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Old 07-05-2018, 10:46 AM   #1
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Water smells like rotten eggs

The water coming out of my sink smells like rotten eggs. Any ideas why? I checked the water supply where I got the water and it smells fine. No other campers have the same problem. What's wrong and how do I fix it? Thanks.
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Old 07-05-2018, 10:52 AM   #2
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When is the last time you sanitized your water system?
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Old 07-05-2018, 10:58 AM   #3
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Welcome to the forum.

As a start...

Is the water from your fresh water tank or campground water?

How old is your (? trailer, motorhome?)... a new trailer or new to you?

Have you gotten water from more than source?

Do use use a carbon filter for your water?
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Old 07-05-2018, 11:02 AM   #4
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I just had the dealer do a de-winterizing about a month ago so I assume he cleaned it out. What would I use to sanitize it myself?
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Old 07-05-2018, 11:04 AM   #5
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The water is from my fresh water tank. My camper is 5 years old. The water was fine 2 weeks ago when I was out. I filled it from the campground fill station and I went back to test it, and it didn't smell.
I'm wondering if my hot water heater is corroded? Would that happen in only 5 years? How expensive would that be to replace? I think my tank is only 5 gallons.
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Old 07-05-2018, 11:07 AM   #6
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Here are the basics of sanitizing your system.

https://youtu.be/E0CsGjobAL0
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Old 07-05-2018, 11:33 AM   #7
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This probably doesn't have anything with what you are smelling but I always associate the "ROTTEN EGG SMELL" to battery fluids being boiled out usually from being over charged using 13.6VDC coming from the older converter/charger non smart mode units for long periods of time...

Might want to inspect your battery fluids just in case that might be the problem you are smelling...

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Old 07-05-2018, 11:41 AM   #8
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It would be easier and cheaper to drain and sanitize your water system than to replace the water heater.

Also buy a carbon water filter and use it every time you connect to campground water systems. It will help to remove tastes and odors before they get into your water system.

Hopefully those steps will address your rotten egg smell. Please let us know if it works for you.
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Old 07-05-2018, 12:38 PM   #9
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Thanks! I have not used a carbon filter. That's a great idea.
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Old 07-05-2018, 01:26 PM   #10
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Originally Posted by marstar7 View Post
Thanks! I have not used a carbon filter. That's a great idea.
You can find those that most any Walmart and it will come with a little flexible connection hose. They recommend changing the filters every 3 months but I usually run the season here in Michigan. They also sell two-pack refills when the time comes to change out the filter.

