Tap Water Smells Bad? (6 Little-Known Reasons Why!)

We all know that the pure water is odorless and tasteless. But by reading this blog we also know, water that comes out of our tap is not pure and sometimes it’s not even nearly clean.

Did you know?

Our smell sense is able to recognize much lower concentration of substances in food or water, than our sense of taste.

Just as an example our sense of smell can recognize couple of micrograms of contaminants per liter while our taste sense can recognize few milligrams per liter.

For this reason, we can say when our tap water smells terrible, and something is not right with it.

There is no surprise:

That the horrible water smell is caused by the presence of compounds. The origin of the compounds can be either biological or industrial with some that can naturally occur in the water.

Usually:

Natural odor can also be described as a musty or earthy smell, or water can have a fishy, grassy or cucumber-like smell.

Meanwhile:

Industrial compounds can cause that water smells like petroleum, or even have a medicinal smell. This can be caused by the presence of naphthalene or various benzenes and phenols.

Usually, groundwater tends to be less prone to smell problems than surface water.

Another thing:

The odor can be produced in the contaminated distribution network, sections with the low flow, or at raw water reservoirs.

INTERESTING: Certain water purification processes can convert substances with weak smell such as amines and phenols into the substances with intense odor.

In the following sections, I will cover various types of smelly water and share some tips to remove the odor.

So bear with me and let’s get started with the first and most common type.

1. Tap Water Smells Musty/Earthy

Now:

It would be a huge mistake to think that, if water is visually clear with no sign of compounds in it, that it is actually pure and safe for drinking.

Usually, city water is filtered, and people who use well as the primary source of water supply might experience musty or earthy smell.

The thing is:

Water from the ground source is rich in healthy minerals as well as various impurities.

Although, the color might remain pure and nothing suggests that the water is contaminated. Only the lab testing can indeed show you what’s actually present in such water.

Simply:

If the water contains bits of algae, bacteria or organic compounds, it is likely that this is the reason why it has a musty odor.

Luckily:

There is a way of how can you deal with such water. Such an unpleasant smell can be eliminated by the complex filtration system.

With the right approach, it is not really hard to eliminate the odor. Usually, activated carbon is an efficient solution to remove the smell.

Although:

Carbon will remove the odor, it is not enough to remove the contaminants that caused the smell in the first place.

To completely eliminate impurities present in water the complex treatment system can include following stages:

  • UV Filtration to kill the bacteria in water
  • Reverse osmosis to remove mechanical impurities
  • Carbon filter to improve taste and final treatment – this is usually a part of RO units.

Activated carbon filter will eliminate last bits of impurities that have been able to pass through the membrane and UV stage.

2. Tap Water Smells Like Rotten Eggsrotten eggs

Here is the thing:

This kind of odor is disgusting, there is no arguing about that.

What contaminant is responsible for it?

The gas called hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is the one that causes such trouble.

This is a colorless gas with the smell of rotten eggs.

Believe it or not:

Hydrogen sulfide is extremely dangerous to our health, especially to our nervous system.

So, whenever you sense such a smell, make sure that you are aware of its danger. Even such a small concentration in the air of 0.1% is lethal for a human in 10 minutes.

For example:

In the sewage systems, the concentration of hydrogen sulfide can be as high as 16% in extreme cases. This is lethal for a human after the first breath.

Now:

If your water smells like rotten eggs, there are three ways of the treatment, taking into account its chemical properties.

  • physical
  • chemical
  • sorption

The first way consists of saturating the water with oxygen. For example waterfall is a great example of oxygen saturation.

You get the idea of how you can saturate water. The hydrogen sulfide is then weathered out of the water.

Second way:

In this way, we use water oxidizers in water. These can be salts of various chemicals including sulfur.

The hydrogen sulfide has an insoluble form in water. These salts will work as accelerators and induce the oxidation process which then settles and is easy to filter out.

Third method work with the help of activated charcoal again. It acts as an oxidation catalyst.

3. My Tap Water Smells Like Sewagewater smells like sewage

Another unpleasant thing that can happen with tap water is when it smells like a sewage.

Why?

The reason that causes the odor is bacteria that are present in the sewer.

The good thing is:

These bacteria cannot get into the water supply system from the sewer as these two systems are not connected.

Usually, the gas tends to rise and find its way out through a sink.

It might accumulate near the drain hole. This is the reason why you might think that water smells like sewage.

However:

The appearance of the sewage smell indicates issues with the sewage system. The only way to get rid of this smell is to check the sewer or call a plumber to do this for you.

