Hi all.
This happened several months back as well in June. However, at the time, I had an incredibly old water heater that had not been serviced. I replaced it due to its incredibly advanced age (not due to the smell) and the smell eventually went away.
But this week I noticed my water has suddenly developed the same smell again. However, my new water heater is only a few months old. Surely it doesn’t need to be serviced already? It is still outputting very hot water. I have it set to 130F, which is above the temperature that it was set at by default. (I think when I got it, it was set to 120F at first, which I found too cold. So I upped it not long after).
ALL faucets and things with a water supply within the home (ex toilets) exhibit the smell when the water is running. It is not limited to one spigot, floor, or room. Hot water makes it worse (as in showering), but I still notice it with cold water (as in flushing the toilet or room temp water from the tap…I can’t get my water super cold where I live though).
The smell reminds me of when I used to swim in a lake or pond. It doesn’t smell like sewage and it doesn’t smell like fish, but it is not overly pleasant.
Is there a way I can investigate this easily enough without hiring a plumber? And how can I tell if it’s safe to drink.
I have city water, NOT well water.
Thanks all.
I don’t know how common this is, but where I live (PNW), our city water has more than one source, and based on a number of factors, the water running to our house may have its source changed for short periods of time. Have you talked to any of your neighbors to see if they’ve experienced something similar? You might try reaching out to the city water department and see if they have any idea what it might be as well, they may even have free (or cheap) water testing you can do on water from your house.
Unfortunately I don’t have any real answers for whether your water is safe to drink or not, but hopefully something here will be of some help to you.