Check that the drain isn't leaking and the potable water line doesn't make contact. plastic water lines will sometimes transfer the contaminants in. You can get a carbon filter for the sink only ,smaller than a whole house filter Have the water tested you may have to replace a part of the line if it is only contaminated in one area. and need to find the cause . ------------------------------------------------ Is there a hydrent close to the Kitchen sink check that there is NO hose connected and going to a water trough or into a ditch or any old standing water. As that may siphon the old water back into the house drinking water. ------------------------------------------------
I had found in a shower that had the oder the tile wasn't sealed well and water seeped in anf it smelled with the cold water and not the hot. the fix on that one was a new tile job.
The only problem with removing the rod entirely from the hot water tank is that this can lead to deterioration of the lining of the tank. I don'tknow exactly how a (typical) glass lining would deteriotate because of this, but I've been told by plumbers that it does. Sounds like some are having just point of use odor problems from certain components in the faucet, the faucet screen, the drain plug, the cold water supply from private well or city water. So the solutions can't be the 'one shoe fits all' type. Oh well.
Now wondering, as we are building a new house with plastic lines, manifold type plumbing. I would think that if I have a nitrate problem down the line with any of those, the plastic would be easier to pull back through the walls and replace than the old (copper, originally installed in 1953) rigid pipes. If we should get the stinky nitrate smell in the new house, I question just how easy it would be to pull a plastic tubing connection through the clips on the studs and 'track' a new one in. What does anybody think of plastic tubing with nitrate smell problems?
Not sure about the smell but it won't be easy to replace PEX tubing if you plan on just pulling it through unless you had it installed with the intention to do so in the future, which would cost a LOT of extra money.
If anybody with a smelly sink, tub, bathroom or laundry room problem notices gurgling in the drains, especially a few seconds after the water disappears, your problem is drain piping, not water supply.
Primary cause is improper "venting" or a blocked vent pipe. Plumbing drains all connected to an air (vent) pipe system which extends through the roof. The purpose of the venting system is to equalize air pressure in the system, preventing siphoning, gurgling, odor, etc. Improper venting is a whole other thread.
InspectorMark
Posts: 87 | Location: OmahaNE | Registered: 26 July 2005
Have this same problem in my 8 month old home that has PEX and Delta faucet. Took every thing apart and cleaned it but only minimal relief and not immediate either. It is in the master bath and laundry (so all my clothes stink!) both located on upper level of 2-story home. I don't have it in any other place. They are the pipes furthest from the Manifold and water heater, so I wonder if it is my "venting". How do I know and what can be done if it is the case? I don't know that there is gurgling, but I haven't been watching for it. Also, don't know how to test for the laundry situation. It is definitely the water and NOT the drain. Any ideas? Thanks for your insight.
Posts: 2 | Location: Iowa | Registered: 05 December 2006
The cold water does get filter under the sink as it comes in. Mom hsd s well & a new bladder tank was installed couple years ago. The egg smells is only in the kitchen, New fixtures about a year ago. You can boil the water and the smell goes away. All traps cleaned. Jerri
Insp. Mark, How do we clean these vents, and if the smell is only in the kitchen, is that the only one I clean? And if it's the vent why doesn't the hot water smell it uses the same vent?
If its only the cold water that smells than you can ignore every response to a drain issue. But what you can try doing is assuming that you have a thin PVC drain, you can take a flash light and shine it beind the drain and see the water level. Make sure the trap has enough water in it so the air doesn't get by it. Have you tried removing the aerator yet? Its the screen and cap screwed into the spout. Make sure everything comes out with the cap(screen, gasket, little plastic water reducing piece) and then run the cold water for a few minutes and see if it changes.
