Smelling something that doesn’t belong in your home? It could be your water. Different types of smells could indicate anything from bacteria, fungus, or the water being over treated.
The first course of action is to determine where the smell is coming from and what it smells like. Smelling chlorine in your water? If you are on a public water system this smell could indicate the addition of chlorine to prevent bacteria in the system.
Getting rid of this smell could be as simple as leaving some water running to alleviate the smell. However if you are on your own private well you may need a professional who can flush your system.
Sewage and rotten eggs are a smell nobody cares to have in their home. This particular smell comes from a bacteria that feeds off of sulfur. This smell can come from two places, the drains or the water heater. If while running water you smell nothing than the source is the drain. Think of all the things that go down your drain everyday; soap, hair, bits of food, among other things.
These things produce an environment the bacteria can thrive and cause what you are smelling. Your course of action in this case is to disinfect thoroughly and flush water down the drain.
When running hot water you smell rotten eggs, but when running cold water you smell nothing. This means your hot water heater is the source of the smell.
This can occur if the water has been sitting stagnant for a time and bacteria start to grow. These are not a health threat but nobody finds the scent of sewage and rotten eggs pleasant.
Calling a plumber to replace the heating rod in the tank to an aluminum instead of magnesium should get rid of that smell.
Bacteria causes most of the smells in our water, so when water smells musty or moldy it is the result of a buildup of bacteria. decaying material offers energy for the bacteria to continue producing causing these smells.
To combat bacteria growing in your drains cleaning, disinfecting and flushing is the answer. If the issue persists it could be your water source. Wells could be being polluted from surface drainage, this will need a chlorine shock treatment.
If that doesn’t work a water purification system with some activated charcoal is the way to go. If you are on a public water source it would be there isn’t enough chlorine being added to prevent bacterial growth. A phone call to the water suppliers would be the solution.
Smelly water can happen in your home under some fairly normal circumstances. Flooding, a burst pipe, or some severe weather however aren’t something typical and that can create real havoc in your home. Time to call in the professionals for some smelly water removal!
Consider what has been affected; furniture, carpets, toys, clothing, and even the air in your home can leave the lingering smell of sitting water. Tossing things that are not salvageable will be a step in the right direction. Putting a dehumidifier in the affected area.
Opening your home to fresh air will help remove the water damaged smell quicker. Putting things out to dry might do the trick, but if the scent lingers you are exposing your household to some danger. Wet carpet is no easy thing to care for.
Mold and mildew can linger between the tight strands and can make people very sick if not treated.