Sulphur smell in well water

Head hung low...Last spring I set my back field on fire with my bee smoker. We hadn't had rain in over a month and the field was dry as a bone, a spark flew and engulfed the field in minutes. The fire department said they were chasing fires like mine all over the county, and it was terrifying. I've never been so scared. They were amazing and I have new appreciation for what they do and how they calmed me down. I dragged the hives out of the fire in some adrenaline-fueled frenzy. They weighed about 75#'s at that point and I'm about 135lbs, so that's the only way to explain it. A thousand bees hovered over the spot where their hives were, in the smoke, disoriented and frantic. The ones still in the hives never stung me. They stayed inside the whole time.
It's an experience I'll never forget.
What also burned was the well pump, pressure tank and aerator tank. The water smells like sulphur now, and after $3800 for a new motor and tank I can't afford to buy any expensive equipment to deal with it. I've done alot of searches but the solutions are either advertisements or too complicated for me. Does anyone have any experience with this? I sure could use some ideas here.
Thanks for listening. It's been a tough year.

Sulphur is a bit like chlorine , it's essential for life and also if you pardon the technical language potentially fucking dangerous . You say you can smell sulphur , if in like sulphur dioxide this makes the water very acid possibly contaminated with metals , if it smells of hydrogen sulphide that's like rotten eggs it's likely to be poisonous . Please don't drink this water get it tested now . I don't mean to panic you but this is a potentially dangerous situation for you . Bottled water now is better than hospital food later :-)
I hope I am wrong.

David

Leslie Russell wrote: The water smells like sulphur now, and after $3800 for a new motor and tank I can't afford to buy any expensive equipment to deal with it.

It may just be iron-sulfur bacteria build-up from lack of use.  See  https://idahowatersolutions.com/water-problems-solutions/how-to-remove-iron-sulfur-from-your-well-water/      for a description.  You may be able to use bleach as a first cheap-approach solution, but may have to get more drastic if not cleared up.  Good luck!

+1 on the iron sulfide bacteria!
Especially if you put a used hot water heater in.
Have the water tested, but you might find a short term answer by pumping the system (well) dry and the seeing the results after it refills, most well casings are black iron and provide plenty of materiel for bacteria to feed, a cessation of use, would give them time to multiply, and gain more than their usual level of input.

Does it only smell when its hot? Like when you are showering or bathing?

I have to ask, how did you start the fire with a smoker?
Why didn't you have an extinguisher near you?
These are standard steps here in Australia.
October to April is potential bushfire season and we all know, some do forget, to be aware.

We actually have total fire ban days when no naked flame or anything that can cause a spark can be used.
Angle grinder, tractor with our spark arrestors, steam trains, chainsaw etc.

Anybody that starts a fire is hang up by their thumbs in the nearest town.

Its pretty serious stuff here.
the cops even have an idea of who the pyromaniacs,[  people who deliberately start fires ] and they not only warn them they are watching but
have amazing success at catching those that do.

wayne fajkus wrote:Does it only smell when its hot? Like when you are showering or bathing?

It's both hot and cold. The hot water heater is relatively new, and there was an aeration tank next to the well so the previous owner must've known about the smelly water and had it installed. The water was pumped into it and whooshed around before it was drawn to the house. I've not had smelly water before, so it was doing it's job. Several people, including my friend the water quality guy for Tampa bay water treatment facility said it just needs to be aerated, that's all. I'd been drinking it for 2 years before melting the aeration tank so I guess I'll live. I'm sure I would've keeled over by now. So assuming the hwh is fine, and the trouble is indeed that it needs aeration, any easy/simple ways to accomplish that?
Other than sticking a straw in the well and blowing bubbles.

try adding a solar powered fish tank aerator, it may help

As John Weiland said it could be bacterial. We tore our house down to the foundation and were out of it maybe two years. When we rebuilt and got back in and turned back on the water, from a well, we got the sulphur/rotten egg smell. I had already poured clorox down the well and we discussed it with a water testing agency. When she said it could be bacterial I focused more attention on using chlorine at the well. It wound up we had to replace the hot water heater which wasn't that old. I guess we couldn't get enough chlorine into the tank or there was a void.

