Ok guys- different type of question hope someone can helpI have well water and a whole house walter filterI just had the filters changed and within 4 weeks the sulphur smell has returnedAlthough it doesnt bother me to much= I have a 5th wheel on my property I use for Air B and B and I am sure its a matter of time before I get a person it offendsI purchased a Camco 40043 TastePURE RV/Marine Water Filter which connect to the water hose- but it doesnt remove all smellDoes anyone know of any chemical I can put in the water that might help with this smell?THank you in advance:D

First you have to find out how bad of a problem you have by using a hydrogen sulfide test kit. Then use the right treatment method, not inexpensive.PRIVATE WELL SOLUTIONS http://www.pure-earth.com/well_water_filters.html#HYDROGEN_SULFIDE_

Sulfur is a gas that in the water so aeration of the water will release the gas in most cases. I don’t know if a filter on it own that will get rid of the smell.

hippiemade wrote:Ok guys- different type of question hope someone can helpI have well water and a whole house walter filterI just had the filters changed and within 4 weeks the sulphur smell has returnedAlthough it doesnt bother me to much= I have a 5th wheel on my property I use for Air B and B and I am sure its a matter of time before I get a person it offendsI purchased a Camco 40043 TastePURE RV/Marine Water Filter which connect to the water hose- but it doesnt remove all smellDoes anyone know of any chemical I can put in the water that might help with this smell?THank you in advance:DWe stayed with some friends in CO that had sulfur in the water. The told us to simply fill a pitcher and let it stand for about 30 minutes. No smell. Had a tinge when showering, but it went away quickly. Some times you just have to live with it and warn your guests. The residents in the "big house" had to deal with it the same way. This was well before bottled water, so we didn't have any with us.Lyle

Since you are complaining about being on campground water this probably isn't the problem. But have you drained, flushed and treated your fresh water tanks with bleach?And the other thing is that certain areas of the country just have sulfur tasting water and it leaves iron stains on the plumbing. As pointed out above the problem is Hydrogen Sulfide gas (H2S) not actual sulfur, which is insoluble. And the right type of carbon filter will remove it, but the filter will get exhausted and need to be replaced and cannot be regenerated. So when you use a filter and it works for some period and then stops working replace the filter or move to some place that has better water. Just as an aside H2S can be smelled at amazingly small concentrations, which doesn't help matters. It is actually more deadly than Hydrogen Cyanide at high concentrations but you will never encounter that sort of concentration so long as you stay out of sewer piping.

agesilaus wrote:Since you are complaining about being on campground water this probably isn't the problem. But have you drained, flushed and treated your fresh water tanks with bleach?And the other thing is that certain areas of the country just have sulfur tasting water and it leaves iron stains on the plumbing. As pointed out above the problem is Hydrogen Sulfide gas (H2S) not actual sulfur, which is insoluble. And the right type of carbon filter will remove it, but the filter will get exhausted and need to be replaced and cannot be regenerated. So when you use a filter and it works for some period and then stops working replace the filter or move to some place that has better water. Just as an aside H2S can be smelled at amazingly small concentrations, which doesn't help matters. It is actually more deadly than Hydrogen Cyanide at high concentrations but you will never encounter that sort of concentration so long as you stay out of sewer piping.Im not sure if you read my post? I am the owner of the house- I have a whole house sytem and I just changed the filter 4 weeks ago- I am looking to see if there is a chemical that can be used to treat the smell in my RV- and it has nothing to do with my holding tank lol- it is with my well water

Need help with sulphur smelling water | Good Sam Community

agesilaus
Explorer III
Oct 09, 2019
The only thing I can suggest that would be cheap is to buy a aquarium air pump, a cheap one. With an air stone and some tubing. You can put that in the bottom of a container to speed up the aeration process.

But there is no cheap way to treat a pressurized system that I know of. It would require a flowmeter, computerized metering pump, and a sensor feedback system for H2S. Each one of those components would probably be well over a thousand dollars plus you'd have to get the training to operate them since they are not simple.

