rotten egg odor

[Beaver 08]

I have had othe rrvs but never have had this problem Our 08 Beaver with only 9000 miles has developed a very strong "rotten ege" (sulfer odor) we have an aqua hot water system. the odor is in both the cold and hot water faucets we only use the rv about once per month or sometimes less.. any ideas on what is causing this and how to correct it would be appreciated

[bsavage]

Beaver, are you sure it's your fresh water and not the grey or black water tanks smelling?

Brenda, of...

[Beaver 08]

no doubt about it- the water has the odor.

[RV Wizard]

Beaver 08, welcome to iRV2.com. We are glad to have you join us here and we look forward to reading of your adventures and experiences. I would recommend that you do not leave water in the holding tank and you may want to even drain the hot and cold water lines if the last water that you used in the coach was none chlorinated. It will go stagnate and produce an odor. You will also want to clean out the lines now to remove any bacteria causing the odor. First remove any water filters and replace with new after cleaning out the system. There are several methods. One is to super chlorinate the lines and fresh water tank with 1/4 cup of bleach to 15 gallons of water. Purge through each line to every faucet and let sit for three hours, then drain and flush out. Good luck and keep us posted.

[Jim Stewart]

The rotton egg odors are usually from sulfur. They can be caused by minerals in the water and/or by a reaction to minerals in the water and the electric heating element or sacrificial anode (if it has one) in the water heater. It can also be from contaminated water filters. If it were the grey holding tank, it would have the more sour smell like a dirty kitchen dish rag.

First drain all of your water from the system, including the water tank. Refill and sanitize tank and lines with the water/chlorine mixture and let sit overnight, being careful to bypass any water filters. Drain and refill water the next day and run the water through your faucets. If the odor still exists change all your water filters and check again for the odors. If it still exists, order and change the electrical heating element and/or sacrificial anode if it has one.

Hope this help, but my guess is it's a strong oder, it's coming from the water heater.

[Beaver 08]

It was the system water filter. It was dirty and had spots of mold on it. Funny I never had this problem with any of the other coaches. Makes sense that having water sit in the system for a long period would cause it to stagnate. Super clorinated the entire system and installed new filter. Water back to normal.Thanks !