If your cold water smells like rotten eggs, the odor is usually caused by the levels of sulfur bacteria and hydrogen sulfide gas that can be found in a building’s water supply. If you only experience the smell when using your hot tap, it may be a chemical reaction occurring inside your hot water heater, and not a problem with your water supply.
You may be surprised to know that there are over 316 chemicals found in drinking water across the US. For many people it can be a common problem to have strange odors coming from their tap water, especially if the supply comes from a well or still source.
If you have hydrogen sulfide in your water supply, the main reason your hot water can smell like rotten eggs, it can damage pipes as it corrodes many different types of metals and can also cause black stains on silverware and plumbing fixtures. In most cases drinking water that has a strong rotten egg odor, although particularly unpleasant, is perfectly safe to drink. However in some rare occasions the odor may be caused by sewage or other contaminates in a building’s water supply, which could cause health problems.
If your water smells like rotten eggs, the odor is usually caused by the levels of sulfur bacteria and Hydrogen Sulfide that can be found in a building’s water supply. If you only experience the smell when using your hot tap, it may be a chemical reaction occurring inside your hot water heater, and not a problem with your water supply.
If you do experience any new odors it is always important to find the source of the problem by checking taps and water supplies around the building.
If you are concerned about what is in your water you can purchase test kits that will check the levels of hydrogen sulfide, sulfate, sulfur bacteria, and iron bacteria.
One of the better alternatives to drinking straight from the tap is using a water filter that eradicates harmful contaminants. At Waterlogic, our mission is to deliver fresh, clean water to all offices. Our Firewall™ filtration water coolers eliminate 99.9999% of bacteria found in tap water sources. Take a look at our product line or request your quote for a water cooler.