That Rotten Egg Smell Isn't What You Think 

Really interesting!

Gas fired water heater!

Great song

A green sand filter system might work for you, but not a guarantee. It’s hard to fix that problem.

Good luck. I hope that works.

I had the same issue. 2 month old tank Removed rod, water smelled better for a week now its smelling again. Ive shocked well and now im going to try bleaching the tank.

@@traditionsportsrec6047 this is curtisp following up. The super-chlorination of the tank worked. I believe I put at least 6 jugs (6x 4 Liters) of liquid bleach (the Great Value brand from Walmart) and then immediately filled the tank and left the tank full with the bleach mixture overnight (i.e. at least 8 hours), then I flushed the tank, and it has been 3 months now and everything is fine. I think there must have been sulfur bacteria or something in the tank that didn't get killed the first time when I only used a few bottles of bleach and had only left it for about 4 hours instead of overnight. Using more bleach seems to be the trick to kill the bacteria. Also I am planning to drain the tank prior to leaving on long vacations to avoid stagnant water in there.

The control valve tank holds resin, u might have to replace the resin, or check if u have any resin in there. And if the smell came back after 3 days, ur either use very little water, and need to do a cleaning regeneration cycle. Hope this helps

Good luck. I’m sure your plumber will know what to do.

The rod itself is less than $50. You need an inch and 1/16 socket and a two foot breaker bar….$30. Turn water off to heater, relieve the pressure on a hot water faucet, turn electric off to heater ( rod is located in the top of the heater). The anode rod replacement should cost around $100 if you do it yourself. If you hire it done, cost would be around $500.

This is not normal and very strange. I honestly have no idea.

I am sorry but I have no idea why you’re having this problem. What you might try is to turn off the cold water supply side to that faucet. See if the smell shows up anywhere else. If not, there must be something wrong with the faucet.

So It appears that I have found the culprit. Thought I'd share so you would have an answer to this bizarre problem. I replaced the valve cartridge and it got slightly better. This made me think the problem was farther upstream. The feed line from the valve to the faucet is of the braided clear hose. It was completely opaque at one end. Fortunately I had a spare line so I replaced it. So far( couple days now), the smell is gone. Hope this can help someone else in the future. @@TheGrumpyPlumber

Good job! Great discovery. Never ran into that myself.

Thank you ​@@Skirtchaser26ft

Where can I get an alluminum/zinc rod and are they universal for any hot water tank?

The smell is probably coming from the anode rod in your electric heater. You should replace it with an aluminum rod. Give that a try.

If you have a 20 gallon gas water heater, they quit making those about 20 years ago. If you do, replace with a 30 gallon gas water heater. I’m almost positive your heater has an anode rod if it’s an electric heater. There is a plastic cover and insulated foam that you have to dig out to get to the rod on most heaters. There is also a rod connected to the hot water supply nipple. If you can’t find it, you can buy one on Amazon and install it. Hope this helps.

Your problem is unusual. Do you have a front load wash machine? Sometimes you get standing water in the door rubber that needs to be cleaned. Otherwise, I don’t know why you would have that smell only at the cold water at the wash machine.

@@TheGrumpyPlumber it’s not just the cold water. I just mostly do cold water washes. No I do not have a front loader. I had another washing machine and I didn’t get this odor. But it is definitely coming from the water.

If the smell is in the cold water, it is coming from either your well or your water source. You can buy a Holehouse water system with a breather valve but it’s not a guarantee to work.

I’ve never encountered this problem. Is it electric? We tend to get that smell here in the U.S. with electric heaters and the anode rod usually causes that. Combination boiler and water heaters here in the U.S. are becoming more prevalent in states with warmer climates. These are gas however, not electric. Sorry, but I’m unable to help with your problem. You evidently are more advanced in your heating systems in the UK than we are here.

@@TheGrumpyPlumber hello, it's a gas combi boiler. The plumber is coming back today to remove the wall space behind back of toilet to see if anything can be going on there. Thankyou for replying, I appreciate it.

Use a 3/4” galvanized pipe plug.

@@TheGrumpyPlumber Thanks 😊

Do you know how to remove the pop up in the drain? Once the pop up is removed, take a flashlight and look in the drain on the sides and make sure that the openings are not blocked. Then put the stopper back in, close the stopper so you can fill the sink. Run the water until it runs constantly into the overflow. Add some Clorox to the water. That should clean that overflow canal out. A flexible brush into the overflow might clean it too. Give this a try.

Hey Grumpster, This is exactly our problem, too. Master bath only. We will try your suggestion. Hoping it works, as we will be putting our house on the market soon. Thank you!

You can use a carbon filter, like the brand name Big Blue or a backwash carbon filter. Install it on the main water line as it comes into your house.

Thanks, will it affect the water pressure?@@TheGrumpyPlumber

The water pressure might have a slight drop, but not noticeable.

will the big blue remove fluoride as well as chlorine?@@TheGrumpyPlumber

Turn the hot water supply off to the heater then run the water for a bit and see if the egg smell is still there. If there is no smell, then it’s the water heater causing the odor. I recommend you drain the heater, remove the anode rod or replace with an aluminum rod. If the smell is coming from the cold water, ask your neighbors if they are experiencing the smell. If so, complain to the city water department.

If you are getting a rotten egg smell and have a tankless heater, the smell is coming from your water source, either a well or municipal water system. You might have to look into a filter system that takes out that smell.

@@TheGrumpyPlumber yes, I have an iron filter and softener. The smell is minor on the scale and the iron filter doesn’t take the smell out. Will need an aerator type filter system.

That’s not a guarantee but hopefully it works.