Is it possible that the water changed at the source? I doubt it. I think the problem's in your household water system. What else could be wrong with your system, other than bacterial problems? Another question: would the aerator decrease a prior existing bacterial problem? My guess is oxygen would have exacerbated it.

I googled "sulphur water aeration" and the aeration seems to be an accepted resolution. I guess I'd go with both fixes and not worry about which one fixed it. We used to call that the shotgun solution back in the day when we actually fixed computers.

Thank you, Johns. You're both really helpful! I'm waiting for a reply from an Amazon vendor about how many feet down their pump will aerate. What a great idea! I never would've thought of the solar powered pump - I didn't even know there was such a thing.
I've been in the house this whole time, using a filter pitcher that reduces the Sulphur smell and washing etc with stinky water. I've gotten used to it but it's time i fix it. So not lack of use, and surely I would show signs of some illness by now.

What came first, the hen or the egg? Here goes:

When my well guys were here putting in the new well pump and pressure tank, they had to come back the next day because the new motor failed. They were embarrassed and not happy. They replaced it, but when it ran there was something wrong with the well itself (?). Day 3 they came back with a truck that had a boom and a cable and ran that down into the well. After that was when I got the sulphur smell in the house. I called them about it and they said it was either there all along and the aeration tank (that burned up) dealt with it (which is why it must've been there) or now that the well was disturbed it brought up the suphur. I'm really not using correct well-terminology so I hope you can interpret what I'm trying to say.
I was standing out there when they disconnected the aeration talk and all this slimey pink goo came oozing out of one of the holes. So gross! The man said "that was where your house water was coming from". When I think about it, that's a big tank, holding water until I needed it. Now, I live alone so I'm not using a huge tankfull of water but what, maybe once a week? It's sitting in there, getting whirled around or whatever, how could it be anything but a bacterial nightmare?
Those aeration tanks are a few grand and I can't afford to replace it. But even if I could, would I want to, after seeing that?
I'm out in the boonies and this land hasn't been farmed in decades. It's all gone back to natural wild Florida, woods and such. I've never been sick, either. Do those details mean anything?
So after that long-winded "but wait, there's more" explanation, I will take a look at the hot water heater tomorrow. It's outside in a shed, the way we do in central Florida.  My laundry room is outside too 😆
Further down the rabbit hole...

Aeration is an adequate answer usually. A small tank (100 gallons or so) the problem is it disrupts the pressurizing scheme with a single pump.
 At my house we use a open pitcher in the fridge to dissipate the sulpher (and minimize people sending gallons down the drain trying to get the water cold....).
A tank with a float to control the well pump and a shallow well pump to pressurize the pressure tank, a screened mini fan to ensure an air exchange across the top of the surface or a mini fountain in the aeration tank to eliminate stratification, will off gas chlorine, sulpher, hydrogen etc.
A broad flat tank is better than a tall slender one.
A large storage tank (2000 gallons) will dissipate gasses and take the frequent stop/start cycle off the pump increasing its life. The pink goo, is (probably) sand/mud rust that falls out of suspension in a holding tank.
FWIW look up a homemade sand filter, it will aerate and purify water down to a remarkably fine level.... Microbe free is not necessarily a desired goal. and chlorine kills a vast quantity of usefull organisms.

I had a whole house filter in my system. One of those small ones that has a filter maybe 8 to 10" tall and a tube in the middle of the filter.

I would drop a 1" pool chlorine tablet into the tube of the filter and it would resolve the problem for a week.

I grew up in central Florida and when I was young there were a few artesian (sp?) wells around on highway right of ways that poured forth sulfer water and would have people lined up with jugs to get their sulfer water.... Old timers claimed it'd cure what ailed ya... But if you were unfortunate enough to have to live with it in your house... The kids at school would tease ya for smelling of rotten eggs....

