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Bad smell from house water
Posted: Wed 01 Sep 2021 6:29 am
by leester polfus
Good morning all.
My friends villa has been sitting empty since end of 2019. When I went in to run taps, flush loos a number of weeks back I noticed a terrible mouldy/sulphur like smell coming from the water.
It's definitely not from the drains but the water itself.
Have had the system drained and flushed through with chlorinated fresh water twice, tanks cleaned out (as far as poss) and thought the problem was sorted not having had the smell now for about 3 weeks.
However, I went in yesterday and the smell is back.
Has anyone else ever had this problem and if so, how did you resolve it. Any suggestions?
Re: Bad smell from house water
Posted: Wed 01 Sep 2021 7:37 am
by waddo
I know that you will have already done this BUT have you checked the water at the initial point of entry? I.E. after your water meter and BEFORE it goes into any tank. It may not be your system that is at fault and could easily be the water in the delivery system before it gets to the meter!
If your incoming water is clean and fresh then start from there.
Re: Bad smell from house water
Posted: Wed 01 Sep 2021 7:45 am
by tutor4u
check for dead wildlife in the tanks
Re: Bad smell from house water
Posted: Wed 01 Sep 2021 8:00 am
by Kanonier
Re: Bad smell from house water
Posted: Wed 01 Sep 2021 9:12 am
by MnM
tutor4u wrote: ↑Wed 01 Sep 2021 7:45 am
check for dead wildlife in the tanks
I second that. Found a frog in one of my tanks once, though it was alive.
Re: Bad smell from house water
Posted: Wed 01 Sep 2021 10:38 am
by benjaminbutton
I third, found a putrefying rat a few years back. Couldn't figure out how it got in then I remembered that rats can stretch their bodies out and it must have got through the small holes around the "screw top" lid on the tank, but couldn't get out the same way.
Re: Bad smell from house water
Posted: Wed 01 Sep 2021 12:31 pm
by leester polfus
Hi Waddo.
Yep, already checked and it's fine from there to the tank.
Tutor4u, Mnm and Benjaminbutton.
Definitely nothing in the tank. Even had a chap climb into it while it was empty and clean it out before flushing it with the chlorinated water.!
Kanonier.
Thanks for the link. Will get Hubby to have a read.
Re: Bad smell from house water
Posted: Wed 01 Sep 2021 2:32 pm
by tutor4u
At the end of each tap is a screwin cap filter . check for rubbish.
Re: Bad smell from house water
Posted: Wed 01 Sep 2021 3:38 pm
by leester polfus
Thanks again tutor4u but it's not a problem as simple as that. The smell from the water coming through the taps, shower heads and loos when flushed permeates the entire villa. It's defnitely coming from the tanks and pipes so I know where it's coming from and, imagine the cause to be not enough water being used for the last 18 monts so just sitting there in the heat - it's been fine up until a few weeks ago. Now just need to know how to get rid once and for all. As I said in my original post, the tanks and pipes have all been drained, cleaned, flushed through with heavily chlorinated water then flushed through again with loads of fresh water on two occasions.
Re: Bad smell from house water
Posted: Wed 01 Sep 2021 4:43 pm
by benjaminbutton
What does Mr YouTube say about the problem?
Re: Bad smell from house water
Posted: Wed 01 Sep 2021 5:41 pm
by wanderer
We've had that not nice smell on a couple of occasions and its turned out to be the drain pipe from the sink in the bathroom or kitchen
It's a flexible pipe corrugated unlike the UK it perished with slight split not leaking just stinking
Re: Bad smell from house water
Posted: Wed 01 Sep 2021 8:03 pm
by benjaminbutton
Oh yes wanderer, we've had that dreadful pong as well. Bloke came, bent the corrugated pipe into a much sharper bend in our case under two basins and the smell went in hours. Was a back up of pong from the cess pit thingy. But I don't think that is what the original messenger is actually talking about.
Re: Bad smell from house water
Posted: Thu 02 Sep 2021 7:11 am
by tutor4u
Thanks again tutor4u but it's not a problem as simple as that. The smell from the water coming through the taps, shower heads and loos when flushed permeates the entire villa. It's defnitely coming from the tanks and pipes so I know where it's coming from and, imagine the cause to be not enough water being used for the last 18 monts so just sitting there in the heat - it's been fine up until a few weeks ago. Now just need to know how to get rid once and for all. As I said in my original post, the tanks and pipes have all been drained, cleaned, flushed through with heavily chlorinated water then flushed through again with loads of fresh water on two occasions.
Well you say that the smell is not from the tanks, that only leaves the drains , it the water coming through the taps etc is not discoulured and is clear, the smell is coming up from the drains. Check the drains outside for any wildlife trapped inside and check the u bend flexible pipes to ensure that there is enough bend for a water trap. It is the U bend water trap that prevents smell coming from the drains. Put drain cleaner down each sink/shower and bathrooms and kitchen and flush.
Re: Bad smell from house water
Posted: Thu 02 Sep 2021 11:16 am
by leester polfus
Thanks all for assistance. I know there is nothing in the tank and that it's not the drains, u bends etc. If you pour a glass of water from any of the taps, the water smells - time to get a professional in.... Thanks again.
Re: Bad smell from house water
Posted: Thu 02 Sep 2021 2:20 pm
by Kanonier
It may be worth while taking a sample of the water and having it analysed by the laboratory which is situated by the Bellapais traffic lights?
Re: Bad smell from house water
Posted: Sun 05 Sep 2021 8:43 am
by tutor4u
[Thanks all for assistance. I know there is nothing in the tank and that it's not the drains, u bends etc. If you pour a glass of water from any of the taps, the water smells - time to get a professional in.... Thanks again./quote]
If you are pouring a glass of water from any of the taps and the water smells, it must be something in the pipes. its the only logical explanation.
Re: Bad smell from house water
Posted: Sun 05 Sep 2021 11:13 am
by leester polfus
Who said it has to be logical....
Re: Bad smell from house water
Posted: Mon 06 Sep 2021 11:58 am
by tutor4u
Water flow is a logical system what goes in , comes out , unlike humans
Re: Bad smell from house water
Posted: Mon 06 Sep 2021 2:27 pm
by leester polfus
Sorry. Moved on now.
Re: Bad smell from house water
Posted: Tue 07 Sep 2021 11:45 am
by Tanky
Just come on to this one.
Is the water by any chance coming through a water softener of an sort?
Tanky
Re: Bad smell from house water
Posted: Tue 07 Sep 2021 2:09 pm
by leester polfus
No, straight in Tanky.
Re: Bad smell from house water
Posted: Tue 07 Sep 2021 6:12 pm
by waddo
Does it smell going into the tank? Does it smell coming out of the tank? Can you track it easily - I ask because my tanks are all ground based with no tank on/in the roof so mine is easy to trace through. If possible, smell into tank, smell out of tank. Smell out of pump - pressure switch and on and on. There has to be something/somebody (whoa, nasty thought that) in the system somewhere!
I once had a small lizard in my pressure switch and have no idea how it got in there but it was slowly dissolving - a memory I try to put behind me - lol.
Re: Bad smell from house water
Posted: Wed 08 Sep 2021 7:42 am
by Groucho
waddo wrote: ↑Tue 07 Sep 2021 6:12 pm
I once had a small lizard in my pressure switch and have no idea how it got in there but it was slowly dissolving - a memory I try to put behind me - lol.
It must have drowned, sunk to bottom and been sucked into the out pipe from your tank.