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Sulfur Smell in Cold Water Faucet

Harrod | Posted in General Discussion on December 17, 2011 07:08am

I have a sulfur smell coming from a cold water facuet in my bathroom.   This is a new home with Moen faucets.  The the odor started shorlty after moving in.    I’m on city water and the water supply lines are the standard blue plastic/PVC lines (believe there is another name for the plastic ? pex- not sure).  The odor is only on the cold water side and only comes from one faucet in the home.  I installed an under-counter water filter but this didn’t help.   The odor is not from the drain.   I’ve taken a sample in a glass to another room and the odor is definitely in the water.   Someone in another forum reported a problem with the plastic tubing used in Moen faucets.   Looking for advice from anyone with a similar experience.

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  1. DanH | Dec 17, 2011 09:14am | #1

    Plastic pipes will often give off an odor/taste when first installed (it usually dissipates after a month or two).  I wouldn't call it "sulfur", though -- a bit more of a "tannic" flavor/smell, or maybe sort of a paint smell.

    You can also get an "off" taste (though not generally an odor) from galvanic action in a piece of iron pipe in the works.  There should be no iron pipe in a new house, but you can't always guess what a plumber may have used to make up an awkward joint somewhere.

    I presume that if you run the water for a few seconds the odor goes away?

  2. DanRibar | Dec 18, 2011 01:30pm | #2

    Same problem here

    Was just discussing with my neighbors how we all have this problem.  One bathroom (furthest from the source), only in the sink and only on cold.  Shower and tub do not smell.  

    Did you get anything figured out?

    Smelly in Sarasota.

    Dan

    1. calvin | Dec 18, 2011 02:26pm | #3

      Dan

      Is yours a new house also?

      One answer usually given for an odd smell at a vanity sink is stinky gunk up inside the rim of the sinks overflow.  However, we've not given that answer to you or harrod's question because-

      the sink isn't old where gunk could have built up......

      usually doesn't happen when just running the cold ...........any water dumped down the drain will give a push of air up the overflow.

    2. Harrod | Dec 18, 2011 07:18pm | #4

      Sulfur Smell in Cold Water Faucet

      Smelly in Sarasotal.

      Getting closer to figuring out the source of the smell (I believe).  

      I went under the sink, turned off the cold water supply to the faucet and disconnected the cold water line at the faucet.  I got a cup, slowly turned on the shut off valve enough to fill the cup and did not have an odor coming from the water.  I even got my wife who could smell a mosiquito fart to check the water and ..... no odor.   I reconnected the supply line to the faucet, turn on the cold water and the odor was present.   

      I've concluded, to my surprise,  the odor is coming from the faucet; either from the valve or from the short 8" line between the valve and the faucet.   I contacted Moen and they going to replace both the valve and the short plastic line.

      I'll let you know the final outcome once I get the part from Moen intsalled.

      Harrod

      1. calvin | Dec 18, 2011 07:30pm | #5

        Thank you

        Looking for a reply when you get the new one.

      2. beaches121 | Jan 09, 2012 07:10am | #6

        your post on sulfur smell

        Hi, I'd like to know if you have an update to your post regarding the faucet line change and what Moen stated as the cause for the odor. Also, did you ever experience any discoloration in the water from the sink(s) having the odor problem? There seems to be alot of blogs posting this problem, yet I have not seen anything publically announced by Moen. When I called them after reading these blogs, the party I spoke with seemed surprised about the problem (like they never heard of this complaint before) yet there are posts on the internet that began a few years ago... Any update to your work effort would be appreciated.

        Thanks,

        AJ

  3. sfralick | Mar 28, 2012 09:45am | #7

    Same issue

    We are also expieriencing the exact same scenerio.

    New home , Moen bathroom faucet, with pex waterlines, sulphur smell from cold one faucet only on the cold water supply, and we have a water purifing system installed. has there been any resolutions from anyone on this issue yet?

  4. DebSilber | Apr 09, 2012 10:43am | #8

    Sulfur Smell in Cold Water Faucet

    Harrod -- Did the new part from Moen work?

  5. lponter | May 09, 2014 11:40pm | #9

    sulfur smell

    I'd love to know if you figured this out. Moen is playing dumb. They replaced the connectors once, the smell came right back. Trouble is, I have the same trouble, although not as bad, on a new Price Pfister faucet.

    We find if we run the hot water a bit and then turn on the cold, the water is potable.

    It's got to be something in the connectors. No other faucet in my house is affected and that includes the new tub and shower installed at the same time.

    1. User avater
      spclark | Oct 29, 2014 10:30pm | #10

      Times change

      and so the effects of removing lead from everything associated with domestic water supplies may be the culpret here.

      Or the plastic pipes from your shut-off valves to the faucets you've been using.

      I'd change those first - at least the one on the cold feed - see what happens. Choose a product with a different construction cross-section & materials.

      Lot's of folks where I live now are experiencing problems with new, lead-free brass fittings from overseas. Not just Chinese product either. Stuff like pinholes & cracks developing after fairly short periods of time after installation.

  6. Harrod | Oct 30, 2014 05:57am | #11

    Sulfur Smell in Cold Water Faucet (post #205492)

    Moen replaced the faucet valve which I installed and this eliminated the odor. 

  7. Harrod | Oct 30, 2014 05:57am | #12

    Sulfur Smell in Cold Water Faucet (post #205492)

    Moen replaced the faucet valve which I installed and this eliminated the odor. 

    1. TM1 | Nov 26, 2015 03:02pm | #13

      How I got rid of the sulfur smell in one cold water pipe.

      In my case one new cold water pipe gave the smell, and here's how it was fixed.

      Periodic flushing with water did not help.

      Replacing the faucet with a pvc plastic valve didn't help either, so in our case it was the pipe causing the smell.

      Apparently the pipe got contaminated during installation and wasn't properly sanitized by the plumber.

      I turned off water to the house and disconnected the faucet and the valve to get access to the pipe to sanitize and clean it. This pipe is galvanized iron and is vertical between 1st floor and upstairs attic. After opening I found black particles inside.

      Filling the pipe for 4 hours with bleach (8% solution)helped somewhat.

      Filling the pipe for 24 hours with bleach (8% solution) and then mechanically cleaning the inside of the pipe with an old toothbrush wet in turpentine and then wicking and drying it off with a paper towel got rid of the smell. Before you try any fluids such as bleach or turpentine, test a section of your pipe (copper, PVC, PEX) for 24 hours to see if bleach will corrode or dissolve it. Make sure to flush all house pipes faucets and showers to make sure all have clean fresh water in them after the treatment.

      1. DanH | Nov 26, 2015 05:35pm | #14

        I'm guessing that plumbing elsewhere in the house is copper, and there is no dielectric union between the copper and the iron.

  8. TM1 | Dec 02, 2015 02:51pm | #15

    Actually the whole house is piped to galvanized iron and was wired to aluminum (built in the seventies when copper was a strategic material for war reasons). There is one copper pipe in the shower and yes, there is a special long brass connection fitting between iron and copper. The reason I mentioned copper is to caution anyone to be safe before they decide to try what they read on the internet.

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