Thanks, Annie - that's too funny. To think I've gone out of my way in years past to visit Sulphur springs...hey! Don't we have a Sulphur Springs somewhere around here? LOL
I get revved up about attacking the problem, then get intimidated, and quit. The leads I've gotten here have led me on interesting research and some of the equipment is too expensive for me. I can't for the life of me figure out how to set up an aeration tank which is what I really think is the best option. I have a friend in the "water business" who said he'll take a look. He works at Tampa water facility somethingorother...I have hope. My Mom's silverplate is black. Everything with any silver at all is black. And then, there's that smell. I don't *think* I smell. No one's mentioned it.

I hear ya!! Hope your friend can shed some light on a relatively inexpensive solution... I have similar problem as there's so much iron in my well water everything that I use it for is rust colored... I fill jugs elsewhere for drinking water an just deal with it as Im not keen on a water softener and not real educated on filters... Nor do I have assets to fund such. I do have a couple simple filters on the line coming in the house and washing machine... But everything still turns orange. I try to buy clothes in the rust color spectrum!!!

Without the aerator, peroxide injector, reverse osmosis or other form of equipment to remove the sulfur smell you'll most likely have to live with it.  Few, if any whole house filters will remove it reliably, or for very long.  We have sulfur water here where we live.  Its not too bad, but don't like drinking it at all.  What we have done is buy a Berkey water filter with the black filter elements.  That water tastes better than any bottled water I've had. We use the Berkey water for all drinking type uses.  You can also try this trick.  Fill a pitcher with water out of the tap.  Leave it sit all night.  The sulfur should dissipate over night. You can also heat a pot of water up on the stove and the sulfur should dissipate.  Cant help much with the non drinking water short of getting another aerator etc for the whole system.   One other trick you can try, but I doubt it will work for long since the previous owner had installed the aerator, but you can "shock" the well with plain Clorox.  It basically involves figuring the total volume of water in the well, adding clorox to the well to bring the PPM of clorox up to about 200ppm and letting it sit overnight and then flushing it out of the lines.  I tried it here, and it worked for about 24 hours then the sulfur smell was back.  Just our water....  Google "chlorine shocking a well" for more info on it.  

Annie Lochte wrote:I hear ya!! Hope your friend can shed some light on a relatively inexpensive solution... I have similar problem as there's so much iron in my well water everything that I use it for is rust colored... I fill jugs elsewhere for drinking water an just deal with it as Im not keen on a water softener and not real educated on filters... Nor do I have assets to fund such. I do have a couple simple filters on the line coming in the house and washing machine... But everything still turns orange. I try to buy clothes in the rust color spectrum!!!

In my experience, a water softener system using the rust remover pellets is about the only way to come close to removing, or at least reducing the high iron in water.  We have the same trouble with clothes turning an orangie color over time.  Whites are about completely out of the question.  I wear white undershirts once or twice a week in the cooler seasons.  The only way I've found to keep them white is to add Lysol toilet bowl cleaner (the blue stuff, I think the active ingredient is phosphoric acid) to the washing machine water.  The Lysol will also help keep your porcelain toilet fixtures from getting too orange.

Walt Chase wrote:

Annie Lochte wrote:I hear ya!! Hope your friend can shed some light on a relatively inexpensive solution... I have similar problem as there's so much iron in my well water everything that I use it for is rust colored... I fill jugs elsewhere for drinking water an just deal with it as Im not keen on a water softener and not real educated on filters... Nor do I have assets to fund such. I do have a couple simple filters on the line coming in the house and washing machine... But everything still turns orange. I try to buy clothes in the rust color spectrum!!!

In my experience, a water softener system using the rust remover pellets is about the only way to come close to removing, or at least reducing the high iron in water.  We have the same trouble with clothes turning an orangie color over time.  Whites are about completely out of the question.  I wear white undershirts once or twice a week in the cooler seasons.  The only way I've found to keep them white is to add Lysol toilet bowl cleaner (the blue stuff, I think the active ingredient is phosphoric acid) to the washing machine water.  The Lysol will also help keep your porcelain toilet fixtures from getting too orange.

