bad water

[capedcrusader]

Hello All
I was wondering about the momentary bad smell that accompanies the cold water supply to my kitchen that has occurred since ive owned the house. Ive read that blanked lines would probably produce trapped air/stagnating water but there are none between the water main and the kitchen tap. The supply from the main goes to the back of the house were it splits into 2 branches:one directly to the kitchen and then on to the water heater - the second branch going to the bathroom etc. There is a closed off tap line branching off of the heater outlet however - could this be the cause maybe??? Either that or something has died in the main outside my place. I dont see how water could be drawn back through that branch though. It seems to be getting worse of late. The smell appears after having run the tap for a couple of seconds and lasts only for a few seconds then clears away. Ive not noticed the smell from the bathroom hot water tap however.
Thanks in advance.

[Zed]

some old houses have galvanised steel pipes that do rust eventually. in my mums case the pipes from the meter to the entrance of the house were gal pipes and had rusted out. most internal piping is copper however. check your pipes under your meter on the "customer side" some shoddy contractor may have wanted to save a few bob - if they are gal rip em out. that should fix the stink. otherwise ypu may want to blow air into every pipe and clean em out with a good flush.

im not sure of the flushing agent but the mechanics are quite easy assuming you have a pump that fits and you can bypass (and seperately clean) the hot water heater) heres how : disconnect the meter on the customer side, pump the flushant through the pipe towards the house opening each tap in turn from nearest to furthest (ALL OF 'EM) - hot and cold (bypass your hot water system first) when the flushant has come through a while move the the next tap, after you've done each individually do them all at once until you see a steady stream of flushant come though each tap at once. this should clear any residue stink. After you recomplete your cct give the pipes another flush in the same manner with clean water. when they did mums they used a knock up system and a 44 gal drum - worked a treat along with replacing the gal pipe.

might be best to leave it to a GOOD plumber if you know one.

if you've been living with this since you owned the joint you may be immune to gardia and any number of septic 'orribles by now - clean it up mate - water is precious.

cheers

[Zed]

one more thing clean out the hot water system too.

[hexbaz]

If I were you, I would get the water analysed. If there is a smell, there is definitely a chemical of some sort present. That the smell 'clears away' does not necessarily mean that the chemical has not.

[capedcrusader]

Hello Zed
The water supply is all copper but the meter is buried in the street so there might be some galv pipe there.
CC

[bitingmidge]

Just another maybe...

A common cause of pong in bathrooms and kitchens that haven't been used in a while is sewer odour coming through traps that have been allowed to dry out.

For the benefit of those that are not aware, the "s" bend under your sink and elsewhere is designed to hold water at a level above the top of the pipe in the "S", so that it effectively seals the sewer line, if it dries below that line, it won't work!

Now if your line is unvented, or not properly vented, you may just have a situation where the odouriferous (new word) gases are backing up behind the trap. When you turn on the tap for the first time, the water movement is just enough to open an air passage just enough to let the pong through.

Wild though this may sound.....do you ever get the smell when there is a plug in the sink?

Cheers,

P
(I know heaps about plumbing 'cos all I do night and day is cut PVC pipe into pieces for my DC.) :D :D :D

[Theva]

BM may be correct.

If it is contaminated water from mains then you should get the smell from all tap outlets.

Probably too much junk in the S or P bend / trap under kitchen sink.

You may try treating the sink drain with Draino or caustic soda (if you have not done it already); if that is the problem then it will go away. If symptom persists, consult a plumber.

Regards,

Theva

[Taffy]

Don,t know if this relevant, SWMBO has just informed me that she has read that if you have an irrigation running off you supply without a non-return valve, when you draw water it drags the unused stale water from the pipes back into your house supply and it smells.
if this does not apply then first I would check the the S/P trap, I would also boil all drinking water until I knew what was causing it.
Well thats my bit.

[Twodogs]

I note that the pong is only in thr kitchen sink.
Do you happen to have a dishwasher connected to the "S" trap??
If so there is a good chance this is the problem as the connection is above the
water trap in the "s"bend.
If the dishwasher hose is straight it allows all the pongs from the washer to
breath through the plug hole.
It sometimes helps to form the hose into into a "S" trap shape under the sink so
stops air from the dishwasher escaping.
Good Luck

[Ivan in Oz]

You say a smell.
What type?
Sulphur.........Rotten Egg Gas
Ammonia..........Um?? Ammonia
Faeces....Feaces......5h1t smell.
Chlorine....... Bleech

Sulphur and Chlorine smells 'can' come from the water
Sulphur from some reactions in the Pipework
Chlorine from the Water Treatment

Count