We have just built a house with a new > 35 ft deep well. The water tested clear of bacteria and sulfur, etc. We have ONE faucet out of 10 sinks in the whole house that stinks. It is ONLY the cold water in one of the master bath sinks. If I let it run for a minute, the smell goes away. Obviously all our pipes are new. What could be the cause and what would be the fix?
Plumbing – Stinking water from ONE faucet
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Your problem is the sewer, not the "fresh" water.
Activity on another floor is almost certainly sucking water out of the sewer trap at your laundry and/or bathroom sink. The dry trap then has no resistance to rising sewer gas. Doing laundry fills the trap back up. Here's what it might look like in the wall behind your laundry machine. For proper operation the U shaped part must be full of water at all times:
We're talking China, so shoddy design or construction are a possibility. If the sewer trap is not vented, or is S shaped rather than P shaped ,it is vulnerable to siphoning dry. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trap_(plumbing)
Test this next time you have the smell. Slowly pour about 1 liter of fresh clean water down into the drains near the laundry, and see if the smell starts to dissipate.
You can fix this by crudely mounting a second waste trap between the washer and the building's trap. This could even include an "automatic air admittance valve" just to act as a vent without the need to penetrate the roof or reach a window.
OK...I'm embarrassed. I know I said it wasn't the filter, because every three months I take of the filters and clean them with vinegar.
I went ahead and took out the aerator assembly, and there was what looked like very thin plastic stuck in the hole in the center, blocking all water from coming through.
A few years ago I saw similar material in my shower faucet when I was replacing it.
All I can imagine is that some type of coating is flaking off from the PVC pipes (house is 15 years old). Is that possible??
Thanks to all for the responses...gives me some material for future issues as the home ages. :-)
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Best Answer
Need more information. Sorry for doing this as an answer but the alternative was a raft of comments.
Can't speak for your location. Here we can get a chemical water sample bottle from our local public health office, fill it, and send it in. A month later we get a report.
If you can do this with the affected faucet, you can find out WHAT is generating the stink. Hydrogen sulfide (rotten egg smell) Sulfur dioxide (burned match smell) Dead animal (rotting meat) smell?
How long does it take for the smell to regenerate? E.g. You ran it until the smell stopped at 8:00. Does it stink again by 9?
Where does this line run relative to other lines? Is it the last tap on a run or is it a side tap?
Are your water lines copper or plastic?
Do you have water hammer traps? (A capped vertical pipe branch. They tend to collect dissolved air, and act to reduce the Clunk!!! when someone shuts a tap abruptly. A dead mouse in one could add a certain bouquet to the water.)