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How to Identify & Cure Odors in Drinking Water InspectAPedia®  -     What are common odors in drinking water & what causes them? How to get rid of or treat stinks, smells, rotten egg odor, sulphur odors in water How to diagnose the cause of rotten egg sulphur odors in drinking water What are other common odors in drinking water and what causes them? Health risks associated with some water odors? How to get rid of other odors in drinking water

This article discusses how to identify, diagnose, and cure common odors that may be present in drinking water. We also discuss which of these odors may warn of unsanitary conditions.

© 2009 Daniel Friedman, All Rights Reserved. Information Accuracy & Bias Pledge is at below-left. Use links at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.

"Honey - the Water Smells Funny!"

Scott Bradley, Aquacheck Water Testing Laboratory

Although water as a pure compound, H₂O, is colorless and odorless, contact with the earth's minerals and our distribution pipes may impart some flavor and odor characteristics.

The Threshold Odor Test Method

A subjective analysis called the Threshold Odor Test, number 2150b. in Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater, 19th ed., can give us an idea of the strength of the odor as compared to controls of varying degree of odor concentration. But how do you interpret what the underlying problem is when your water has a peculiar odor?

Sulphur Odors in Water

Some odors are a little more insidious and require a bit of background knowledge to deal with them effectively. If your source water runs through an area where naturally occurring sulfur is present, some sulfur may dissolve into the water. We provide a diagnostic procedure to track down the source of sulphur smells in water just below.

Some of this dissolved sulfur turns to the gas, hydrogen sulfide, and this can give the water a rotten egg type smelly odor.

Sulphur odors can also be caused by a failing hot water heater component, or by certain bacteria in the building plumbing system, conditions we also discuss below.

Sulphur smells in water can also occur in rivers, lakes, streams, ponds, and can be caused by anoxia and algae which in turn may be caused by high nitrogen from agricultural runoff - a condition we discuss at WELL WATER CONTAMINANT SOURCES.

Causes of other odors and smells in buildings (not just in building water) are discussed in a series of odor diagnosis articles which are listed at the end of this page.

Since sulphur or "rotten egg" odors in drinking water are a very common complaint we'll look at this case next, continuing this article at Diagnosing and Correcting Sulphur Odors.

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Use links just below at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.

ODORS in BUILDINGS
ANIMAL ODORS IN BUILDINGS
CARBON MONOXIDE & GAS HEAT ODORS
CARPETS & PADDING ODORS IN BUILDINGS
GAS MEASUREMENT TOOLS
HEATING OIL EXPOSURE HAZARDS, LIMITS
HEATING SYSTEM ODORS
HOUSEWRAP AIR & VAPOR BARRIERS
MOLD ODORS, Musty Smells in Buildings
ODOR DIAGNOSIS CHECKLIST
ODORS, SEPTIC or SEWER
ODORS IN WATER
OIL HEAT ODORS
OIL TANK LEAK ODORS
OZONE for MOLD OR ODORS
PAINTS & COATINGS ODORS IN BUILDINGS
PLASTIC ODORS-SCREENS, SIDING
PLUMBING SYSTEM ODORS
SEPTIC SYSTEM ODORS
SEWER GAS ODORS
SEWER GAS ODORS in COLD WEATHER
VINYL Siding or PLASTIC Window ODORS in Buildings
VINYL CHLORIDE HEALTH INFO
WATER ODORS
  The Water Smells Funny!
  Diagnosing and Correcting Sulphur Odors
  Treatments for Sulphur Odors
  Other Common Water Smells or Odors
  Before Buying Treatment Equipment
WELL WATER CONTAMINANT SOURCES

• Scott Bradley, author. Scott Bradley is Laboratory Director for Aquacheck Laboratory, Inc. PO Box 87 05151 1-800-263-9596. A more brief version of this article appeared in Aquacheck Laboratory's Water Wisdom Tips and Newsletter, Issue # 6, 2007. www.Aquacheck-VT.com offers other water supply tips in its Water Wisdom section. The laboratory also provides water test kits and offers a free newsletter.
• Thanks to Arlene Puentes for the photograph of a toilet tank with sulphur bacteria and debris showing as black goop. Arlene Puentes, a licensed home inspector, educator, and building failures researcher in Kingston, NY. Photographs © Arlene Puentes 2006 All Rights Reserved. Text © Daniel Friedman Arlene Puentes 2008 All Rights Reserved

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