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Discussion Forum

AWFUL water smell in new house

| Posted in General Discussion on July 10, 2005 07:11am

Help please!  I just spent my first night in my new house in north central Florida.

The water smells terrible, and I’m not sure why.  The house is new–my husband and I are the first to live there.  The pipes are CPVC, and the water has this very, very strong rotted smell mixed with what smells like to me the chemical odor of PVC cement.  The water is city supplied, not well water. The smell is so strong it stayed on my hands for hours after I washed up this morning.  Can you give me any help or suggestions about this?  I will be contacting the builder who has the house warrantied tomorrow morning.   Thanks, Mary

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Replies

  1. User avater
    BillHartmann | Jul 10, 2005 07:27pm | #1

    Are you sure that it is the water and not coming from the drains?

    Try running some water from an outside spigot into a bucket and smelling that.

    With city water, more likely the test cap was left on the vent system.

    Do all of the drains drain cleaning or is there bubbling and burping.

    1. User avater
      BillHartmann | Jul 10, 2005 07:29pm | #2

      PS is this the first house ocuppied in the immedate area?If so call the city and get the lines flushed.

      1. marymaryqc | Jul 10, 2005 10:50pm | #5

        There are about seven older houses on my street.  Mary

    2. marymaryqc | Jul 10, 2005 10:50pm | #4

      It's definitely coming from the water.  The smell is left on my hands.  Mary

  2. User avater
    Sphere | Jul 10, 2005 08:01pm | #3

    did a filter get installed? A common rotten egg smell is sulpher, a carbon filter can eliminate that.

    I agree with flushing the system from the street..just let it run out of all openings for a while..then see what ya get.

      Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks

    What are dreadlocks made from?

    1. marymaryqc | Jul 10, 2005 10:53pm | #6

      I had sulphur smell in outside water (unfiltered) at my old house, so I know what that smells like.  This has that PVC odor in a very concentrated form, plus a rotten smell.  Mary

      1. DanT | Jul 11, 2005 02:18am | #7

        If the house was finished for a few weeks before move in and the water left stagnet it has probably gotten warm and spoiled. (there is a more professional name but it escapes me at the moment)  This happens in RVs all the time if they are not drained in warm weather.  Go to the meter or the point where you can open the system and add a heavy dose of bleach.  Let it sit over night then run the water for half an hour or so and that should clear it up.  When the water spoils it leaves a white film on the inside of the pipes and bleach clears that up.  You may have to clean the strainers on the faucets after ward too.  DanT

        1. FastEddie1 | Jul 11, 2005 02:24am | #8

          How do you open the pipes at the meter and add bleach?

           I'm sorry, I thought you wanted it done the right way.

          1. DanT | Jul 14, 2005 01:28am | #14

            Depending on how the plumbing system is run I can think of a few ways.  Die electic union over the water heater.  You could back siphon it in from a faucet by opening the system at the meter and allowing the bleach in.  Shut down the system if it is lower than the hose bib or frost free and pour in at that point.  If you are handy you could simply ad a tee at the meter with  a small stand pipe, drain the system and add it there.  You could of course buy a system that injects clorine in a timed amount like for swimming pools.  Should I go on?  Geez Ed, gotta be a little creative but it does work.  DanT

          2. FastEddie1 | Jul 14, 2005 04:37am | #16

            One thing I don't pretend to be is a plumber.  But you said sometyhing like "open the pipes at the meter and add bleach".  I submit that that is way too complicated an issue, and way too vague instructions, for most HO's.  I think adding bleach at the water heater is a partial solution, cuz it only treats have the pipes.

            I don't doubt that bleach may solve the smell problem, but getting it inside the pipes is easier said than done.

             I'm sorry, I thought you wanted it done the right way.

