Does Your Tap Water Smell Bad?
Whether you get your water from a well or a municipal source, you have expectations for your water quality. You expect to turn on the tap and have pure clear water flow out. You also don’t expect the water to smell.
What happens if your water smells bad? Maybe your tap water smells like chemicals, or your well water smells like sewage. Here is a guide to why your tap water or your well water smells, and how to fix it.
My Tap Water Smells Musty
You should know that the musty odors coming from your tap are harmless. However, that doesn’t make your tap water taste better. You don’t want to drink or use the tap water because of the musty smell, which makes sense. Humans’ noses and taste buds are closely related, and musty smelling water is a turn off for your taste buds.
Bacteria are the cause of your tap water smelling musty. Usually, the bacteria are in your drain. That’s because there is an organic matter left in your drain from your daily activities. Most of the time, the organic matter will end up in the pipes. However, some of it remains. Over time, that organic matter starts to decay and attracts bacteria.
Here’s a test to determine the source of the musty smell. Fill a glass. Take it out of the room where the sink is and swirl the water. Then, smell it. If the water doesn’t smell when it’s not by the sink, the sink has bacteria in it. You can rid yourself of the problem by cleaning the drain out and disinfecting it.
My Tap Water Smells Like Rotten Eggs
If your tap water smells like rotten eggs, it’s usually because of bacteria. In this case, your first stop should be your drain. The first thing you need to do is figure out if the water smells like sulfur in one faucet only. Do both the hot and cold water taps smell like rotten eggs? Is the smell coming from several faucets? You need to move to the next step. You will need to clean and disinfect your drains to get rid of the smell. Narrow down the location of the smell by filling a glass with water and moving it away from the sink. Smell it. If the water smells fine, the problem is your drains.
Do you still smell the problem after you flush the drains? Do you only smell the problem when you use the hot water tap? If that is the case, there is another issue. You might have bacteria growing in your water heater. This happens when your thermostat is set too low, or when your water heater is off for a while. You may need to replace a heating rod in your water heater.
My Well Water Smells, How Do I Fix It?
There are several reasons your well water could smell. First, you may have bacterial growth in your well. If you smell the musty or fishy odor from your well water, you may need to shock chlorinate your well. Depending on the weather, local conditions, and the climate, your well may have a lot of bacterial growth. If your well water smells like sewage, you will need to check your septic tank for problems. You may also have a problem with your neighbor’s septic system leaching into your well.
If you have water that smells that you can’t seem to find the source of, we can help. Contact All A’s Plumbing & Heating. Our office is located in Randolph, NJ, in Morris County. We serve Morris County, Sussex County Essex County, and beyond. Get in touch to see if we service your area. We are looking forward to helping you.
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