I can imagine a cheap system to degas water before using it to fill your water tank. Batch treatment in other words. But that would require lots of operator time. And some tankage outside the camper. You'd duplicate the system I describe above used to process drinking water.
agesilaus
Explorer III
Oct 09, 2019
Jetstreamer wrote:
Isn’t the sulfur smell a product of iron content in the water?
I have an iron filter on my well system and without it I have sulfur smelling water...

No, Sulfur is Sulfur a yellow solid and Iron is that metal we all know. Iron Reducing bacteria and sulfate reducing bacteria will produce Hydrogen Sulfide as a byproduct of eating iron and yes then there will also be iron dissolved in the water. These are anaerobic bacteria and can only live in the absence of oxygen. Some people think they are the remnants of ancient life here on earth before the atmosphere was filled with oxygen. No they are forced into tiny biomes where there is no O2. Like underneath corrosion (aka rust) layers.

The situation is more complicated than I describe above but I tried to simplify it.
hippiemade
Explorer
Oct 09, 2019
Jetstreamer wrote:
Isn’t the sulfur smell a product of iron content in the water?
I have an iron filter on my well system and without it I have sulfur smelling water...

Yes I think so I have a whole house system- but obviously not a powerful enough one
hippiemade
Explorer
Oct 09, 2019
agesilaus wrote:
Jetstreamer wrote:
Isn’t the sulfur smell a product of iron content in the water?
I have an iron filter on my well system and without it I have sulfur smelling water...

No, Sulfur is Sulfur a yellow solid and Iron is that metal we all know. Iron Reducing bacteria and sulfate reducing bacteria will produce Hydrogen Sulfide as a byproduct of eating iron and yes then there will also be iron dissolved in the water. These are anaerobic bacteria and can only live in the absence of oxygen. Some people think they are the remnants of ancient life here on earth before the atmosphere was filled with oxygen. No they are forced into tiny biomes where there is no O2. Like underneath corrosion (aka rust) layers.

The situation is more complicated than I describe above but I tried to simplify it.

Thank you
azdryheat
Explorer
Oct 09, 2019
I had the sulfur smell. Changed the water heater anode and gave the water heater a good flush. No more sulfur smell.
keymastr
Explorer
Oct 09, 2019
If you use the fresh water tank on the trailer you could simply use a fairly large aquarium pump to aerate the water and the excess air could escape out the vent. Not sure how long it would take but it would be your cheapest solution. You could leave the filler cap off for better air evacuation.
wildtoad
Explorer II
Oct 09, 2019
azdryheat wrote:
I had the sulfur smell. Changed the water heater anode and gave the water heater a good flush. No more sulfur smell.

This is where I’d start. If your WH in the fifth wheel has an anode rod (Suburban?) I’d try a new one. While it’s out, give the WH a good flush. If you fifth wheel sits a long time between use drain the WH.
agesilaus
Explorer III
Oct 09, 2019
keymastr wrote:
If you use the fresh water tank on the trailer you could simply use a fairly large aquarium pump to aerate the water and the excess air could escape out the vent. Not sure how long it would take but it would be your cheapest solution. You could leave the filler cap off for better air evacuation.

That's a good idea, tho I'd give the water heater fix a try first
Roger10378
Explorer II
Oct 09, 2019
In our area we have this problem. The man at the plumbing store said just remove the anode from the water heater. It has been smell free now for almost 30 years. I have also heard that a Zinc anode will eliminate the smell while still giving you the protection of a anode.
Super_Dave
Explorer
Oct 09, 2019
My buddy has the issue in his 5er if he leaves the water in the water heater for more than a week. He removes the water heater plug every time it will sit for any length of time. For the AirBnB, I'd make sure that it was drained prior to guests coming. My friends wife was getting extreme headaches and a cough from the smell in their trailer. You don't want that with paying guest!!