The general recommendation:

As soon as the smell appeared, make sure to check what is the real cause of the issue, water or pipes.

To do this, pour water into the glass, move it away from the sink, and smell it. This will help you to determine the real cause of the odor.

You can do this test with both hot and cold water.

There is no surprise that if water in the glass is odorless then the cause is in sewer system.

4. My Water Has A Metallic Odormetallic smell

I think we are all pretty familiar with it.

You turn the tap on and pour pure water, and in seconds it turns into matte yellow-ish color.

Basically, the higher the concentration of iron the more bright color water gets.

Why?

Due to the reaction between iron and oxygen.

After a couple of days water becomes clean again with the layer of white flakes at the bottom.

There is no surprise that water with an excessive amount of iron not only has a metallic smell but also taste.

To get rid of iron there is a process called aeration or with the help oxidation with reagents.

However, such treatment can be challenging to apply in a private house.

There is a more suitable solution for the house owners. As you have probably guessed right, its water filtration system.

Various stages of the filter will remove many various contaminants, including iron.

5. Why My Well Water Smells?well water

Let’s face it:

Water supplied by well can also have an unpleasant odor.

Let’s see why is this happening!

The thing is:

The groundwater which accumulates in wells contains a vast amount of various chemical compounds such as iron, sulfur, manganese, magnesium, etc.

For example, now we know that the “rusty” or metallic smell of water is caused by the iron salts reacting with the oxygen.

If your water smells like ammonia, it’s not rocket science, probably ammonia compounds are present in it.

Obviously:

Such a contaminants“cocktail” is hardly suitable for drinking. This problem is usually the most relevant for homeowners with well water supply.

Primarily you should be alerted when you can sense the iodine smell. This might be an indicator that the groundwater can be contaminated with industrial waste.

It’s important to know that the iodine smell is a dangerous sign and you should stop t use such water immediately.

Although Iodine is naturally present in water, its amount is very low, and you won’t be able to smell it.

The fact is:

The phenol that is released by iodine can have a severe impact on your health in particularly on the nervous system.

If you want to know more information about Iodine, make sure to read this WHO report.

6. Hot Water Smells Musty? Do This! hot water

Here is the thing:

Sometimes you can experience that the only hot water smells. Usually, the reason for this is bacteria that have spread and accumulated over the time in the heater or boiler.

The reason for this is the continuous operation of the heater in the low temperature or if the heater was turned off for a long period of time.

The easiest thing you can do is to call a qualified specialist to inspect a heater.

But there is another thing you can do:

As the preventive measure, you can 1-2 times a month boil water inside the heating tank.

The regular temperature in the heater about 40°C (104°F) leads to the unpleasant odor from the hot water tap, as this is an ideal temperature for bacteria to breed.

In case that the heater has been in operation for a long time, drain the water down and make sure to clean the tank properly.

Don’t just try to get rid of the smell!

You need to ensure that the problem is solved rather than it’s consequences.

To destroy the bacteria you can forward a following set of actions to clean the heater:

  1. Turn off the heater and completely drain the from it and the distribution system.
  2. Fill the heater with a fresh water.
  3. Turn on the heater on the maximum power and let it work at this mode for about 10-12 hours (overnight).
  4. Drain the water again from the entire system.
  5. Now fill the heater with fresh water and use as you would normally.

These steps will completely clean the system and kill bacteria that cause the odor of hot water.

DISCLAIMER: The author does not carry any responsibility for the use of the advise, inappropriate operation and handling of the heater you want to clean. Follow these steps on your own risk.

Is Water That Smells Dangerous To My Health?dangerous

Generally speaking:

Smelly water indicates that something is not right with it.

Although, most resources online tell you, that it is safe to drink and there is no harm.

I am not going to tell you such a thing, because the smell is our first sense to warn us that something is wrong.

I mean, you wouldn’t eat a meal that smells right?

Exactly..

This is the same thing, first of all, it is unpleasant to drink water that smells. Second, it indicates that something is not right and you need to investigate it further.

Lastly:

From all the examples mentioned in this article, it can be said that the reason that tap water smells bad is bacteria which cause an odor.

Logically, you wouldn’t willingly consume bacteria or would you?

Final Words

Hope you have learned something new and apply some of the tips mentioned in this article.

Now…

It’s your turn to share your experiences with the water odor and how you have resolved such issue.

Comment in the section below and don’t forget to share the love, because…

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