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Author:
pdirt (WA)
This just happened tonight. Suddenly the tap water smells like a dirty ashtray or possibly a silt-like smell (like boggy mud). It tastes horrible, like burnt rubber or possibly even a chemical/petroleum taste. The taste isn't strong, but certainly is noticable. Usually the water is crystal clear and tastes great. We had it tested last June and it's very good water except high in calcium and magnesium.
Perhaps the boggy-mud/pond-smell is considered part of the sulfurous spectrum of odors? I certainly wouldn't call it sulfurous or rotten egg but perhaps someone else would.
It is not a sulfurous or rotten egg smell. The smell does not dissapate after sitting out in a glass for several minutes. There are two 9" in-line sediment (20 micron) filters that filter the entire household water. I replaced them not even two months ago. The ones I had replaced had been there for over 6 months and probably much longer than that. The smell and taste is coming from all faucets. The fridge has a carbon water filter and the water it dispenses tastes and smells fine.
The water is visibly tinted. In a water glass it just looks cloudy. In a gallon glass jar, it is a slight reddish-brown color, like you might find in a pond or small lake. I found a glass of water that had been filled earlier in the day and the water is crystal clear in that glass. I do not see a sheen of any oil on the surface of the water.
Could this perhaps be a sign of a faulty seal in our well or cistern pump? It does taste like rubber or some sort of petroleum plastic-y taste. It has been a cold winter with a fair amount of snow which is now rapidly thawing. Could the spring thaw be bringing a lot of silt or somesuch "contaminant" into our well that has overwhelmed our sediment filters? The filters look fine...I don't see any large amounts of sediment in them that would make me think they have tripped their bypass mechanism (I think they have a built-in bypass).
I will probably replace the two 9" sediment filters but am not looking forward to it. The o-rings are old and they don't make them anymore for that model. I had a heck of a time getting the seal just right (not too tight or loose) so the thing didn't leak like a sieve. But I don't think it's the filters, I suspect there is something else going on with the water quality.
I'm not sure how deep our well is (this is a rental).
Thanks for any insight you may have before we call a plumber and/or well professional. We'll also call the landowner in the morning to see if they are familiar with this issue.
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Author:
gizfix (ME)
We have a well that during the melt off or after a heavy rain gets a sulfurous smell to it. The water looks fine in a glass, but the toilets get a grayish film. Our well is true artisian, overflows constantly. When we get the smell in the water we either put three or four broken up chlorine pool tablets or half a gallon of bleach down the well. Just don't drink the water till you can't smell the chlorine or bleach. I am not a plumber, just a homeowner with same problem.
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Author:
hi (TX)
With the thaw you should check to ensure the well is sealed properly so that no ground water can infiltrate along side the casing
[www1.agric.gov.ab.ca]
Also you may want to see if the feedlot/dairy next door is infiltrating the ground water with cow do do.
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Author:
pdirt (WA)
Gizfix and hi...thank you both for your replies. Both your responses make sense and I will check them out. I'm not exactly sure where the well is but I will find out. We do look out upon some pasture with about 100 head of cattle on it. Our house is about 200 feet higher in elevation than the cows but I do not yet know the depth of the well. I think once I speak with the owner of the house, he'll have some idea of what has happened.
UPDATE: Fortunately the landowner was in town and he came to take a look at it. He said this has happened once before and it is from run-off from the dirt road (road is above the well) that accesses our property and others. It seems a gopher had dug a hole next to the well and snow melt from and near the road had found its way into this hole. We're draining the well and will have our water tested since there is also pasture above this road with a cow and a few horses.
Now the smells and tastes make more sense. It does taste slightly like diesel and cow pasture. It also smells like smoke...we and several other homes nearby heat primarily with wood.
Thank goodness we still have an undersink carbon filter setup...I will set that up again so we can have drinkable water again.
Edited 1 times.
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Author:
pdirt (WA)
2nd Update:
We dug up the well and pulled the large cement cover off and had a well pump guy come look at it. Somehow a LOT of ground water had gotten into the well area and washed out a lot of dirt. There is supposed to be solid ground 4 feet down into the well area (sorry I don't know all the correct tech terms for wells) but rather the solid ground was nearly 10 feet down. It was a mess, lots of dried foamy mud, so this had happened seemingly a while ago. Not sure why just now the taste/contamination happened. Not sure if I mentioned before that the water tested positive for coliform bacteria (but not fecal or e. coli).
Water is coming out very clear now but as of yet we have not been able to treat the well with chlorine bleach as it will require the special tools of the pump guy to do so. Not what I thought it would be...I thought we could just pull a cap off and pour bleach down the well. We've on order a water filter that will filter out 99% of bacteria and cysts so we don't have to wonder if whether or not our water is suddenly unfit to drink.
What a learning experience...my first time living in a place with a well. When we finally buy or build a home, having a good well will certainly be a major factor for us. Hire a well or pump company prior to purchase to inspect the system!
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