy which water heaters add to water in the form of heat. Increasing the temperature of water will also facilitate the release of hydrogen sulfide. In addition, the simple act of running water at a shower or faucet will cause a release of this sulphurous odor because of the agitation of the water being released from the tap.
  
  
• Manganese, Iron, and Gallianella bacteria as a water odor source: If your source water is high in iron and or manganese, then you may have odors that emanate from bacteria like Gallianella. These naturally occurring bacteria can feed from the available stream of iron and manganese in a water supply, creating foul odors and sometimes plugging, or bio fouling water filters and well. A BART, or Biological Activity Reaction Test can determine if this type of bacteria is present in your water supply. You probably can't get rid of them because they are normal flora, (naturally occurring bacteria), but annual chlorination of your well will help keep them in check. An ultraviolet disinfection system can disinfect the water as it comes into distribution to remove bacteria within the system. Chlorination may also be used, but is not a great choice if there is a lot of iron and manganese, as the chlorine will precipitate the metals out of solution and discolor the water.
  
  
• Other sources of sulphur odors: Does your water smell when you return from vacation? Non-use of a regular water line can also create the same condition of sulphur odors.

Treatments for Sulphur Odors in Water

Because sulphur-reducing bacteria are normal flora, or naturally occurring bacteria, you probably can't get rid of them altogether, but annual dosing of your well with chlorine bleach will help keep them at bay. Shock chlorinating your home system may, or may not solve the problem because the chlorine might not circulate into the dead-leg area of plumbing. If this happens, just have a plumber remove that portion of pipe. The easiest way to get rid of sulfur odor is to use a filter with activated charcoal or carbon.

If your sulphur odor is from the water heater, changing the anode should do the trick.

Water treatment systems to remove sulphur odors are available from water treatment companies. What you need to cure a sulphur odor depends on the duration (seasonal versus all year), cause (water supply versus piping or water heater), and severity.

Water Softeners to Remove Sulphur Odors

Water softeners are designed to remove minerals from water, such as calcium or magnesium that make "hard" water. However many softeners will also handle low levels of sulphur odor. Just be sure the odor source is not a dirty water softener salt tank!

Water Treatments to Remove Sulphur Odors

Common treatment methods use "green sand" filters or exchange tanks (potassium permanganate) or other chemical treatments, or chlorinators followed by a charcoal filtration system.

Water or Well Treatment to Remove Bacteria-produced Odors

Above we discussed odors in drinking water caused by Manganese, Iron in the water supply which in turn support the growth of foul-odor-producing bacteria such as Gallianella. You probably can't get rid of Gallianella because they are normal flora, (naturally occurring bacteria), but annual chlorination of your well will help keep them in check.

An ultraviolet disinfection system can disinfect the water as it comes into distribution to remove bacteria within the system [but keep in mind that UV treatment does not remove any other contaminants such as particles or chemicals]. Chlorination may also be used, but is not a great choice if there is a lot of iron and manganese, as the chlorine will precipitate the metals out of solution and discolor the water. If it's necessary, a (more costly) cascade of water treatment equipment, installed in the proper sequence, can first remove un-wanted minerals such as iron and manganese, second, chlorinate the water to reduce bacterial levels, odors, and other chemical contaminants in water, and third, post-process the water often using charcoal filtration, to remove remaining chlorine from the water.

Here's A Free and Simple Way to Get Rid of Sulphur Odors in Drinking Water

A great way to get hydrogen sulfide reduced water to drink for free is to fill a clean milk jug three fourths full of tap water. Cover, and shake vigorously for 20-30 seconds. Remove the cover and let set on the counter for ten minutes or so, allowing time for the hydrogen sulfide you released from the water to vent out of the jug - providing you with sulfur free or reduced drinking water - at no expense!

Other Common Water Smells or Odors

Let's take a closer look at some other reasons why drinking water may be smelly be and what you should do.

• Chlorine odors in drinking water: While we can't cover all of the possibilities here, we can talk about some different odors and their causes. If your water smells like chlorine, you're most likely on a municipal system and it is chlorine that you smell. Chlorine is quite volatile and doesn't stick around in water - if you run water from a tap into a pitcher and let it sit, the chlorine will dissipate pretty quickly. People who want to avoid chlorine in their water can install a treatment system such as charcoal filtering to remove it.
• A musty, dank, or brackish odor in water is often times attributed to chloride in your water, but it could also be 2-methyl-isoborneal (MIB).
• A sweet, organic smell in water might indicate m-xylene, and styrene in your water will make you think of model airplane glue.
• A "greenish -chlorophyll-like" odor in water might be grass in your well, but is probably an algae growth.
• Soap or rubber odors in water: Some things are just what they smell like, for example soap will smell like soap, and rubber hose will smell like rubber hose!
• Other sources of odors in water are discussed in our edited EPA article on water pollution: see Where Do Water Pollutants Come From for those details.

Before Buying Water Treatment Equipment

A water treatment company will often be willing to test your water and will recommend just what equipment you need. Just be sure first that the odor source is a problem in your water source and not in the building piping or equipment.

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Technical Reviewers

Particular thanks are due to experts and also consumers who read these articles and suggest corrections, changes, and additions to the material. Content suggestions, technical corrections and content critique are invited for any of the content at our website.

• Scott Bradley, author. Scott Bradley is Laboratory Director for Aquacheck Laboratory, Inc. PO Box 87 05151 1-800-263-9596. A more brief version of this article appeared in Aquacheck Laboratory's Water Wisdom Tips and Newsletter, Issue # 6, 2007. www.Aquacheck-VT.com offers other water supply tips in its Water Wisdom section. The laboratory also provides water test kits and offers a free newsletter.
• Daniel Friedman - editor
• Technical reviewers are invited to comment or ask questions - contact us

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Odors, Smells, Gases in Buildings-Diagnosis & Cure
ANIMAL ODORS IN BUILDINGS
CARBON MONOXIDE & GAS HEAT ODORS
CARPETS & PADDING ODORS IN BUILDINGS
GAS MEASUREMENT TOOLS
MOLD ODORS, Musty Smells in Buildings
OIL HEAT ODORS
OIL TANK LEAK ODORS
PAINTS & COATINGS ODORS IN BUILDINGS
SEWER GAS ODORS
SEWER GAS ODORS in COLD WEATHER
VINYL Siding or PLASTIC Window ODORS in Buildings
ODORS IN WATER
OZONE for MOLD OR ODORS

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