birchlake
Member
Great forum you guys have going here. First time post; been lurking a while.
I have just finished construction of a new house in MN. It has a deep (305 foot; yikes that one hurt the pocketbook!!) well. Water tested at 14 grains of hardness and no iron. Excellent water. The well itself was shock treated twice with chlorine before connecting to the house as the first time it failed for coliform, which I understand is not all that unusual for a 305 foot well. Passed all testing after second shock treatment by the well drilling company. All brand new plumbing including a WaterSoft softener, Marathon water heater.
I'm having an issue with the smell of the water that is coming through the water softener. It has a sulfurish smell. The smell is not overly strong and I wouldn't characterize it as the common "rotten egg" smell that is often described. It is just something that I'd like to eliminate if I can. There is not a taste issue, just the smell.
Important point of distinction here. I have a hard water drinking tap in my kitchen that NEVER has this smell. Ever. This smell is only present at the taps that are run through the water softener. So logically, I think it most likely has to do with the softener. But I know things are sometimes not what they appear to be.
I consulted my water softener owners manual and it recommended that after installation of the softener, approximately an ounce of household chlorine bleach should introduced into the brine well of the softener, followed by an immediate regeneration. So I tried that and after the regeneration was complete, there was no smell! Problem solved I thought. Not so fast. The smell has come back, and it didn't take long.
My plumber still thinks that the smell could be related to the water itself, but if this is truly a water issue, why would I never have this smell at the hard water drinking tap in the kitchen? I've filled pitchers with softened tap water, sealed them and let them sit for extended periods of time, but no smell either.
As I have just moved in and it is not a functional issue, we haven't really dug into this yet, other than my initial chlorination of the softener. Any ideas on what might be the culprit; ie; ways to isolate and resolve?
Would a stronger (2nd) chlorination treatment of the softener be recommended? Or is that chlorine hard on the resin tank? Filtration ideas?
I know how to build a house, but am kind of lost when it comes to the science of water.
Thanks much..........!!
I have just finished construction of a new house in MN. It has a deep (305 foot; yikes that one hurt the pocketbook!!) well. Water tested at 14 grains of hardness and no iron. Excellent water. The well itself was shock treated twice with chlorine before connecting to the house as the first time it failed for coliform, which I understand is not all that unusual for a 305 foot well. Passed all testing after second shock treatment by the well drilling company. All brand new plumbing including a WaterSoft softener, Marathon water heater.
I'm having an issue with the smell of the water that is coming through the water softener. It has a sulfurish smell. The smell is not overly strong and I wouldn't characterize it as the common "rotten egg" smell that is often described. It is just something that I'd like to eliminate if I can. There is not a taste issue, just the smell.
Important point of distinction here. I have a hard water drinking tap in my kitchen that NEVER has this smell. Ever. This smell is only present at the taps that are run through the water softener. So logically, I think it most likely has to do with the softener. But I know things are sometimes not what they appear to be.
I consulted my water softener owners manual and it recommended that after installation of the softener, approximately an ounce of household chlorine bleach should introduced into the brine well of the softener, followed by an immediate regeneration. So I tried that and after the regeneration was complete, there was no smell! Problem solved I thought. Not so fast. The smell has come back, and it didn't take long.
My plumber still thinks that the smell could be related to the water itself, but if this is truly a water issue, why would I never have this smell at the hard water drinking tap in the kitchen? I've filled pitchers with softened tap water, sealed them and let them sit for extended periods of time, but no smell either.
As I have just moved in and it is not a functional issue, we haven't really dug into this yet, other than my initial chlorination of the softener. Any ideas on what might be the culprit; ie; ways to isolate and resolve?
Would a stronger (2nd) chlorination treatment of the softener be recommended? Or is that chlorine hard on the resin tank? Filtration ideas?
I know how to build a house, but am kind of lost when it comes to the science of water.
Thanks much..........!!
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