Hot water smell

I noticed the other day when we were running the hot shower to steam up the bathroom for our son who has a cold, there was an odor (musty/moldy). I thought that it may have been the diaper bin that's in the bathroom, but it happened again last night (we had taken the diaper bin out). So I went around to all the faucets in the house and turned on the hot water and the same smell. Only smell it when the hot water is in use.

What could this be? It's not an egg/sulfur smell that I've seen others talk about.

What is the temperature of your hot water set at?

SewerRatz said:

What is the temperature of your hot water set at?

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The tank doesn't have numbers on the knob. It's set about 1/4 of the way.

foxhome01 said:

The tank doesn't have numbers on the knob. It's set about 1/4 of the way.

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Easy way to check the temp is to get a meat thermometer put it in a glass and run the hot water into the glass. If it is below 120 degrees you will need to turn it up. To low of a temperature is a breeding ground for things in the tank.

You need 140*f to kill the things that breed in water heaters. It only takes about 30-60 minutes at that temp but all the water has to get to 140.