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How to Remove Sulphur or Rotten Egg Odors from Drinking Water InspectAPedia®  -     Water odors or smells: diagnosis and cure 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 Health risks associated with some water odors?

This article describes water treatment methods to remove sulphur odors or rotten egg smells from the building water supply. This is the second part of our article discussing 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.

If the source of rotten egg smells or sulphur in your building is not traced to a water supply problem, see these related articles
ODOR DIAGNOSIS CHECKLIST
ODORS, SEPTIC or SEWER
ODORS, SULPHUR SMELL SOURCES

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Treatments for Sulphur Odors in Water

Because sulphur-reducing bacteria are normal flora, or naturally occurring bacteria, you probably can't get rid of them altogether, but annual dosing of your well with chlorine bleach will help keep them at bay.

Shock chlorinating your home system may, or may not solve the problem because the chlorine might not circulate into the dead-leg area of plumbing. If this happens, just have a plumber remove that portion of pipe. The easiest way to get rid of sulfur odor is to use a filter with activated charcoal or carbon.

If your sulphur odor is from the water heater, changing the anode should do the trick.

Water treatment systems to remove sulphur odors are available from water treatment companies. What you need to cure a sulphur odor depends on the duration (seasonal versus all year), cause (water supply versus piping or water heater), and severity.

Water Softeners to Remove Sulphur Odors

Water softeners are designed to remove minerals from water, such as calcium or magnesium that make "hard" water. However many softeners will also handle low levels of sulphur odor. Just be sure the odor source is not a dirty water softener salt tank!

Water Treatments to Remove Sulphur Odors

Common treatment methods use "green sand" filters or exchange tanks (potassium permanganate) or other chemical treatments, or chlorinators followed by a charcoal filtration system.

Water or Well Treatment to Remove Bacteria-produced Odors

Above we discussed odors in drinking water caused by Manganese, Iron in the water supply which in turn support the growth of foul-odor-producing bacteria such as Gallianella. You probably can't get rid of Gallianella because they are normal flora, (naturally occurring bacteria), but annual chlorination of your well will help keep them in check.

An ultraviolet disinfection system can disinfect the water as it comes into distribution to remove bacteria within the system [but keep in mind that UV treatment does not remove any other contaminants such as particles or chemicals]. Chlorination may also be used, but is not a great choice if there is a lot of iron and manganese, as the chlorine will precipitate the metals out of solution and discolor the water.

If it's necessary, a (more costly) cascade of water treatment equipment, installed in the proper sequence, can first remove un-wanted minerals such as iron and manganese, second, chlorinate the water to reduce bacterial levels, odors, and other chemical contaminants in water, and third, post-process the water often using charcoal filtration, to remove remaining chlorine from the water.

Here's A Free and Simple Way to Get Rid of Sulphur Odors in Drinking Water

A great way to get hydrogen sulfide reduced water to drink for free is to fill a clean milk jug three fourths full of tap water. Cover, and shake vigorously for 20-30 seconds. Remove the cover and let set on the counter for ten minutes or so, allowing time for the hydrogen sulfide you released from the water to vent out of the jug - providing you with sulfur free or reduced drinking water - at no expense!

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ODORS in BUILDINGS
ANIMAL ODORS IN BUILDINGS
BOAT & CAR SMELLS & ODORS
CARBON MONOXIDE - CO
CARPETS & PADDING ODORS IN BUILDINGS
CHINESE DRYWALL HAZARDS
GAS MEASUREMENT TOOLS
HEATING OIL EXPOSURE HAZARDS, LIMITS
HEATING SYSTEM ODORS
HOUSEWRAP AIR & VAPOR BARRIERS
MOLD ODORS, Musty Smells in Buildings
MOLD ODORS in Cars
ODOR DIAGNOSIS CHECKLIST
ODORLESS CHEMICALS / GASES: CHECK FOR?
ODORS, PLUMBING SYSTEM
ODORS, SEPTIC or SEWER
ODORS, SULPHUR SMELL SOURCES
ODORS, URINE REMOVAL
ODORS GASES SMELLS, DIAGNOSIS & CURE
ODORS IN WATER
OIL HEAT ODORS
OIL TANK LEAK ODORS
OZONE for MOLD OR ODORS
PAINTS & COATINGS ODORS IN BUILDINGS
PLASTIC CONTAINERS, TANKS, TYPES
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

Books & Articles on Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, & Repair

• Our recommended books about building & mechanical systems design, inspection, problem diagnosis, and repair, and about indoor environment and IAQ testing, diagnosis, and cleanup are at the InspectAPedia Bookstore. Also see our Book Reviews - InspectAPedia.

