Getting rid of rotten egg smell in water lines

[mdfas]

Hi,

I am/was about to buy a used 2006 256HW rockwood pop up camper. It has been taken care of, but a few things we tried didn't work as expected.

We tried running the water through the sink and there was a horrible rotten egg/sulphur smell. Is this from stagnant water? How would you get rid of this and how would I prevent it from happening in the future.

I wanted to make sure I didn't have to replace the plumbing after buying it.

Matt

[TURBS]

Matt,
I had them same issue several years ago.
To get rid of it flush system with bleach/water ratio.
Make sure u flush hw heater as well.
Then to keep the sulfer smell away drain hw tank after each use and let air dry.

This is normally from well water and will go away and is not harmful in any way.

Read this.

http://www.ehow.com/how_7771_clean-rvs-water.html

After doing this I've yet to have the smell return in years.

Turbs

[RodeoGeorge]

That smell can come normally come from two things. The anode rod in the hot water heater, and an algae that can take hold anywhere in the water supply system.

To determine if it is only in the hot water system, you can try pulling water through the cold water lines (supplying it through the external city water connection) and see if the odor goes away. If it does, then it is localized to the hot water lines and water heater.

If the water system has been dormant for any length of time, it would be advised to "purify" the entire system. This is what I do to treat those conditions, or to purify my water system after an extended period of non-use.

1. Drain the fresh water tank.

2. Pour a cup of household bleach into the tank, and then fill it to capacity.

3. Take a 50' water supply hose, and pour a cup of household bleach into the hose.

4. Connect the hose to the RV and the water supply hose bib.

5. Open the HOT water faucet that is as far away from the hot water heater as possible.

6. Turn on the water supply, and wait until you can smell the bleach at the open faucet. Then close that faucet.

7. Turn on the other HOT water faucets in turn, and wait for the bleach smell at each faucet.

8. Now turn off the city water supply. Turn on the water pump, and repeat pulling COLD water through each of the faucets until you have the bleach odor. Sometimes this is difficult, since you've had the bleach odor from the HOT water.

9. After you've pulled the solution through all the lines, let the system sit for about 8 hours.

10. Drain the system, and fresh water tank. Refill the tank, and repeat the process until the bleach smell dissipates.

11. Be prepared for the wife to complain about what the chlorine is doing to her complexion and hair. LOL

In Yuma, AZ I did encounter contamination in the city water supply one fall when we returned there after their lines had been dormant through the hot summer. Far West Water Company came out and basically did the same thing to their water lines in our RV Subdivision.

Hope this helps.

RodeoGeorge

[rattleNsmoke]

Mix a bleach solution (1/4 cup for each 15 gals.)with water and let it stand in the fresh water tank for a day or two then flush well. Repeat if needed. Continue to flush until water is clear and no odor evident. Add a baking soda\water mix to your fresh water tank and let that sit overnight. That should nuetralize all odors.

[jriddering]

How to Clean Your RV's Water System | eHow.com

After doing this I've yet to have the smell return in years.

Turbs[/QUOTE]

I don't think I will ever put in soap in my water lines like the ehow.com article suggested. Chlorine is a must. Soap, ????