I found "the works" toilet bowl cleaner at the dollar tree. Gets the mineral deposits off the bowl and even the shower. Never thought to try it on my clothes 😀 but I just started diy laundry detergent. If i fall upon a good formula for getting out iron staining I'll put it up here.
Follow up on the friend's advice: The simplest effective inexpensive solution may be to open the existing aeration tank, install pvc with a row of holes drilled over the tank with the holes at the bottom. Pipe the water from the well through the pvc where the holes will allow the water some "free air" before falling into the tank below then to the house. Keep it covered from the elements and creatures, of course.
Sound possible? Before I do it?

You can do a simple test first to see if aeration removes the chemical odor/taste.  Just put some water in a bottle, shake it up, open the cap and vent it.  Do that 3 or 4 times.  If the odor/taste goes away , then it is likely hydrogen sulfide gas (H2S).  

A simple low cost aerator can be made with a length of pvc and a vibratory fish tank air pump.
Google "air lift pump"
For pennies a day it will lift and roll the water in a vessel round the clock.

Would love updates, and any other ideas for water sourcing for someone not really a permaculturist but faced with this problem...in coastal North Carolina, right near the sound.  I sent her this thread.  

Personally I would go for catching rain off the roof and holding that in a tower up high and then using that for showers and laundry, filtering some for drinking through a berkey...but that's gotta be less expensive than the competing solution, and she still wants the water heated.  Step by step.  Any thoughts? Thanks!

Joshua Myrvaagnes wrote:Would love updates, and any other ideas for water sourcing for someone not really a permaculturist but faced with this problem...in coastal North Carolina, right near the sound.  I sent her this thread.  

Personally I would go for catching rain off the roof and holding that in a tower up high and then using that for showers and laundry, filtering some for drinking through a berkey...but that's gotta be less expensive than the competing solution, and she still wants the water heated.  Step by step.  Any thoughts? Thanks!

For drinking water I'm leaving a few pitchers out and the sulfur smell dissipates. The water tastes fine and doesn't smell like rotten eggs. The aeration tank is still in the back by the well and other than some damage to the exterior looks to still be usable, although it would needed a serious cleaning. Not sure what that would involve yet and might not be possible. The relay on the side is burned and needs to be replaced. But I'm going to give it a better assessment before I do anything. On the off chance it's useable I can then try to implement some of the aeration suggestions above.
Seems to be aeration is the way to go if it's just the smell.

This is an interesting continuing topic.
In Australia we catch rain water and don't have the sediment or sulphur smell issues.
We don't have any issues as I have spoken about earlier.
As for the sediment in the aeration tank, I think you mentioned the whole system was new, that may explain all the sediment since I am sure once things are bedded down, excessive sediment may not appear again, or at least until you disturb the spearpoint in the well bottom.
Cleaning your tank may be as simple as fitting a separate valve at the bottom and draining it out, perhaps washing the last remnants out as well.
Keep me posted please.

haha, I have ALL of these problems!

I paid a stupid amount of money for a very fancy well water test, and my water's got all kinds of shit in it. But there are no heavy metals ,  and almost certainly  no  coliform  bacteria-- we can be reasonably sure  of this and the absence of E coli  because bacterial activity  leaves a signature in pH, and my water is almost dead on neutral. Dissolved solids, lots of iron and sulphur smell. It comes out like, what's that drink, yoohoo?

Smells like pure boiled eggs, leaves film on dishes, makes boiled eggs soup, boiled eggs dishes, boiled eggs laundry, boiled eggs washed cars--all kinds of fun.

I had only the pump and the big blue regulator thing. My mother happened to have a very fancy Rainsoft water softener that cost her $5,000 that she no longer needed. I was about to pay $600 to have it mounted and installed, and the Rainsoft installers heard my problem, that the water stinks of sulfur, and they said right off the bat that a water softener will do absolutely nothing for egg smell. They turned around and drove the other way.

I've heard a couple of different theories, with varying costs. Old-timer farmers that I know suggested that the smell comes from a certain bacteria that exists in an iron rich environment. They dump bleach down the well, and let it sit for a number of hours, then turn on all the taps in their house and flush it for a good long time, they swear this solves their problem.