The Home Reference Book - the Encyclopedia of Homes, Carson Dunlop & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, 2010, $69.00 U.S., is available from Carson Dunlop, and from the InspectAPedia bookstore. The 2010 edition of the Home Reference Book is a bound volume of more than 450 illustrated pages that assist home inspectors and home owners in the inspection and detection of problems on buildings. The text is intended as a reference guide to help building owners operate and maintain their home effectively. InspectAPedia.com ® author/editor Daniel Friedman is a contributing author. Field inspection worksheets are included at the back of the volume.

• Crystal Clear Supply provides portable ceramic water filter purifiers and portable reverse osmosis water treatment equipment - see http://www.crystalclearsupply.com/category_s/7.htm
• Handbook of Disinfectants and Antiseptics, Joseph M. Ascenzi (Editor), CRC, 1995, ISBN-10: 0824795245 ISBN-13: 978-0824795245 "The evaluation of chemical germicides predates the golden age of microbiology..." -
  This well-focused, up-to-date reference details the current medical uses of antiseptics and disinfectants -- particularly in the control of hospital-acquired infections -- presenting methods for evaluating products to obtain regulatory approval and examining chemical, physical, and microbiological properties as well as the toxicology of the most widely used commercial chemicals.
• Potable Aqua® emergency drinking water germicidal tablets are produced by the Wisconsin Pharmacal Co., Jackson WI 53037. 800-558-6614 pharmacalway.com
• Principles and Practice of Disinfection, Preservation and Sterilization (Hardcover)
  by A. D. Russell (Editor), W. B. Hugo (Editor), G. A. J. Ayliffe (Editor), Blackwell Science, 2004. ISBN-10: 1405101997, ISBN-13: 978-1405101998.
  "This superb book is the best of its kind available and one that will undoubtedly be useful, if not essential, to workers in a variety of industries. Thirty-one distinguished specialists deal comprehensively with the subject matter indicated by the title ... The book is produced with care, is very readable with useful selected references at the end of each chapter and an excellent index. It is an essential source book for everyone interested in this field. For pharmacy undergraduates, it will complement the excellent text on pharmaceutical microbiology by two of the present editors."
  The Pharmaceutical Journal: "This is an excellent book. It deals comprehensively and authoritatively with its subject with contributions from 31 distinguished specialists. There is a great deal to interest all those involved in hospital infection ... This book is exceptionally well laid out. There are well chosen references for each chapter and an excellent index. It is highly recommended." The Journal of Hospital Infection.: "The editors and authors must be congratulated for this excellent treatise on nonantibiotic antimicrobial measures in hospitals and industry ... The publication is highly recommended to hospital and research personnel, especially to clinical microbiologists, infection-control and environmental-safety specialists, pharmacists, and dieticians."
  New England Journal of Medicine: City Hospital, Birmingham, UK. Covers the many methods of the elimination or prevention of microbial growth. Provides an historical overview, descriptions of the types of antimicrobial agents, factors affecting efficacy, evaluation methods, and types of resistance. Features sterilization methods, and more. Previous edition: c1999. DNLM: Sterilization--methods.
• U.S. Army Field Manual 21-10, Field Hygiene and Sanitation, 1988, web search 07/02/2010, original source: http://www.enlisted.info/field-manuals/fm-21-10-field-hygiene-and-sanitation.shtml
  The purpose of this manual is to assist individual soldiers, unit commanders, leaders and field sanitation teams in preventing disease and environmental injuries. The manual provides information on preventive medicine measures (PMM) to the individual soldier as well as essential information for the unit commander, unit leaders, and the unit field sanitation team on applying unit level PMM.
• When Technology Fails, Matthew Stein, Chelsea Green Publisher, 2008,493 pages. ISBN-10: 1933392452 ISBN-13: 978-1933392455, "... how to find and sterilize water in the face of utility failure, as well as practical information for dealing with water-quality issues even when the public tap water is still flowing". Mr. Stein's website is www.whentechfails.com/
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