OOPS, so the drain(s) are not ventilated on this older house well. And the hot water lines were affected worse, the cold affected enough. On a new house, should every drain trap be ventilated? -the main drain with 2 1/2 baths, washer, four sinks, dishwasher, toilets will ultimately all run into the septic. Water source deep municipal wells('city' water). First the water softener, bath sinks/2 tubs will go into a grey water collection tank and then can be opened with valve to release excess not used for outdoor watering into the septic. Or if the grey water collection filter gets clogged, after filter cleaning into the septic. After reading how PEX tubes are hard to change-out, I wonder if the hard plastic or the PEX is easier to maintain or the same.
I do alot of remodeling, and repair work. since locating a problem is sometimes expensive if you start by replacing things the best advice is cheap advice (or free). What you should do is determine if the source is the drain or the faucet. I know it is hard to believe the drain could be responsible, but the warm water may help to block the smell more than cold. First step is to use bleach in the drain, pour a quarter cup in the drain, let it sit a minute then flush it through with water. If the smell goes away for a period of time then it is your drain not your faucet. If it is the drain, remove it and replace it. P-trap kits are cheap enough to make it worth replacing not cleaning, when you clean them all you are really doing is clearing them out, the build-up on the walls of the pipe is still there, speeding up a new build up fo material. Be sure to clear out the hair and such that builds up around the stopper and lever by removing the lever at the back of the drain just above the p-trap. If it is not the drain, call moen, the warranty is very good, and as stated by another comment above, R&D is very good at Moen. If they cannot explain the problem, switch your problem faucet with another in the house. See if the problem follows the faucet, or the plumbing. If the smell moves with the faucet, this will be enough proof for a replacement by moen. At this point if the water did not follow the faucet, try the rod replacement in you hot water tank.
Both, Mom can put some in a pan and boil out the smell. It's only in the kitchen and only the cold water. It comes from a well. New badder tank,about two years ago. The smell isn't outside in hose water either. Jerri
I should also say that the faucet in the kitchen has been replaced, and she has a small water filter under the sink. The smell still comes thu. It's a 20 year old double wide. Jerri
I know the answer to your problems. I installed 4 new faucets and all 4 had the odor problem. Never had it before. The problem is the plastic supply lines from the valve to the sink. There was a problem in manufacturing process the product contained to much sulfur, and causes the odor in about 3 to 4 weeks. Replace them with metal supplies and your problem will go away.
I am actually sort of heartened to see that others have this problem. I've googled it before and found very little.
Same as many other folks who posted, I have a sulfur smell coming from the cold soft water tap in my upstairs bathroom only. The smell is the water, NOT the drain. It is only that faucet (even my laundry sink, which we almost never use, does not have the odor, and neither does any other faucet in the house) and the hot water coming through the same faucet does not smell. It also can't be hot water masking an odor in the drain because the hot tap runs cold for about a minute before heating up, with no odor whatsoever. I use the cold water in that room at least once a day and every time it smells when I first turn it on. If you run it for 30s to 1 min, the odor goes away. It's a Delta faucet.
Kelly, it's interesting what you say about the supply lines. They are new(ish) and made of plastic on that sink. They were installed in 2005 when we remodeled. I am excited to try the metal supply lines because every other strategy I've read when researching this in the past seemed to be designed to address a slightly different problem (the most common suggestions are to disinfect the drain, but I know it's not the drain; and shocking the well water, but that didn't seem necessary since it's only one tap).
I don't know much about plumbing but were your old lines a particular brand? It would be interesting to see if mine were from the same manufacturer or lot, or whatever. The only thing I'm still wondering is why it's only the cold tap. Maybe the hot didn't get the sulfur bacteria build-up yet, or something?
The only other hypothesis I heard that made sense is that the whole system could have sulfurous gas in it but it could be rising to the top of the house and only coming out of the uppermost tap in the house--which this is. I question this a little though, both because the hot doesn't smell and because the bathtub tap in that room (which is only a couple feet below the sink tap) also has no odor whatsoever. It seems like at least a little would leak out through that one if it was going to. And the tub has metal supply lines. Hmm...
