My tap smells like a fart

Submitted by aranhalaranja t3_10g5iji in philadelphia

This is NOT a "I hate Philly water" post where some nerd replies with a report on why we have the 3rd best water in the country.

This IS a genuine question.

About 3x per month, when I turn on the faucet, my water smells kind of like a fart. I use a Brita and cannot taste anything off. But the smell is undeniable. And it is only once in a while.

It might be related to rain but I can't say for sure.

Any idea what's going on?

Edit: I sincerely appreciate you all for taking the time to comment here and share your perspectives. I was hoping this would be a “happens all the time based on —- levels. Nothing to worry about.” But I now know this is worth investigating further. Thanks everyone.

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Comments

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pretzel_enjoyer t1_j50u9ow wrote

Usually rotten egg smell means there's sulfur in the water. From my understanding, resolution of the issue depends on whether the smell happens with all the taps or just one; hot water, cold water, or both; and whether or not you're on a well. (You're probably not on a well.) Calling a plumber or PWD could tell you how to troubleshoot.

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Luna_3000 t1_j50qsk1 wrote

This happened at my old house it was either related to some sort of rod in the hot water heater that needed to be replaced OR if there isn’t the proper number of turns/bends in the drain pipe the bad smell can waft upwards from your waste water. Either way plumbers didn’t want to come close to it so it seemed expensive.

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cyntrinlives t1_j51zeln wrote

That would be the anode rod in the water heater which needs to replaced every few years anyway, it’s a pain in the ass to do in small spaces tho so if it was the cause they probably just didn’t feel like doing it

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mslancaster t1_j51cqgu wrote

This was happening for me randomly as well until I realized it was the dishwasher draining into the sink. I cleaned the dishwasher filter and that solved the problem.

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taskermorrisrider222 t1_j51ecsb wrote

Did the same thing recently. Noticed my kitchen sink would pour dishwasher water while it was running. A plumber was able to fix it for less than $200.

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JohnDerek57 t1_j51vgdf wrote

Since we’re talking about water why does mine look like milk for about 20 seconds after it comes out the faucet?

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LFKhael t1_j51wkha wrote

Warm water releases dissolved air that may be present in cold water. Common in winter.

Let the water sit for a minute and it'll clear up.

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HerrDoktorLaser t1_j52uscf wrote

If excess dissolved air becoming insoluble when cold water is warmed by indoor piping is the reason, you (generic "you", not "you you") can actually watch the bubble front rise from the bottom of a glass over time, leaving clear water below and cloudy water above. It's some super-cool physics IMO. It also lets you (again generic "you", not "you you") see whether it's something other than air bubbles coming out of solution.

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HerrDoktorLaser t1_j52u79v wrote

Mmkay, so there's next to zero actual sulfur (sulfide) in Philly's water, so it's vanishingly unlikely that it's coming from the City's side. What can happen, however, is that your property has bacteria reproducing in the pipes or--more often--in the hot water heater. Some types of bacteria can convert the sulfate that's naturally in Philly's water into sulfide, which would give you a "fart" or "rotten egg" smell.

Another possibility is that you have a cross connection situation, where some genius accidentally connected a sewage pipe to a drinking water pipe. If you're not projectile vomiting a few hours after drinking your water, and if you don't have to strap yourself down on the toilet because you've turned into a diarrheal rocket, that's probably not your situation.

A third possibility is that the smell isn't coming from the water out of the tap, but from the drain. If your trap is dry, or if you have no trap, that's a distinct possibility.

Yours truly, a "Philly water nerd".

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murphysfriend t1_j51325x wrote

I noticed a strong Chlorine aroma in our tap water this week 🤢

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lanternfly_carcass t1_j528tf2 wrote

Your anode rod in your hot water tank needs replaced or you need a new tank. That's my guess. Otherwise, somehow methane is getting on your water but I can't figure out how.

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ClintBarton616 t1_j51avv0 wrote

years ago I called PGW because our water smelled weird. They sent a guy out and he spent a few minutes going "your water is fine, your water is fine" and when I told him to stop bullshitting and level with me he said sometimes they've got to put extra chemicals in the water to treat it and that's usually what any off-putting odors are.

Maybe he was bullshitting about that too but it solved the mystery for me

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ari_mel89 t1_j50p61t wrote

mine smells like toilet water 😬

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HerrDoktorLaser t1_j52tauo wrote

Contact PWD and report a possible cross connection. They have people specifically for this issue.

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Indiana_Jawnz t1_j51tblf wrote

If it's only the hot water it's related to your electric hot water heater.

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IrishOmerta t1_j51vqd9 wrote

Used to have a similar problem on-and-off in Penns Port, I paid a plumber to install a two stage whole house water filter and it's worked well, was pretty cheap too. Paid $250 parts and labor.

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The_Prince1513 t1_j55omul wrote

Sorry that was me.^I ^^farted ^^^in ^^^^your ^^^^^pipes.

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redjonley t1_j5663a6 wrote

All depends on your housing situation, sounds like it could be your tank or if you're in one of those new renovations they were flipping through the pandemic, or the landlord redid your waste water, your pipes may be fucked up. Not likely to be the P-trap waste water issue, but it's definitely serious enough to consider anyway. See what's applicable to your situation, definitely a localized issue though.

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defmain t1_j5ai5x2 wrote

Mine has an organic aftertaste I can only remove with boiling. I hate buying gallons of water but that's what I have to drink until I move.

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bayoubilly88 t1_j54w06x wrote

You could not pay me to drink city tap water, filter or no. I stopped doing this over a year ago. I even stopped buying coffee bc they all use city water. Immediate improvement in overall feeling of health and well-being. Every time I get a little lax and buy a coffee for a few days instead of making it, my throat feels like shit and I have a constant slightly runny nose.

All the people who want to tell me how this is subjective, confirmation bias, etc, you drink it if you want.

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aranhalaranja OP t1_j5c4ib7 wrote

I lived in the developing world for several years, where we’d only drink bottled water. Once I went down the mental rabbit hole that it takes to avoid the water entirely (no ice, no coffee or tea or fountain beverages, no pasta or noodles when I’m out, how’d they wash their lettuce, what about brushing my teeth, etc), I had to give up and admit I’d rather drink heavy metals and bacteria than spend this much time worrying. I’m not knocking your choices at all - at this point, we should all be a bit more skeptical of what we consume. From pesticides to hormones to antibiotics, there’s a lot of poison we ingest because it’d take a lot of work not to.

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bayoubilly88 t1_j5d7lnn wrote

Not that much work. It’s kind of a “be 90% 100% of the time and not 100% 50% of the time”

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ComradeNapolein t1_j51lvsi wrote

no advice other than i’m glad someone else has also grown weary of the water nerds in this subreddit

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