Sulfur odor from my water heater?

The bacteria that grows is anerobic and likes the environment of a closed system like that of a hot water tank. Draining the tank removes two thirds of the water so there is going to be water left unless you blow it out with air.

I take the easier approach of adding a teaspoon of household bleach (which is already a 5% solution) for every 10 gallons of fresh water I am adding to the camper. That is enough to keep the bacteria at bay for a year if need be and is too dilute to cause any health problems from drinking the water. It is what FEMA recommends for any water to be stored in case of an emergency.

Do you have a Suburban Brand water heater...then anode rod could be problem.

Do you have an Atwood Brand water heater...then anode rod is NOT the problem (don't use anode rods).

Draining/flushing water heater should resolve the sulfur smell.

If not then you may need to treat it with a vinegar soak

FLUSHING YOUR WATER HEATER TO REMOVE
THE ROTTEN EGG ODOR
1. Turn off your main water supply. Drain you water heater tank. Reinstall drain plug. Remove the pressure-temperature relief valve. With a funnel use 4 parts white vinegar to two parts water. (In a 6 gallon tank that would be 4 gallons vinegar to 2 gallons water).
2. Cycle the water heater, letting it run under normal operation 4-5 times. At no time do you remove the vinegar from the tank Once this has been completed, remove the drain plug and drain the water heater.
3. After thoroughly draining the tank, to remove the sediment, flush the water heater.
Fresh water should be pumped into the tank either with the onboard
pump or external water pressure.
Continue this flushing process for approximately five minutes allowing ample time for the fresh water to agitate the stagnant water on the bottom of the tank and forcing the deposits through the drain opening.
4. Upon completion of the steps above, replace the drain plug
5. Refill tank with fresh water that contains no sulfur.

Most likely caused by the anode rod, especially if it is a magnesium anode rod. Replacement with an aluminum/zinc anode may solve the problem.
Read about it here.

Buffettphan wrote:
I have noticed a sulfur, or other strange odor from my hot water. Cold seems fine. Any ideas????

The water in certain parts of the country has a sulfur smell.

Florida comes to mind... many of the people have wells even in housing developments not far from orlando.

They aireate the water to get rid of the smell

In areas where "fracking" is going on you sometimes get sulfur or other chemical smells.

Water doesn't "sour" unless it has a contaminant. This makes for slime... with biological particles... that's bad.

I certainly wouldn't brush my teeth or clean my pots and pans with it.

I would drain and refill the tank with water of good quality.

Then

I would add 1/2 to one cup of chlorine bleach (chlorox or Magic, etc) to my fresh water tank. And fill it completely. Turn on your pump... make sure that you are getting the chlorine smelling water running out of every faucet. Refill the amount used.

Allow it to sit for a day or three.

Drain everything... You will have to rinse several times to flush the chlorine "dead" slime and lime deposits... smell.

The next to last rinse add some baking soda to lower the chlorine

Now, if you have time...let the water tank to sit sit empty for a day or so with the fill cap off.(but don't let dirt in.)

This should clean up the hazardious soup that you have been using.

By the way... many TC manufacturers tell you to do this. Read your manual.

Your tanks should be cleaned at least once a year.... I try to do it every 6 months... since I boondock all of the time I may get questionable water... even though I'm aware of the hazards and try hard to avoid them.

Sleepy

There are two possible sources, it could be that the water sat too long and all the regular bacteria used up the O2, allowing the sulfur fixing ones to grow and release SO2. The other is you got into some water with high levels of sulfur.

The solution for both is flush and clean the tank.

Drain, clean and then if it happens again - new anode rod. We have had to do that with 3 of our campers. YUCK!

I've had the same experience. It is surprising how quickly the water from the heater will "sour" if left in there unused. I've been told that the anode rod is the culprit and it may well be. Drain it and flush it and it will clear out the odor. But in the future, drain the h2o heater if it will not be used for a period of time.

While you're flushing your hot water heater, it might be a good time to sanitize the system and put in a new anode rod if so equipped.

Probably due to the water that you last used. Try draining your water heater and fresh water tank. Refill with water that you know has low sulphur content. I've had it happen in the past, and it has gone away after doing these two steps.

Has your rig been unused for awhile...with the water heater full?
If so, drain and flush the water heater tank.

Flushing tool...link