Water sustains all life on the planet. Without clean, freshwater, the planet and its inhabitants are doomed. Imagine the wonderful feeling you experience when you open the tap and fill a glass of crystal-clear and cold water. Now, imagine your surprise and disgust if you open your tap and smelly or yellow water comes out. You will immediately discard the water and worry whether it is safe to consume the water.

Based on where your home is located, smelly or discolored water can have an adverse effect on the quality of your well water. Smelly water will have a rotten egg smell while discolored water can be yellow or green. Thankfully, you do not have to worry too much as a professional and reputable well drilling company in Petaluma will know how to install the right kind of well water purification system to negate the odor or discoloration.

What Causes Water to Have an Unpleasant Odor?

If your well water has the smell of rotten eggs, you can put the blame on hydrogen sulfide. This chemical is produced as a byproduct by anaerobic microorganisms during digestion. These microorganisms thrive in the absence of oxygen and hence, are often found in the clay and mud in swamps, wells, and sewers.

It is prudent to remember that hydrogen sulfide is present in large quantities, it is poisonous, and can ignite very easily. You can rest easy knowing that such fires are rare in domestic environments. Nonetheless, hydrogen sulfide poses a problem in homes as it can cause pipes to corrode. Should this happen, you will have to contend with expensive pipe replacement across your home.

The good news is that hydrogen sulfide does not stay long in water if it is exposed to air. You can fill a glass of water and leave it standing for a few seconds. If the rotten egg smell disappears after about 10 to 15 seconds, you can be certain that hydrogen sulfide is the reason your well water is smelly and malodorous. Get a professional to test the water, and if you get the report stating that hydrogen sulfide is causing the odor, the professional will suggest different ways to alleviate the odor from your well water. One of the many options could be well pump replacement in Petaluma that comes with technology to alleviate odors from well water at the time of it being pumped.

How to Remove Odor from Your Well Water?

First, open the hot and cold water in your home to check whether smelly water is coming out of both the taps or just when the hot water is running. In case, the odor is coming from the water only when the hot water is running, it is due to the water heater. The odor is not due to anaerobic microorganisms in your well. Rather, the odor is produced due to the well water reacting with the anode rod in your water heater.

On the other hand, if the smelly water comes out of the hot and cold water tap then there are several options in front of you to mitigate the smell from your well water.

  • Get a local well drilling company to install a fiberglass water tank that is bladderless and has a venting system. Such a system is very effective in removing not just hydrogen sulfide from the water but also the rotten egg smell.
  • In case your well water has high levels of iron, think of installing an iron filter, which will get rid of excessive iron and also the odor.
  • You can also install a carbon filter. Such a filter has the ability to remove unpleasant smells from the water.

It is best to consult a well drilling company to figure out which filtration system is the best for your well water.

Causes of Yellow Well Water

Discolored well water is another problem that homeowners may have to contend with. One of the possibilities of yellow well water could be oxidation of iron in the water. This usually occurs when surrounding rocks and soils in the aquifer feeding the well has high concentrations of iron.

The other reason for discoloration of well water is the presence of high levels of tannic acid in the water. Usually, this happens if the well is located close to a swamp. Tannic acid is produced by decaying and rotting vegetation in swamps, and it enters the water source due to proximity of the swamp to the water source.

How to Resolve Discoloration of Well Water

When you find that the water in the bucket is discolored, call in a professional lab to test the well water. If the water is high in iron, you should consult a well drilling company to install an iron filter. The filter will resolve the issue of yellow well water.

If you have a problem of smelly or yellow well water, look no further than Weeks Drilling & Pump Co. – one of the best well water testing and treatment services providers in Sonoma County. Call us today for a no-obligation free quote and 24-hour emergency service at 707-823-3184.