Odor in The Water

It's hot outside and you've been working in the yard, mowing, weed eating and trimming shrubs and now it's time to take a break.  You go into the house and grab a glass from the cupboard go to the refrigerator and get some ice from the dispenser and then you go to the sink to get your water because you are thirsty and you don't want to wait for the water dispenser in the refrigerator.  You now have a full glass of ice water and you put it to your lips take a breathe and what is that horrible smell in you glass?  No one wants to have this happen or even worse yet you have a terrible rotten egg odor in you water and guests come over to smell this odor, how embarrassing would that be?

Here are a couple of things you can look for and some remedies for the problem.  If you live on a water well these are some things you can do;
1. If you have a bladder tank (the one with the valve stem in the top) you will want to turn off you pump and drain the tank.  Once the tank is drained then carefully shake the tank ensuring that you do not break your PVC pipes.  If you hear water sloshing around in the top part of the tank this is your problem.  What has happened is that you have gotten a small hole in your bladder and the water is going through the bladder and making contact with the metal and the outside part of the bladder thus causing the odor.  The remedy is to replace the tank.
2. If you have a galvanized tank (the one with the pressure guage in the side) you will also want to turn off your pump and drain the tank and then shake it.  If it is full of water then your tank is water logged or in the process of water logging.  The reason for the odor is because with this system when the pump comes on it is supposed to put about a 20 foot column of air in the tank and then comes the water.  The air and the water mix and the air oxidizes the sulphur or hydrogen sulfide in the water and knocks out the smell.  Remedy, find the problem.  It is usually the check valve, and the way to tell if it is the check valve is to pressure up the tank and then slowly remove the pressure relief valve on top of the well head, if water begins to shoot out then the check valve is bad and will need to be replaced.  The other two things could be the snifter (silver valve stem in the check valve or screwed into the PVC pipe)  Replace the snifter, it must be purchased from a water well company or supplier because the spring in it is not the same as a regular valve stem.  The third thing is that the bleeder valve in the drop pipe and it can only be checked by a water well company.  This usually does not go bad.
3. If it is neither of the two above listed things then you either have hydrogen sulfide or iron bacteria in your well.  If you have iron then you will see red stains in your sinks and toilets and wherever you sprinklers hit your house.  If it is hydrogen sulfide you can look in the back of the toilet tank and if it is black then it is hydrogen sulfide.  The remedy is one of three things.  You can put about a cup or so of bleach down your well by removing the little black or blue square cap on the well head itself and pour the bleach down there. (Note do not use scented bleach) you will then want to chase the bleach with large amounts of water to ensure you have washed it off your pipes because bleach is caustic and will corrode the pipe and cause another problem.  This remedy will knock out both iron and hydrogen sulfide.  You can also buy filters for the two problems. If you buy an iron filter you will want to mix air with the water and then have a medium ( I suggest filter ag plus) to catch the iron. I suggest the Iron Breaker by either Fleck or Clack.  If it is hydrogen sulfide then you will want to use air to oxidize the hydrogen sulfide and use a catalytic carbon to catch the solids.  You can use an Iron Breaker as well but just change out the medium to catalytic carbon  Another filter that can be used is one that uses different types of filtration media to remove these contaminants.
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Bladder Tank

Galvanized Tank