Sulfur Smell In Well Water After Heavy Rain

The off putting smell of hydrogen sulfide in your well water can be more than a simple inconvenience.

Sulfur smell in well water after heavy rain. Sulfur bacteria dwell in oxygen deficient environments such as deep wells or plumbing systems and feed on decaying organic matter creating hydrogen sulfide gas that gets trapped in water sources. Fortunately with some quick test results you can formulate a plan to resolve the issue. Often keeps odors away for 1 2 months. Depending on the extent of the hydrogen sulfide intrusion resolution could be a simple fix like a carbon filter or require expert assistance.

Sulfur is the typical culprit behind the infamous rotten egg smell. Tannins are most common in well water. Chemicals in the water can react to the anode resulting is a sulfur smell indoors. Install a chlorine injector system chlorinator on your wellhead for continuous injection of chlorine when the water is running.

Unfortunately the problem is physics and it affects both municipal sewers as well as septic tanks owned by private residential homes. A major indicator of tannins is a yellowish color in the water in addition to the earthy odor. Hydrogen sulfide can be fatal in high doses and it s flammable but because it has such a distinctive odor it s usually detected well before it becomes dangerous. This page provides basic information about hydrogen sulfide gas and sulfur bacteria and discusses actions that you can take to minimize their effects.

From sulfur to musty and sewage odors here are five common strange well water smells and their causes. Hydrogen sulfide gas h2s can occur in wells anywhere in minnesota and gives the water a characteristic rotten egg taste or odor. In addition to eliminating tannins iron shield also removes h2s rotten egg odor iron orange. The rotten egg smell in well water comes from hydrogen sulfide a gas produced by certain bacteria in the groundwater.

It s corrosive though and can damage plumbing pipes pumps and other metal parts associated with water. If your water smells strongly of sulfur or rotten eggs it is likely attributed to the presence of sulfur bacteria or hydrogen sulfide. What people probably don t expect is the smell of a sewer either out on the street or in their house. There are a number of ways sulfur bacteria can enter the well but the most common is the absence of oxygen which creates sulfide gas.

For well water we recommend our ironshield whole house water filtration system to remove tannins. Our well had this problem since we drilled it years ago it was cased to 60 feet and drilled to over200 the water was free of bacteria and the odor was due to h2s it was worse with certain weather conditions the thing that helped us most was removing the sacrificial anode from the heater years ago. If you have well water or a water softener you re at an increased risk of the anode having a chemical.