I was told that by removing the rod in a hot water tank that it will take the smell out of well water. I also understand that it may void a warranty.Any truth to this?

Well this rod is called a sacrificial anode, and it's purpose to to act as a scapegoat for the corroding elements in your water to attach to and corrode so that it doesn't corrode other, more important parts of the water heater. Sometimes this chemical reaction can cause a rather nasty smell to your water, like a sulfur or rotten egg smell - it is quite unpleasant. If that is indeed what is happening then yes, there are plenty of people and plumbers who have removed this rod and gotten significantly improved water odor as a result. But at the same token, you are right in that it will void the warranty of the water heater.

Question is, is this the cause of the odor? Does it only smell in hot water or is it evident in cold as well. There are other causes of smelly well water other than the sacrificial anode.

Thank you very much for the info. My son has well water that smells pretty bad when washing clothes or taking a shower.He has a reverse osmosis system set up for drinking water and it works quite well.We always had city water and am not real familiar on how to deal with the smell.He has put a couple gallons of bleach in the well at times and that seams to help temporarily. Any other suggestions?

You need to find out about your water first. Most county health departments will test your well water for free, or for a nominal charge, but it might not be a good idea to tell them it's from the well you're currently using or they could shut down your water supply. Warm a pot of water from the cold tap, slowly, on the stove and see if the smell gets noticably worse. Minerally water is often odorless when cold but blooms when heated. If the warmed water is odiferous, run some more cold through a Brita or other filter system and try again.

Animals can find their way into your well to die. I've had that happen and it is very unpleasant, but in that case even the cold water will run you out of the house after a very short while.

The anode in your water heater, being a zinc based alloy, will react mostly to acids in your well water, which can happen but is fairly rare in my experience, which has been mostly in the southeast and midwest. It can save you some time and money by keeping the metal tank of your water heater from corroding, but water heaters are so affordable and easy to install, generally, that if removing the rod improves your quality of life, then it is an easy decision to make.

If it is dissolved mineral solids causing the odor, then an additional large settling tank can eliminate a lot of the problem, but also creates the need for more maintenance.

Just thoughts off the top of my head. I generally think of many more and much better ideas as soon as I hit Post Now, but will only add them here if they are truly brilliant,

Good luck!

If shock chlorination is getting rid of the smell temporarily, then it may be that the hydrogren sulfide may be in the well water itself, rather than the reaction with the sacrificial anode. Does the water smell coming out of the cold water side?

Yes. The smell is in the cold and the hot.The reverse osmosis system takes the smell out of the drinking water, but the rest of it throughout the house still smells.

Then I would first try a whole house carbon filter and if that doesn't work, then take a water sample to a water purification company to see what options they can give you.

I would like to thank you for your suggestions and I will relay them to my son today!