          3. DanT | Jul 14, 2005 12:28pm | #18

            I offered a solution and an opinion to the issue.  Not directions.  Difficult?  Yes.  Completely possible and do able.  Yes.  DanT

          4. Shacko | Jul 14, 2005 11:25pm | #21

            I'm late on this post, but to chlorinate your system is very simple, you need a garden sprayer, {not one that has been used] convert the end of the sprayer to a female hose conection, add bleach, find a hose bib that you can connect to, and pump it up.  Go to every fixture in the house and see if the chlorine is there [you need litmus paper that detects that] don't run a lot of water. When you are sure that you have chlorine at all fixtures, turn off the main supply and let it sit for a couple of hours. The paper that you need, and the paper that tells you when it is safe to drink can be found at swimimng pool contractors. {The bottom line is, this should not be your problem]]. Lots of luck.

        2. marymaryqc | Jul 11, 2005 01:19pm | #10

          Thanks.  This sounds good.  My husband has been thinking of all kinds of options, all involving chlorine, so I guess we're on the same page.  I'll mention this about dumping in bleach at the source so it will run through all the pipes.  He's also thinking about adding bleach into the water heater.  What do you think?   Mary

  3. User avater
    MarkH | Jul 11, 2005 02:36am | #9

    Try just running a lot of water from every faucet, spigot whatever. It should clear up after a while, unless the sulphur smell is in the city water line.

    1. marymaryqc | Jul 11, 2005 01:20pm | #11

      Yes, I've thought about this, too, just haven't done it yet.  Thanks.  Mary

      1. User avater
        Luka | Jul 14, 2005 12:21am | #12

        Mary, I think before I ever did all this speculating and asking for advice, I would already have done what Mark suggests.Open every faucet in the house, and every hose bib. Let all run for 15 minutes to a half an hour. All at once. They don't have to be full blast. But it does have to be more than a trickle.If you still have bad water after that, then you have a real problem. Until you do that, you just have a new house with new pipes, and water that has been sitting for a while.If the water clears and then smells again in a day or two, of the pvc glues, run them again. That pvc smell WILL go away eventually.

        Are we there yet ?

        Have you updated your forum profile lately? Please Do!To set your email address, click on your own name on the screen. In the pop-up window, choose "My Prefs". At the very top of the window, you will then see the place to change your email address. Please make sure that you enter a current viable email address. Otherwise you will lose your current history when you re-register.

      2. User avater
        BillHartmann | Jul 14, 2005 01:10am | #13

        Yes, it after the weekend and the builder and/or city should have been out.What have you found?

        1. marymaryqc | Jul 14, 2005 03:19pm | #19

          Thanks for your interest, Bill.  I spoke to the builder last night (July 13), and he said he was going to contact the city.  I suppose I should have mentioned that I live four hours from the new house (bought for relaxed retirement a year from now), so I won't be going up there again until this week-end.  The reason I wrote for advice was so I would know some things to talk about with the builder and the city when I arrive July 17 for a week's stay. Thank you all for your excellent discussion which has armed me with some talking points and possible solutions I can perform on my own!

          Mary

          1. User avater
            Luka | Jul 14, 2005 05:15pm | #20

            Mary,I thought you had moved in and were living with the problem.I shouldn't have assumed.My apologies.

            Are we there yet ?

            Have you updated your forum profile lately? Please Do!To set your email address, click on your own name on the screen. In the pop-up window, choose "My Prefs". At the very top of the window, you will then see the place to change your email address. Please make sure that you enter a current viable email address. Otherwise you will lose your current history when you re-register.

  4. fredsmart48 | Jul 14, 2005 01:44am | #15

    Is the smell in just the hot water ? if so it is more then likely the sacrificial rod in the hot water heater. 

    it could be a sacrificial rod that is installed in your hot water heater that is causing the smell.  there are a couple of different rods that can be used.  depending on the water some really skink.  The fix is to replace the rod with one of a different make up. 

     

    The purpose of the rod is to keep the water from eating holes in your water heater. 

  5. Don | Jul 14, 2005 06:44am | #17

    Mary: A lot of north Central Fla has crappy sulphur water. From the city, no less. Go to Orlando for an example. Restaurant water there can smell & taste like crap. And your hands stink after washing in it.

    There are water treatment systems that take it out. we have one here in Nawth Jawja that does very well. Uses high dose chlorine to cause the sulphur to precipitate out then it filters the chlorine out along w/ the precipitate. Pricey, but effective.

    Don

    The GlassMasterworks - If it scratches, I etch it!

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