The well driller said that a large tank with a spray arm inside was necessary to aerate enough water that you would not get the stinky smell in your lines. He recommended a minimum of 1500 gallon tank. (Naturally, he is just the guy to do it.)  adds the problem that once you pump into a secondary tank, you have to add another pump and another electrical hookup to get it from that tank into the house as before. This would cost me a minimum of $6,000 when it's all said and done.

My mother's neighbor who is also a farmer swore up and down that a UV light sanitizer installed in the line would fix all the problems. While it is almost certainly true that the UV light will kill bacteria, coliform or iron bacteria or whatever, I have my doubts about this adressing sulfur compounds already extant (the well stays untreated in this theory). But this was the solution with the least evidence.

The point is almost wholly academic for me, since I don't have a penny for any of that stuff. I am borrowing my neighbor's water. She has been very kind and understanding. I pay her $20 a month for this favor until I can figure out what to do. Now the goats, sheep, ducks, chickens, dogs, and plants all drink it every day.

Whenever you add gadgets and gizmos to any machine, you're NOT just throwing money at it one time--you are adding potential points of failure. If you have rock salt doing a job, then you have to be the rock salt's mother. Plastic pellets will also own you back, and will require deliming, replacement, Etc. An orifice or a spraying attachment, hoses that move, rubber rings, hinges, switches and springs and other doodads all break down with time, use, oxygen and sun. The less of this crap you can get away with, the better.

Anything you can talk gravity, sunlight or time into doing, by god...DO it.

But my water is, medically speaking, totally drinkable. You ain't gone die.

I think you are turning a simple problem into a bigger one.
I assume you have an electric well pump.
If your tank is located adjacent to that area, no extra electrical system is needed because you can use the power point at the well head.

By fitting an aerator to that tank and pumping air through it, perhaps in batches if your consumption is low, the water can then be transferred to you house.
If you have a gravity feed for you water supply, that gravity tank could also have aeration as well.

But I just don't know why none of you capture rain water, it is free of all the issues you speak of, does not get 'sick' with leaves dead animals or bird faeces if set up with big tanks and filters.

I am thinking seriously about the rainwater catchment, but that too has input costs. I live with a woman who absolutely doesn't give the slightest damn about sustainable anything--so the flushing toilets and full-fledged washing machine and "the grid" are FIRMLY here to stay.

That means the water requirements include the shower, washing machine, dishwasher, toilets and all the rest--drastically increasing the total water demands for the year. Permanently.

This in turn will require a larger catchment surface area, and far larger storage tanks than just drinking water called for--and I could not guarantee you that after this considerable investment in time and energy that my wife would deign to drink it. And, all of it has to be built and paid for by somebody. And if the family disapproves of this expenditure (in the light of costs of day care, diapers, and health insurance "which YOU don't pay for", you are driving a stake through the family to force your plan on through. Gain water, lose son.

You are completely right, rainwater is the perfect solution (so long as it keeps falling in South Texas). It baffles me why the whole world doesn't do this--didn't ALWAYS do this. Even if you had an artesian well right outside, it sure beats the hell out of going down the hill with a bucket.

But the reason we don't all leap out of bed and go change it is because we--a lot of us, I'll warrant--have external issues. People with children and spouses, mortgages, debts and flat tires live under the circumstances, graces and permissions of a few hundred people, whom it would be really hard and painful to do without.

Do what you can, where you are, with what you have.

Refuse to play by their rules and Daffy Duck pulls the trap door switch.

I get the picture Mike.
The tank size is a function of the amount of rainfall and the roof area of you buildings.
I have 18 inches of rain and a roof area of about 1760sq ft.
That supplies water for toilets, shower, washing machine, no dishwasher but limited garden.

I also have catchment from my sheds which give me a total storage of 300,00 Litres of water which by any standard is over the top as they say.

Some homes within the townships have a smaller tank on a stand, say 1-2000Litres which is plumbed through to the kitchen and used solely for cooking and drinking.