If you haven't read elsewhere on the forum, you'll find that many people will hook that filter to the end of their water line before it enters/connects to your camper. You will usually have a pressure regulator at the other end of the water line where it connects to your water supply. If your just filling the holding tank in your TT, there's obviously no need for the regulator but your filter would still connect at the end of your water line, whether it's the campground or yours before the water enters your holding tank.
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Old 07-05-2018, 01:38 PM   #11
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While this may not be your issue I have dealt with this before as many others have as well. Is the smell mostly or strongest with hot water? There are harmless microbes in the water and certain ones thrive in hot water. In low flow situations they can build up in the hot water tank. The smell is their decomposing mass. Wait long enough and the water will be black from the high concentration dead microbes. That's what happened where I work. The office has a large water heater but very little hot water use. After some investigation and finding out what the real issue was we hired a company who came in and shocked the water system with high concentrations of bleach/chlorine to kill all the little buggers (higher than just a sanitizing solution) then they flushed out the lines. They did this a couple times.
Since we didnt want it to happen again we also put in a bleach/chlorine injector (which is just a large tank that is fed a bleach water solution based on flow through a controller, essentially just chlorinating the water. Not that you would need to do that but sanitize with a very potent chlorine solution, flush the lines tanks etc several times paying special attention to the water heater as that is where they thrive the most and if it is the microbe issue that is where they are really coming from. We haven't had a problem since and it has been over ten years.
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Old 07-05-2018, 01:51 PM   #12
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Going out on a limb here.....same problem since I put an anode rod in my hot water heater, if I don't empty the hot water heater (6 gal) before securing the trailer for storage..........If I am not using the trailer for more than a week, I completely drain the hot water heater, if only for a a few days, or up to a week, I just turn off the heater and run all of the hot water out before dumping the gray water - run the water until it turns cold. On another forum, a member explained sulfur dioxide gas was created by a reaction in the tank with the sacrificial anode - hot water accelerated the process. Like I said, it fixed my "rotten egg" smell problem, since I knew it wasn't the incoming water source.
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Old 07-05-2018, 02:28 PM   #13
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Going out on a limb here.....same problem since I put an anode rod in my hot water heater, if I don't empty the hot water heater (6 gal) before securing the trailer for storage..........If I am not using the trailer for more than a week, I completely drain the hot water heater, if only for a a few days, or up to a week, I just turn off the heater and run all of the hot water out before dumping the gray water - run the water until it turns cold. On another forum, a member explained sulfur dioxide gas was created by a reaction in the tank with the sacrificial anode - hot water accelerated the process. Like I said, it fixed my "rotten egg" smell problem, since I knew it wasn't the incoming water source.
That makes sense. If you have ever had to drink (and smell) water from a well with a sulphur content you get the same great smell and taste. This can be a common occurrence in "oil or coal country"
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Old 07-05-2018, 08:12 PM   #14
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We had this exact problem. We had left water in the hot water tank, and parked a few weeks longer than we planned. Once we flushed the HWT, the smell went away. Concluded it was some combination of the water from a campground + heating/cooling/storing/re-heating. So now we always drain it when storing the trailer. jbrnigan's explanation makes sense.
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Old 07-06-2018, 05:41 AM   #15
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WELCOME TO JOF!!!

The members here are GREAT!!! There is a lot of GREAT information to be found here. I am sure that you will have information and pictures to share with us... so please do!!

Looks like the members have given you plenty to think about... good luck in getting rid of the odor.

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Old 07-06-2018, 05:59 AM   #16
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Here’s another discussion on the issue. It’s usually from sediment left at the bottom of the tank. Now at the beginning of the season I rinse the tank before installing the drain plug. When mine smelled it didn’t happen till the second trip of the season. This year I’m on my 5th trip already and I don’t drain the tank between trips.

https://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/f34/getting-rid-of-sulfur-smell-from-hot-water-tank-53770.html
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Old 07-06-2018, 07:25 AM   #17
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We had this exact problem. We had left water in the hot water tank, and parked a few weeks longer than we planned. Once we flushed the HWT, the smell went away. Concluded it was some combination of the water from a campground + heating/cooling/storing/re-heating. So now we always drain it when storing the trailer. jbrnigan's explanation makes sense.
This, same issue, left water in a bit longer than expected between trips, water had rotten egg smell, rinsed system several times with bleach and now drain water heater after every trip, no problems since.
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Old 07-06-2018, 10:34 AM   #18
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This is timely. Just funished a trip and each time someone showered, the back area where it's located and some of the living area(with AC on) would get a strong rotten egg smell. I hunted all over. Smelling the valves on the pipes, around the toilet, checked roof vents, checked to be sure roof fan wasn't reversed. Check anything I could think of. in May we did a trip and I didn't drain the hot water after. First time I'd not done it. My theory is the funky hot water heater was my issue. Needless to say I drained it this time.
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Old 07-06-2018, 12:32 PM   #19
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As others have said, and based on what you have said about not being connected to a smelly water source, you are experiencing a chemical reaction in your hot water heater that ends up causing the sulfur awful smelling water. Simply flush your water heater and water lines thoroughly. Your smelly problem will go away. You can resanitize your fresh water system if you think it is necessary. I’ve had this happen to me once. I flushed the fresh water system real well and the problem went away. Now, I always drain my fresh water, including hot water heater, when I’m not going to reuse my unit within a week from parking it at home. The problem never came back.
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