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stinky hot water

Dom_2
Dom_2 Member Posts: 12
in THE MAIN WALL
My grandfather has a problem with his hot water smelling of sulfur. Culligan has replaced the water treatment tank twice, and still it stinks. I flushed the water heater for about 15 minutes, let it reheat and ran the hw in the stink, still has an odor of sulfur. any recommendations??? The water heater is at least 15 to 20 yrs old.

Comments

  • Joe D_2
    Joe D_2 Member Posts: 1


    I run into this problem often and the solution that Iv'e found is to remove the anode rod, treat the water heater with a 10% solution of chlorine bleach for 24 hours, drain the water heater, install a new anode rod, and refill water heater. This usually removes the sulphur that can cause the foul odor.
  • Bob Harper
    Bob Harper Member Posts: 1,090
    stinky water

    Get a new anode rod. In your case, get the rest of the water heater to go with it. You've gotten your money's worth out of that tank. You may need to get a different type of anode rod such as zinc or aluminum.
    In the meantime, flush the tank to get rid of sediments, which serves as a breeding ground for the bacteria causing the odor. Hard water and water stagnation contribute to the problem ---paraphrased from The Water Heater Workbook by Larry and Suzanne Weingarten.
  • Dom_2
    Dom_2 Member Posts: 12


    do all water heaters have an anode rod? I've replaced them in oil fired water heaters but was not aware that they are used in electric.
  • Dom_2
    Dom_2 Member Posts: 12


    is there a difference in the quality of tank you get from the big orange store as opposed to what's available at the local supply house? usually state water heaters in our area
  • Larry Weingarten
    Larry Weingarten Member Posts: 3,592
    Have a look...

    ... around www.waterheaterrescue.com. There is a lot there on odor. A powered anode may be the right fix. For mild cases an aluminum/zinc anode and hydrogen peroxide work nicely. If there is essentially nothing left of the old anode, you may want to go to a new heater, perhaps smaller than the present one. The water volume should be turned over daily.

    Thankyou Bob Harper for reading our book ;~)

    Yours, Larry
  • Bruce_26
    Bruce_26 Member Posts: 27
    What make and Size

    It would be helpful to state the make, model and size of the present water heater. Is your grandfather the only user of hot water? It may be more economical to install a Stiebel Eltron Electric Tankless water heater. Look here to read about it.

    http://www.e-tankless.com/
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