Maybe a combination may work for you for a start.
As for the home front issues, I feel for you.

I found it amusing recently when I helped through kick starter to publish a book on rainfall collection systems around the world. Australia was not even mentioned and yet it is the primary source of water in rural areas.


I think compared with drilling a well etc, rainfall collection comes up much better financially.
AND it does not have the issues I have been reading about.

Somehow, drilling wells has become the starting position.

I may start a separate topic on the matter.

Try this link; Benefits of rainwater collection

hello,  we live off borehole water about 20 years now ,house was on an existing system when we bought and fraught with problems from our first week in ,spent --wasted really --lots of time effort and some money on trying to get it sorted--had a few professional experts show up and had many more of the armchair variety as well , we had rusty brown water  trickling out the taps and because of its" brimstone smell "we told everyone it was being piped direct from hells pit. The high iron and manganese level caused bacterial  mats to grow inside the pipework and pressure tank plus all the holding tanks , advise was to rod the pipes with a narrow bore air line to pressure shock and oxygenate the blockages  away, then replace all taps ,tanks and bathroom /kitchen fittings--which all had red staining---pricey and no guarantee of it working . The most expensive advise was to get our local council to bring in a mains fed waterline to our front gate for a quote of 20000.00 pounds---yes 20 000.00, and it would be our further costs to plumb from gate to house, i declined all further "helpfull " advise and started my own quest to study up on the problem. First bore was too shallow at 90 feet down as the local bedrock was at about 110 feet --info supplied from govtment /council surveys and some water drilling companies---which meant all our water was being pooled above this and full of mineral leaching out and plus bacterial contamination from decades of farming , the reason mainly for such a shallow bore was the pump choise  , an above the ground suck and push type at its limits of working and prone to burning out. Replaced with a submersible stainless steel one , gave reliable high pressure and volume , the trickle of water was only slightly better for us though as the iron bacteria were clogging up all pipes, so i poured 3 gallons of chlorine down the bore ---dont use grocery store stuff its to weak or scented or thick and gloopy with lots of added salt--buy the stuff dairy farmers use to clean out with--- from co-op or farm store ---its about 4 times the strength and purer quality. Now you need to either go on holiday for a week or get in a week or 2 supply of drinking and washing water, as this high strength shock treatment must be left for about a week to kill off all nasties--bacteria only take a minute or so but the virus and worm types need a good long soak, the high strength bleach  eroded away the mats of growth in the pipes and restored water flow --lots of orange water for a few days--this also took some of the staining off the white fittings-- and about a week before the bleach smell faded to a mere wiff. This shock treatment should not be done repeatedly as its a septic tank killer unless you divert all flow to just outside garden taps until water flows clear--but then you wont get the other taps to clear for a lot longer-- once done the process can be scaled down to a half or quarter gallon only when the sulfar smell returns and run the water till it doesnt smell of bleach

That's awesome advice that I will take, thank you!

