LESLIE: Perry in Florida has some stinky, cold water. Tell us what’s going on with it.
PERRY: I’ve got a house that’s less than a year old. Every time I turn on my cold water it just – I get a terrible odor that’s coming out of the sink for about five seconds and it seems to go away. It’s like a sulfury, just …
TOM: Like a rotten egg smell?
PERRY: Correct.
TOM: Yeah. Are you on well water or city water?
PERRY: City water.
TOM: And does it happen only sort of like when the water’s been sitting overnight or pretty much any time?
PERRY: It’s pretty much all the time.
TOM: Because I think that that would tend to happen when the water is sitting in the pipes for a while and that if you’re using it day to day – you know, you’re washing dishes and you turn the water off, you turn it back on again, it’s not likely to continue. The solution in both cases though is to put in a charcoal filtration system.
Now, you can put this either at the main water valve or you could put it at the tap and I’m not talking about the little tiny ones that sort of screw to the end of the tap; it’s a bigger system that fits sort of under the sink cabinet and holds about a gallon of charcoal and does a good job of cleaning all the water. The thing is, though, you have to remember to change the charcoal when the manufacturer recommends you do that; otherwise, it can become unsafe.
PERRY: OK. Would there be any reason why it wouldn’t do it with the hot water? Is it because it’s going through the hot water heater it’s not causing the smell?
TOM: Correct. Correct.
PERRY: OK.
TOM: Yep. When you’re heating it, it’s changing the dynamic of the water.
LESLIE: You are tuned to The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show. Fall is upon us and we can help you get ready to save energy dollars and tackle all of those autumnly maintenance projects around your house. So give us a call and ask us your question 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 1-888-MONEY-PIT.
