The rotten egg smell comes from hydrogen sulphide (H₂S), a gas dissolved in the water. You can smell it from 0.05 mg/L, and at these levels Health Canada treats it as an odour and taste problem, not a health problem.
To find the right solution, one question matters more than any other: do you smell it in the hot water only, or in the cold water too?
Where does the sulphur smell come from? The two-tap test
Run the cold water at a tap and smell it. Do the same with the hot water.
- Hot water only: the problem almost always comes from the water heater.
- Cold and hot water: the sulphide is in the well water.
If the smell is only in the hot water
In most cases, it is the water heater’s anode, the metal rod that protects the tank from corrosion, that reacts with your water and creates the smell.
Our solution: upgrade the anode. We replace the original anode with an improved anode, made in Quebec, that we keep in stock. It keeps protecting your water heater and stops the smell at the source.
Call us before you buy a part online: we will tell you in a few minutes whether it fits your water heater.
If the smell is in the cold water too
The sulphide is in the groundwater. It comes from decaying organic matter and from bacteria that live where there is no oxygen.
Sulphur rarely comes alone. The iron, manganese, pH and hardness of your water completely change the system you need. That is why two tests come first: a complete physico-chemical analysis and a sulphide test. They let us install the right system the first time.
Our physico-chemical test kit measures iron, manganese, hardness, pH and more, with a laboratory certificate. Its cost is credited 100% when you buy a complete system. Sulphur is not included: the sulphide test kit is ordered separately. To check for bacteria as well, the duo kit combines the physico-chemical analysis and the potability test.
Possible solutions
| Solution | For which water | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Catalytic activated carbon filter | Low sulphur | Simple to install and maintain, and effective. |
| Oxidizing media | Moderate sulphur, iron, manganese | Simple to install and maintain, and effective. It handles more sulphur than carbon, and it can also treat iron and manganese. |
| Complete peroxide injection system | High sulphur | The setup we recommend for heavily loaded water. It works very well at high pH. |
| Continuous chlorination | Sulphur, iron and bacteria | A single system can deal with sulphur, iron and bacteria at the same time. Ask us whether your water is suited to it. |
When sulphur comes with iron or manganese, the order of the equipment matters as much as the equipment itself. A system chosen without a water test, or installed in the wrong order, can let the smell come back.
What not to do
- Boiling the water: it does not remove sulphide, and the smell can even get worse.
- Counting on a water softener: it removes hardness, not sulphide.
- Buying a system before testing: equipment chosen blindly, online or in a store, wears out quickly or only solves part of the problem.
Is it dangerous?
At the concentrations found in well water, no. According to Health Canada, the smell becomes unbearable long before there is a health risk.
However, water that smells of sulphur can also contain bacteria. A potability test will tell you.
Next step
Tell us whether the smell is in the hot water, the cold water or both. Then:
- Do you have a recent water test? Send it to us: we will tell you which system suits your water.
- No recent test? Contact us to order both tests, or order the physico-chemical kit and the sulphide kit online.
- Would you rather we take care of it? Book an appointment: we prepare your quote and do the installation.
Phone: 1-888-840-0558 · Email: info@ecopureh2o.com · Contact us
Sources: Health Canada, Sulphide in drinking water (in French) · Health Canada, Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality: Sulphide (as H2S)