i will have to add that this might not be a perfect solution or a fix to the water problems, water trapped above bedrock will always have higher contamination---a new bore will get  past this and should extend down past possible other layers of sand shale and clay before the actual bedrock --good well drillers would know this---then the bore is sealed down past the bedrock level with a length or two of steel casing pipe about 8 inches diameter and all the way  back up to above ground level --about 3 or 4  feet . This provides a physical above ground barrier and  contamination protection from ground water /dirt and animals going down the bore and a center anchor point for a concrete pad to be poured around it , then build  a block house with roof to shelter and house the electrics and pressure tank and any filters you may wish to add on , the bore is drilled way down into bedrock until a good supply volume of water is reached , this depends on the rock being shales , sandstone or bassalts ect, too shallow and you risk pumping it dry. Then the bore should be lined from the very bottom all the way back up to surface --plus extra 3 or 4 feet --with a high grade plastic pipe about 5 or 6 inch diameter---ours are a blue colour---the very bottom length will have several holes drilled into it for the recovery rate of water into the bore. The only pump to use is a  submersible stainless steel one , this should be hung down the bore about one pipe length above the very bottom to prevent the built up sediments being stirred up every time the pump switches on , this pump is wired to the top board by an unbroken --no joints or splices --length of cable , the water line is black polypipe inch and 1/4  and the whole lot is hung down the bore on a length of blue poly rope secured to the pump body.So any thing goes wrong or needs looking at ---it can all be pulled up out the bore  . All bore water will have high mineral content and maybe high in iron so the water smell could still be a returning problem--this happens because when drilling a bore they introduce bacterial contamination from the top layers of ground , so the whole bore and recovery water area has to be shock chlorinated before put into use-- then  topside fit a sealing off cap plug to reduce this happening. If you do frequent very high level chlorine treatments be aware that this eats away at stainless steel --also dont use a steel pressure tank--bore water is corrosive and eats them at about one every 5 years where i live --till i switched to the fibreglass one. The iron and manganese in some bores wont kill you--they are in solution and could be filtered out mostly-- but expensive to achieve with cartridge type filters, or to lower levels a bit cheaper maybe depending on you own diy and tech levels  with a home made charcoal and sand filter set up, but this would mean using a water tower and plastic barrels placed above 36 feet in the air or ground elevation above the house.

left out this --the orange stain on all the white basins ,bath and loo --a better way than using  bleach or those abrasive thick white cleaning sauces and elbow grease --back to the farmstore or co-op and pick up some dairy pipeline and equipment descaler--they use it to remove milkstone build up--its high strength acid --usually citric or citric and a blend of --put on your marigolds and grab a sponge pour some acid on to and wipe the stains --they will fade away , the loo might need a bit of a more liberal soaking and be put a side --out of action over night, if you are worried about the high strength acid work with a bucket of bicarbonate and water next to you ---then this can be used to neutralise the loo when soaking is done,  another sidenote ---if you have an old surface mounted bore pump--and its still going --dont throw it out ----feed it from a large steelcage cube tank --the 1000 liter type and plumb a hose to it ---you now have your own fire pump or pressure /volume washer or garden spray irrigation pump

I'm going to throw this out here just in case it may be of use to others.

My home has a well, and my issues with rotten egg smell was only with the hot water.  When we first moved into the house, there was no rotten egg smell.  Now, listen.  
I knew the 50 gallon electric water heater was very old and had probably never had the sacrificial anode changed.  For those who do not know, the sacrificial anode is a rod of soft metal, often magnesium, or aluminum, or zinc, that corrodes away ever so slowly in an ionic exchange with the water so as not to allow the metal in the steel tank itself to rust away.  (Those if you with science degrees may wish to elaborate on this process more thoroughly.)  So being pretty handy with plumbing, I got one, and changed it out.  In the process, I discovered that the original was completely gone.  Disintegrated.  Kaput!
Now, here's where it gets interesting.  Within 24 hours, we began noticing a rotten egg smell coming from the hot water taps.  Somehow, the new anode was causing the smell!
I removed the new rod, and put the cap back in from the old rod.  I drained and refilled the tank an within 24 hours, the smell was gone.

I did some research and learned that a by-product of the corrosion of the anode promotes the growth of natural and harmless bacteria in the well water, and a by-product of the bacteria is the sulphur smell.  Yuck.

Believe it or not I was able to solve this by installing an electronic anode.  It uses just a tiny bit of electricity to protect the steel tank and offers nothing to promote the growth of bacteria.

I've had mine for 7 years now and my old water heater (which the serviceman said was shot and needed to be replaced) is still going strong and soon to be fed with my Rocket Mass Heater/Solar Thermal Water Pre-Heater Hybrid.

http://www.waterheaterrescue.com/OrderPages/Power-Anode-Rigid.html

This is where I ordered mine from.  No regrets whatsoever.

Hope this helps.

John C Daley wrote:

“But I just don't know why none of you capture rain water, it is free of all the issues you speak of, does not get 'sick' with leaves dead animals or bird faeces if set up with big tanks and filters.

