i had just had a geocomfort serenity system installed with a new hot water tank the hot water smells bad i can hardly stand washing dishes in it ,is there any way to get rid of the odor . my cold water doesn't smell.

Mary T,

Does the hot water smell like rotten eggs (Hydrogen Sulfide)?  Does your water heater use natural gas (Hydrogen Sulfide)?  Do you use water from a well?  If you use city water, then check with the city.  Made any other changes to the home lately?  Give us more details.

Yes Mary, tell us more. Is this new construction? If old, what was kind of hot water system did you have previously that didn't smell? Does your new hot water tank have an anode rod? Did your old one?

115 year old farm house ,using well for water i never had a problem with the old water heater it ran on propane, the new on runs from geocomfort serenity complete package system 6 ton dual stage it uses electric as back up , i have 6 vertical loops
the house is about 2,550 feet with a basement
i notice as its getting colder out the water is getting hotter ,and doesn't smell as bad as when it was a little over just barely warm . worried when the temp warms up outside it'll be really bad smell again

Mary T,

We are still trying to think about this problem. If you heat cold well water on the stove, is there any odor? If so, then test the well water. If too much sulfur, etc. is in the water, then you may need a whole house water filter. If the water is free of sulfur, etc, then the problem must be in the recent plumbing/HVAC changes. What is the brand name of the water heater? Most water heaters, maybe except Marathon, use an anode rod. Ask your HVAC/plumber whether your tank has an anode rod or should have one. Ask your neighbors that are on wells if they ever had this problem. Can you describe the odor? Can you think of any other changes that were made recently that ties in with the water system. Be sure to post on this forum if the solution is found to this problem. We all could benefit from this knowledge.

smell really strong like sulphur my grand daughter says it smells like the gates of hell have opened ,the only work done recently was the geothermal system completed dec.31 , last time the well was tested it had a high nitrate content so i don't use it for cooking ,i have young grandchildren their doctor said drinking it would be bad for them,so i just use the well water for bathes ,dishes,and washing clothes , we are surrounded by farm fields lots of fertilzer use during the year

I had the same issue with my well water. The cold water was fine but the hot water had a strong rotten egg/sulfer smell. It was especially noticeable when the hot water hadn't been used for a while - like overnight. The problem was that the manganese (probably a manganese in my well water was reacting with the anode rod in my water heater and releasing hydrogen sulfide gas(the rotten egg odor). I switched to a brand of water heater that did not have an anode rod and the problem was solved.

Ask your installer if there is an anode rod in your water heater and if it can be removed. The anode rod is in there to protect the water heater. Basically it corrodes instead of your tank. So removing it will probably void your warranty.

A water softener may help by eliminating the manganese from the water before it enters the water heater.

not sure about the rules of posting brand names but there is a electric water heater on the market that has no anode rod, the tank is made of plastic so there is no need for one, these tanks are also guarenteed for the life of your house.

If anyone needs to know the brand name of the plastic-lined, superinsulated water heater, then e-mail me:  alton AT auburn dot edu.  Since we are not supposed to post our e-mail addresses on this forum, then make the appropriate substitutions as needed to my address for the AT and dot.  I think we all should review the forum rules about posting e-mail addresses.  Maybe it will help hold down the SPAM on this server and also at our end.

By the way, I do not sell any products but I do donate much of my time to help my fellow man.

Alton, I think you mentioned the name in your 1/15 post and I don't see anything wrong with posting it. That is the brand I installed.

thanks every one the smell is now gone ,they took the rod out and we added water softener , its such a improvement not having that bad smell

New member.  New question on loops.  In our market here in SW Ohio, geothermal is coming to the forefront of discussion.  We have installed a few systems in new homes (we specialize in homesteads, small farms) but are encountering debate as to the potential problems with pond loops.  Namely, customers and subcontractors concerned with the potential for fish kills, deoxygenation, and thermocline inversion.  Most of what we see says that pond loops are the most efficient and since most of our projects include construction or rehabilitation of a farm pond, this system makes the most sense.  We shoot for a minimum 2000 s.f. per ton, min. depth 10'.  I can't find anything to confirm or deny these fears.  Please help a newbie.

I have the same problem and was thinking of changing the water heater altogether for an on-demand heater instead. Anyone out there who has installed one?and does an on-demand water heater uses any part that would also make my hot water smell like rotten eggs?

I know of no prohibition against brand names here. The only non-metallic storage tank water heater I'm aware of is made by Marathon, and I'm sure that's what Alton was hinting at. I can vouch for their quality and efficiency. Beware they are not cheap.

I suggest Mary temporarily (for a week or so) remove the anode rode from the water heater in order to determine if it is the source of the problem. Removing it is fairly easy - one needn't even completely drain the heater. Biggest difficulty may be torque of fastener - I had to use an air impact wrench on one, even though it was a brand new water heater.

Running without anode will almost certainly both void warranty and reduce life of conventional heater. There may be an anode available made of an alternate metal to address this problem.

If the anode is the problem and no alternate material is available Mary could run without until the tank leaks and then replace with a Marathon. Replacement Marathon heater may be larger than present heater, so be sure there is room.

Betcha a tankless (on-demand) heater has the same problem. Whole house tankless electric water heaters need massive amounts of power - up to 120 Amps.

Have installer ditch the anode rod. We do it routinely here in well water apps. Your old water heater likely had it removed on installation or it would have stunk too.
J

Since I had the problem and still smell a tiny bit of it now and then, I'll update this old but still relevant topic.

If it's only in the hot water, then it is sulphate reducing bacteria that are causing the problem. Replacing a magnesium anode rod with an aluminum one helps (try this first). Removing the rod completely works, but the heater will not last long (not recommended). A carbon filter on the heater outlet removes most of the hydrogen sulphide (and chlorine, which is something you don't want in your shower). A tankless heater will eliminate it (no standing hot water to grow in). More advanced techniques like aeration, UV, greensand, chlorination, plastic or stainless tank, etc are also available.

I finally put in something to aerate the hot water tank water and that has completely eliminated the smell. Even in the point-of-use water heater that is well past the main one where the aeration was done (ie, the oxygen has a residual effect).

I am wading in to the discussion about a sulphur smell which happens when the hot water runs throughout our house. Last year we had a solar hot water tank installed in our 165 yr old house (along with a field array pv system). The smell appeared after about a month; we have a water softener system as well with three tanks (neutralizer,softener,carbon) which we have serviced on an annual basis. We are on a well and our close neighbor who lives in a building that was once part of our property is also on a well but does not have this problem. The solar installer has changed the anode rod, which did not help; he raised the temp on the tank to 140+ which caused the odor to disappear but the temp was too high and unsafe for daily use. He also had the heating contractor drain the tank twice; in both instances the odor disappeared for a short time. Most recently, he had our plumber install a secondary storage tank and once again the odor is back. Now the installer is claiming that the problem is either our well or our pipes; neither of which seems likely given this problem only exists with the hot water. The overflow valve on tank also broke, causing hot water to pour out of the tank. So, this is clearly a tank problem, not a well or pipes problem, correct? The solar guy refuses to do anything more claiming as well that he installed a secondary tank at a house with a similar problem and the odor is gone. HELP!

I had the same problem. Iron and manganese in the well water. I spent the money on an iron filter, quite pricey, but smell is gone. Pros here and on other forums say just remove the anode rod or rods. Could try the aluminum w/zinc rod but most times that I have read about the smell comes back.

ChrisJ