Replies

1. 
   DanH | Dec 11, 2004 04:57am | #1

   Have your well shocked to kill the iron bacteria in it.

    

2. 
   goldhiller | Dec 11, 2004 06:08pm | #2

   "I have a Culligan water system, (salt storage) to remove the iron from my well water."

   Sounds like just a water softener. At best these can only deal with very small amounts of ferrous iron. If you have very much iron content at all, they won't cut the mustard.

   But the presence of iron alone isn't usually responsible for hydrogen sulfide gas and the accompanying odor....unless the iron is also supporting a population of iron bacteria, a.k.a., iron algae.

   The types of anerobic bacteria that can lead to these odors can easily be present in any well water system if that well isn't being chlorinated. But that doesn't mean you can't rid youself of the odor without constantly chlorinating. As suggested, shocking your well with some bleach and filling allthe lines in the house with such, leaving it sit for several hours and then purging might just do the deed. This would mean that you also have to shut down your water heater, then drain the tank and also allow it to be filled with the bleach-water solution once the bleach is well circulated in the well casing.

   Same holds true for your pressure tank and your water softener. They also need to be filled with the solution and left to sit, but that should naturally occur when you refill the water heater and run water thru all the pipes in the house.

   A common cure or help for this type of odor on hot water is to also change out the standard magnesium anode rod in the water heater for an aluminum rod.

   You can easily Google your way to well shocking procedures with a simple "shock well", so I won't bother explaining all that.

   After the disenfecting period is over, you will "rinse" the well first by attaching a hose to the outdoor sillcock and running water until you no longer smell the chlorine. Usually you must run water for a couple hours+ to get rid of the bleach odor. Meanwhile, you can begin draining the water heater again, so it's ready to be refilled once the odor is gone from the well water.

   Do you happen to know how many PPM of iron is present in your water?

   Edit: If the wells hocking procedure fails to control the odor for very ling, it may mean you'll have to chlorinate on a regular basis. That opens a whole new can of worms as far as removing the resulting ferric iron (no longer ferrous iron) from the water as that will slug your water softener in very short order.

   And there's always the chance that your well's aquifer is a natural producer of hydrogen sulfide gas. Only one way to find that out, as a water sample sent to a lab won't work. You have to test for that at the well head, right on site.

   Knowledge is power, but only if applied in a timely fashion.

   
   

   ---

   Edited 12/11/2004 10:12 am ET by GOLDHILLER

1. 
   halm | Dec 11, 2004 08:41pm | #3

   Yes it is a water softner. 2 and half years old.

   You covered much in great detail. Good advice. So far the hot water is okay. Only the upstairs cold faucet.

   Too bad Culligan does not have an additive to the salt storage to remedy this without compromising the softener system?

   Much appreciated

   halm

1. 
   halm | Dec 11, 2004 08:45pm | #4

   I forgot to mention the hot water is provided by oil fired furmace, tankless heater.

1. 
   fingers | Dec 11, 2004 09:20pm | #5

   This is probably obvious, but I assume you are using some type of "Iron Fighter" salt in the softener.  The pellets seem to work a bit better for me than the granular stuff.

1. 
   halm | Dec 11, 2004 09:32pm | #6

   The water was tested and the system installed by Culligan. The water is soft and no presence of iron in taste or the laundry. Just granular salt being delivered by Culligan.

   I could put the bypass valve on the system and a 1/2 cup of bleach in the culligan filter, before the system, (cartridge removed) and purge the system at its most offending faucet?

2. 
   DanH | Dec 12, 2004 05:19am | #7

   It's not the softener that's the problem, most likely it's the well.  The odor just seems stronger in the upstairs bath because either it's higher and the gas rises in the pipes, or because that water is used less frequently, giving the gas a chance to separate from the water.

3. 
   halm | Dec 12, 2004 04:03pm | #10

   I agree with your comments. The softner will go through a periodic backwash cycle and for that reason I want to bypass the system when it comes down to shocking.

   I don't know what iron sulfide or ferrous oxide smell like but this is a definite hydrogen sulfide, (rotten eggs) smell.

   Thank you for your advice

2. 
   goldhiller | Dec 12, 2004 06:37am | #8

   Only the upstairs cold water? At a sink perhaps? Hmmmmmmm.I'm now thinking that this may not be a hydrogen sulfide gas problem, but is being caused by a build up of gunk in the overflow of sink. Running water in this type of situation stirs up odor from bacteria growing inside that area of a sink. If anything I'm typing here sounds possible, you need to disinfect that overflow. Maybe get it opened up again too cause it's likely clogged with "stuff", if it's emitting odor. Easiest way I know of is to acquire a plastic syringe and inject drain cleaner and or bleach down the overflow. I'd try first to see if the overflow is plugged up. Run the bowl full and see if the overflow can handle the incoming. If it's plugged, you'll probably need to use a drain cleaner. I like Roebic brand "original strength". Squirt some in there and let it set for ten minutes. Then flush it out by running water down the overflow.If the overflow works from the get-go but emits the odor, then some bleach alone would cure it. If I'm completely off base there, it may be that you have just one section of pipe that's harboring bacteria. Maybe the only piece of old galvy left in the house. Then you're stuck with replacing it or shocking the entire system so you can flood that piece of pipe with the bleach water, too.Or..........your pressure tank may be the big bacteria culprit. It might be then that your plumbing is so configured that the gas produced in that pressure tank naturally rises thru that piece of pipe only......or the most, so it's most noticable there. Cure would be replacement of tank or well-shocking. Is the odor problem most noticable in the morning after things have set overnight and is defintely coming from the water and not from the overflow of a sink? If so (odor diminishes after running water for a few minutes) and yet is not present on hot water, then I would get suspicious of the pressure tank and pipe configuration. Well-shocking would be in order then to disinfect the pressure tank......particularly if the cold water upstairs is cold-hard. That would mean a direct connect to the pressure tank. A hydrogen-sulfide producing bacteria problem resulting from the highest concentrations being in the well itself ...........is usually IME most noticable on the hot water because the higher temps there favor further bacteria growth...... the hot water better dissipates the gas and odor....and is then especially noticable when showering. and yet you don'tindicate any odor on the hot water. Getting a good disinfection of a single compartment galvy pressure tank can be problematic sometimes. You need to be sure the tank is full of the bleach water or enough bacteria can escape the disinfection to return later. Sounds to me like it's either a problem with the sink overflow that has fooled you (or me <G>) or it's just plain time to shock the well and all plumbing components of the house......and then see if that controls it over the long haul.
   Knowledge is power, but only if applied in a timely fashion.Edited 12/11/2004 11:05 pm ET by GOLDHILLER

   Edited 12/11/2004 11:10 pm ET by GOLDHILLER

1. 
   halm | Dec 12, 2004 03:56pm | #9

   Much appreciate the advice.

1. 
   goldhiller | Dec 12, 2004 05:04pm | #11

   Hal, I'd recommend sanitizing the water softener also. For that procedure, look about halfway down this page.http://www.watertechonline.com/article.asp?IndexID=5220611Knowledge is power, but only if applied in a timely fashion.