”

Reason for me - sub-zero weather (Fahrenheit) at least 2 or 3 times every winter and a typical winter sees several days of power outage - sometimes over a week. Any tank not buried at least 3 feet down would have to be heated, and will turn to a solid lump of ice if the power is off for any length of time (and won’t thaw until spring).

I do have a plan for pumping well water to a big buried tank (e.g. 10k gallons, for the the well to keep topped off). I have 300’ elevation difference to play with.

Roof water is a bit tough to collect without gutters. Buildings here typically don’t have gutters as they get ripped off with the ice/snow sliding off the roof - and under no circumstances will I encourage weight to accumulate on a roof in snow season.

I have thought about using oversized gutters and take them of and store them for 4 months each year.

Been there, dealt with sulphur water that even reeked when outside using the hose for watering. Hot water for a shower was literally nauseating, and filled the house with it's horrific odor.

I was told by countless people that it would cost thousands to deal with it, or to live with it and "enjoy" the health benefits, NOT.

I went and bought the two, simple "under counter" water filter by "RainFresh" (I think...) using the 'white' particle/sediment filter, and a second, black, carbon filter at the water intake for the entire house.  Problem solved!

Changed the filters every month or so; no more stink! Solved rust build up, in the shower, tub or toilet and likely saved the hot water tank as well (monthly flushing was still done, but sediment and corrosion (rusty water) disappeared.

Caveat, this was for two of us, not sure how it would work with a large household. Filter replacements cost about 50 bucks a year - paticle filter pretty much monthly, carbon every two to three months.

Hi Mary,

I am not sure if your location or the volume of the water tank. So, to make a general statement,  depending upon the variables, having the temperature drop below zero does not automatically mean a water tank that is frozen solid.  The biggest variables I can think of are the volume of water, temperature of the water before the outside temperature dropped, the exposure of the tank to the weather, the movement of the water in the tank, the length of time the weather is below freezing. I am sure there are other variables.  

A bucket of water left out over night in sub zero weather may freeze, but there still may be liquid in it. A bucket in my barn will freeze slower than a bucket outside.  I have wrapped tanks in insulation and plastic  to good effect.  

[quote=John F Dean]

Hi John

My comment was a specific answer to the comment of not knowing why we would use well water in preference to roof collected rainwater.

My answer to that musing is that 1) any tank that collected rainwater for use in the house would have 2 disadvantages - first, it would need to be enclosed/insulated or buried because we can get sub-zero weather here, and second guttering is impractical as it would get pulled off the roof as ice slides off the roof. I have looked into electrical heating wires designed to keep ice from accumulating on roofs, but that presumes the power remains on, and if the power is off, the network of wires tends to act to further hold the snow on the roof. A more practical solution turns out to be physically shovelling the snow and pushing it off the roof.

I don’t doubt that someone determined to use roof water could contrive to do so, but my solution to high iron water at the moment is bottled water to drink for us, well water for the cattle and balling the cattle with copper bollus capsules each year and lick tubs with copper included.

I could use guttering outside the winter season, but would need to put the guttering up in the spring and take it down going into winter.

https://baileylineroad.com/qa-sulphur-water-fix/sulphur-water-fix/

this seems ok

Just reread my previous post and should add the following:

Always have a well that is new, new to you, "changed", or sat dormant tested.

Our tiny village was located in historical coal mine territory; the sulfur supposedly was caused by the coal seams, so I was told. When the sprinkler was on you could CLEARLY smell the sulfur from 50+ feet away, it was strong!

Because it was a multi-household well there were very strict water quality requirements, and had mandatory, annual testing, by the government (who tried to shut it down claiming we needed a massive treatment plant as they tried to class it as a municipal water source), so I know the water was completely safe to drink. The issues were purely "cosmetic". As I am VERY scent sensitive, it literally made me nauseous, especially to shower with. BUT apparently loaded with all sorts of beneficial minerals!

The well I was drawing from (using the RainFresh" filters) was serving 11 households. Mine was the only one without horrible mineral build up on the porcelain and shower/bathtub, or without sulfur smell.