Go BottomWell water sulfur smell causes
 | JasonR
Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 142 Northern Indiana 
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2007-09-06 145460
Around the house, my well water is just fine - no sulfer smell. Over at my barn, the water coming out of the garden hose is bad enough (sulfer smell) to just about knock me out. The garden hose is kept inside for the 'car/tractor wash bay'.
The barn is fed from my house well under ground about 160' (I doubt this has anything to do with the smell, but giving as many details as possible.)
I know pex tubing can be bought with and without oxygen barriers. Could it be that well water sitting in a garden hose is reacting with the hose or something?
Thanks, Jason
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 | earthwrks
Join Date: Dec 2003 Posts: 3853 Home Office in Flat Rock, Michigan 
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2007-09-06 145462
In my area we have what is called the Black Plague sulfur smell and white incrustation problem. The plague fumes in a home attacks any electronic or metal surface---even gold--- and turns them black rendering them inoperable. Peroxide doesn't kill it nor does reverse-osmosis. I have a hunch the aquifer runs through or touches the huge limestone deposits here.
The sulfer is a "by-product" (read: poop) from bacteria in the water. Your hose is likely a breeding ground since there is ample heat and light by which to multiply. You might want to build yourself an ulraviolet light sanitizer which is clear tube the water runs through and is exposed to a UV light source. You might want to switch to a RV camper-style, canister, carbon water filter at the faucet and use the white hoses designed specifically for potable water. That should reduce the vynil chorides being released, reacting with, or feeding the bacteria. ....
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| JasonR
Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 142 Northern Indiana
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2007-09-08 145501
Thanks.
I was suspicious about some bacteria in the water, based on some mildew near a dripping faucet. So I was already considering a UV system. I had no idea the sulfer small was a byproduct.
- Jason ....
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| earthwrks
Join Date: Dec 2003 Posts: 3853 Home Office in Flat Rock, Michigan
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2007-09-08 145505
The mildew is likely airborne-based and may be feeding on the same nutrients as the bacteria, or even feeding on the bacteria. I'm not a biologist but I play one on TV. ;) ....
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 | DRankin
Join Date: Jan 2000 Posts: 5116 Northern Nevada
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2007-09-08 145513
Flush that system with chlorine ASAP.
Bacterial growth anywhere in the system will spread retrograde to the pipes you drink from.
A UV light will not fix the problem you describe. ....
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 | kleinchris
Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 269 Westminster, Texas
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2007-09-08 145519
I agree with drankin. Chlorine should be your solution, at least for now for three reasons: 1) It's cheap. 2) It's going to kill everything in that line, not just the stuff at the uv exposure. 3)It's easier than adding a uv source. ....
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| JasonR
Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 142 Northern Indiana
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2007-09-09 145542
A bleach flush of the lines is planned next week with the installation of the UV system. My thought is, once the line are clean, and the UV system is in place - nothing should come back.
Thanks, Jason ....
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| earthwrks
Join Date: Dec 2003 Posts: 3853 Home Office in Flat Rock, Michigan
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2007-09-09 145546
Lemme know if it works 'cause I pass out your phone number to the 100,000 or so in my area who have the problem. In the two cities south of me the cost of buying and maintaining the system (reverse osmosis, salt, peroxide, etc.) far and away exceeds the cost of filling up a 1,000 gallon tank in the back of a truck or trailer which cost $5 to fill from the Detroit City Water tap.
My buddy 10 years ago spent $10,000 on the system initially, and costs him $30-$70 a WEEK for peroxide and about the same for salt from Culligan. I got severely sick drinking the peroxide-laden water.
At least in my area, the bacteria live in the ground water aquifer. ....
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 | nosteiner4me
Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 113 ohio
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2007-09-09 145562
Jasonr...Yes you need to drop some simple store bought bleach down the well to kill the bacteria in the well and run it through all the lines in the house. We have an inline filter and put bleach right into the clear screw on part of the filter and then run through all the faucets. You should also remember to get the bleach into your hot water tank as well as bacteria grows faster in that tank. You will instantly smell the difference in your water after you clorinate with the bleach. You may have to do this once or twice a year. Hope this helps, It helped me for sure!Just remember if the bleach doesn't touch or go through that line then the bacteria will back track, back into the house lines again. Good luck ....
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| JasonR
Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 142 Northern Indiana
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2007-09-09 145581
EW, I'll let you know...
nosteiner4me - thanks. The only time I ever smell anything is out of the garden hose - after it has sit for a while. Hence, I don't think I have a huge issue at the well - at least nothing the UV system won't overcome. There's a good chance the whole issue is in the piping itself, as I did a lot of changing to the system over the past year.
I'm anticipating numerous bleach treatments to clean out the pipings.
- Jason ....
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 | cutter
Join Date: Feb 2000 Posts: 1307 The South Shore of Lake Ontario, New York 
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2007-09-10 145599
I am curious. I have one well that is sulfur and one that is not. It sounds as though the smell you are getting does not have anything to do with a sulfur supply but rather with pollutants in your lines, correct?
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 | AC5ZO
Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 928 Rio Rancho, NM 87144 
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2007-09-10 145605
Bleaching a water system.
I use a quart of Clorox per 150 gallons of water on my camping trailer and it will clean out that system if it is very stale. I dump that water because it has too much chlorine to drink. After cleaning, I fill my tanks with fresh water from the well and it tastes great.
I doubt that you will have to do "several treatments" if you get the bleach thoroughly through the system. If you can put it in at the well or pump, you will treat your whole system. Run all the faucets till you smell chlorine in both the hot and cold water lines. Let it sit for an hour and you should pretty well sanitize the system.
You can contaminate the system when you do plumbing work. I have inline filters at house, barn, etc and I fill them with bleach whenever I have the water system open or install new parts from the supply house. ....
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 | SG8NUC
Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 579 g 
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2007-09-10 145614
Jason,
Install an aerator, this will stop your sulfur smell. 200 to 300 gallon should do just fine. I clean the aerator once a year with clorine.
Phil ....
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| earthwrks
Join Date: Dec 2003 Posts: 3853 Home Office in Flat Rock, Michigan
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2007-09-11 145618
As far as Cutter having one well with sulfer and one without, I feel it is eithe a matter of the well depths possibly being different and/or the location of the well in possibly different aquifers (underground rivers). SO if the sources are different so goes the water type/quality.
I have an aunt who is situated between two close-by neighbors---within 100 feet each way. The neighbors on either side only had to drill down 250 feet through sand to get sweet water. She had to go down 625 feet through rock and still has sulfer water--mixed with methane gas. You can literally take a match and light the water on fire. She is about 100 miles from me. Where I live the limestone shelf can be a mile thick, you can't go deep enough to reach sweet water. ....
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 | crunch
Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 271 Niagara County, NY
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2007-09-12 145635
I have a sulfer smell in my well that you only smell in periods of draught. Another way to control sulfer smell is to raise the level of the pump in your well. ....
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| cutter
Join Date: Feb 2000 Posts: 1307 The South Shore of Lake Ontario, New York
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2007-09-12 145658
My wells are about 500' apart and the sulfur well is deeper in addition to being downhill from the sweet well. I have a third well that is in close proximity to the sweet well that is salt water.
Now I have municipal water supplied by Lake Ontario, so we use that for what the sulfur well used to supply but still drink the sweet stuff. My barn is now supplied by the sulfur well. One thing I do miss for sure is the softness of the sulfur well water for taking a shower, it was pure luxury.
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| lbrown59
Join Date: Posts: 1
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2008-01-23 150636
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== L B == ....
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