Water heater smells: what to do

Household appliances make a person’s life more comfortable and well-maintained. The life of a modern person can no longer be imagined without home equipment: a water heater, a washing machine, a boiler and other household appliances. Sometimes water flowing from a water heater gets an unpleasant putrefactive odor. Consider the causes of this problem and how to resolve it.

Why does water from a water heater smell?

The water heater consists of a tank and a heating element located inside. A feature of this device is its ability to maintain temperature at a certain, predetermined level.

There are flow and storage water heaters. Bad smell can appear only in storage devices that have a tank for heating. When heated, raw tap water is a good medium for the growth of mold, bacteria and various microorganisms.

The cause of unpleasant odors are always microorganisms of plant or animal origin. You need to understand what types of microorganisms are wound up inside the boiler and how to get rid of them.

There can be several reasons for an unpleasant aroma:

  • stagnant processes inside the tank, occur with rare use of the device;
  • internal chemical reactions that occur during the interaction of the magnesium anode with sulfides contained in tap water;
  • low temperature often leads to the multiplication of microorganisms;
  • high heating temperature leads to the appearance of scale, giving an unpleasant odor;
  • Failure of the filter leads to contamination of the tank and the appearance of a bad odor;
  • a worn-out pipeline promotes the active reproduction of bacteria, including pathogens;
  • poor composition of water, which contains a high concentration of hydrogen sulfide.

How to eliminate the smell of water from a boiler

Before proceeding with drastic measures to eliminate odor, it is necessary to clean the tank tank from dirt and scale. Doing this is easy on your own. To do this, unscrew the lid and drain the dirty water. You can simply call a specialist to clean and prevent the unit.

Next, you need to find out the causes of the bad smell from hot water flowing from the water heater and try to completely eliminate them.

  1. With putrefactive congestion caused by the rare use of a boiler, you just need to thoroughly drain the contents several times during the day. A clean boiling stream will wash the tank of mucus and microorganisms, the stink will completely disappear.
  2. At low or very high temperature conditions, it is necessary to adjust the most comfortable temperature so that the water does not boil, but also is not barely warm. Experience shows that a temperature level of 80 ° - 90 ° C is an optimal indicator that prevents the growth of harmful microorganisms.
  3. If the filter element has become unusable, then it simply needs to be replaced by installing a new one.

You can try to eliminate the smell yourself, but it is better to contact the appropriate utilities. If the main pipeline is worn out or the water is of poor quality, then it is imperative to contact the public utilities to demand replacement of pipes or improvement of the composition of drinking water.

IMPORTANT! If there is a smell in a private water supply connected to the well, simply deepen the well to a clean aquifer.

Prevention of an unpleasant smell of water from a water heater

Any water heater must be looked after regularly.

Care of the boiler is that it is necessary to check and replace worn parts in a timely manner:

  • inspect the thermostats in order to check their operability and degree of wear (a worn thermostat cannot provide the necessary heating of water in the tank);
  • clean and rinse the tank at least once every six months (scale, dirt and rust can corrode the metal tank from the inside, which will lead to leakage);
  • replace the anode regularly (scale often forms on the element, which impairs its performance and can also cause a bad smell);
  • timely replace worn filters;
  • replace the blast valve.

IMPORTANT! An electric water heater is a device of increased danger to human life. This device combines two incompatible substances - water and electric current. Therefore, any breakdown can lead to an emergency or personal injury.

Using water-heating devices in everyday life, it is necessary to take responsibility for their operation, making regular tank cleaning and routine inspection of each element.

Watch the video: How To Get Rid of Rotten Egg Smell in Your Hot Water (March 2024).

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