We have well water and are using a Kinetico system with RO for the drinking water. Problem - the hot water smells like eggs. I have been told that bacteria in the water find the hot water tank to be a lovely place to multiply and cause the smelly water issue. Will adding a UV purifier (before or after it goes through the Kinetico) solve this problem? If so, does anyone know of a reliable brand?

Thanks so much!! I'm getting desperate.

-- Meg Souza (msouza@cushing-malloy.com), January 24, 2002

Answers

A UV unit kills everything in the water as long as you filter out any particulate matter first. Other wise anything suspended in the water will protect the bacteria or virus in the water within its shadow from the UV rays.

I'm not sure a UV filter will help you though. You're smelling hydrogen sulfide. That's from the sulfur in the water. Do you have the same smell from water before it goes through your RO unit?

Is your RO unit supposed to remove sulfur?

-- Darren (df1@infi.net), January 24, 2002.

a carbon filter should remove the smell,, also,, have you drained the hot water tank lately?

-- Stan (sopal@net-port.com), January 24, 2002.

It is the Rod in the top of your Water Heater. If you get oe made for city water on well well water or the other way around it smells like rotten eggs. Pull the big cap on top of heater and cut the rod off and replace cap. The rod looks like aluminum.

-- Mel Kelly (melkelly@webtv.net), January 24, 2002.

Meg, where do you live in Michigan??? When we lived in the Fowlerville area years ago, no matter what we did we could not get that awful smell out of our water. I ended up drinking bottled water for several years just because I could not get past the smell.

-- diane (gardiacaprines@yahoo.com), January 24, 2002.

I would ask you county extension agent about water in general in your area, first. Then I would find out the quality of your well water and what is in it. Then you can make some assumptions and take corrective actions based upon what your water analysis shows.

-- BC (desertdweller44@yahoo.com), January 24, 2002.

I agree with Mel. If its only the hot water smelling, it's probably that rod thingy in the hot water tank. Removing ours took care of the same problem.

-- vicki in NW OH (thga76@aol.com), January 24, 2002.

Ditto with checking the magnesium rod in the hot water tank. The hard water that you had before coated the rod and "masked" the smell. Now that the water's softened and the hardness has probably been washed out of the tank, you'll get the smell.

-Chelsea

-- Chelsea (rmbehr@istar.ca), January 24, 2002.

Thanks to all!! We had the magnesium rod removed and it worked like a charm!!

-- Meg (msouza@cushing-malloy.com), January 31, 2002.