DO YOU HAVE SMELLY HOT WATER?
Do you have smelly hot water, but the cold does not have an odor? This happens a lot, especially when a new water treatment device has modified the cold water. Water softeners or Carbon Systems alter the chemistry of the water, enough that it causes a reaction within the hot water itself.
One solution would be to convert to a tankless hot water heater which will save energy (especially if you are gone all day and use no hot water for long periods) and get rid of the odor (normally). It is not cheap, but the effort will pay off over time and improve your hot water function. Please understand that with any newer technology there are pros and cons. I could write for days on the pros and cons..but for this article, we are focused exclusively on solving the odor issues. The website below has a link within the article that discusses deep concerns about tankless units, something worth reading if you are considering the couple thousand dollar leap.
I have always been a person who offers several solutions to smelly hot water. This website listed below is a little biased towards selling new anodes, but does offer alternatives. That being said, I have taken many anode rods out with very few failures. I wouldn’t hesitate to take out the anode rod, if it solved the odor issue. A hot water heater tank is cheap in relation to some of the solutions people will try! Getting rid of smelly hot water is priority one!
Another solution is to treat all of the water with a peroxide solution or other non-chlorine based chemical. Changing the anode rod or removing it is also recommended. The website below will also assist in understanding this issue.
