Water is one of the necessities that every household should have a constant supply of. However, having a supply of water is not enough, rather, you need to ensure that you have safe and clean water. You will tend to question the quality of your water when the supply coming from your tap has a foul odour. This article lists down some of the reasons possible causing your water to smell bad.
Sewage Smell
There are several factors that may be causing your tap water to smell like sewage. One of these factors can be the bacteria that are left by food, or the soap scum, in your drain and pipes. Another reason can be a low temperature coming from your water heater. This usually happens when you leave your home for a long time, shutting off your water heater while you are away. The smell can still be from the bacteria that accumulated because of the low temperature in your water heater while it was powered off. Fortunately, a licensed 24 hour plumber will always be available to help you get to the root cause of your problem, even if it constitutes an emergency.
Musty Odour
Your water supply should be odourless and it should not be smelly, damped, aged, or musty. However, when you do smell this foul odour, then this is an indication that your water pipes may be eroding. If you have metal pipes, the decay of the metals may be contributing to the smell. If the smell of the water lingers and eventually becomes even stronger, then you may be dealing with a bigger problem that needs to be addressed immediately.
Smells Like Rotten Eggs
There can be nothing more annoying than the smell of rotten eggs, and this can even be more stressful if your water source smells like it. In this case, make sure that you don’t drink the water coming from your tap because there is a great chance that sulphur bacteria or hydrogen sulphide is present in your water supply. While this alone is not a threat to your overall health, it fosters the growth of other harmful materials that can contaminate your water supply.
Metal Smell
If your home is built with metal pipes, then the metal smell of your water can be coming from the deterioration of the metal piping that is slowly being incorporated into your water supply. The rust of your metal pipes can be due to the number of years that your plumbing system has been in use. In this case, what you can do is to have your water tested for you to know whether there is a presence of lead.
Final Word
The reasons listed above are only some of the reasons why the water coming out of your tap smells bad. Regardless of whether the water smells like sewage or musty, you need to have your plumbing system checked immediately. If you do, you will be able to get to the root cause of the problem and ensure that your water supply is safe and not contaminated.