Smelly water in water heater

[donnam]

Does anyone know how to get rid of the stale smell in the water heater, I have already connected a hose to the boiler drain at bottom of heater and re-filled.

 

[Jetmart]

run some bleach and water into it and let sit for 3 - 4 hours. Flush and rinse several times.

 

[magstang1]

Flush flush flush. Add bleach and flush some more.

Dont let the water sit in the water heater so long.

 

[rcmafgny]

Flush as much as you can
Bleach or there are commercial products as well.

 

[donnam]

I will remove inlet line and add bleach and let it sit for a while before I flush,

thanks so much

 

[magstang1]

I just added a bit of extra bleach to my main water tank and ran it through a couple times. I don't drink from the tank. We only use it for flushing and washing so I wasn't worried about a bit extra. Sanitize everything, it can't hurt.

 

[Dieseljeff]

I had the same problem...I emptied the HWH and added 4 gallons of vinegar with 2 gallons of water (6 gallon HWH)
Cycle the power a few times...drain and flush with plain water and let it heat up and cool few times.
It takes a few times to get rid of the smell.

Jeff

 

[Wet Dogggg]

Had the same problem and did the bleach trick last weekend. I added about 4 ounces of bleach and then filled the tank. Ran all faucets until I smelled it. let it sit all afternoon and flushed. No more stinky smell.

 

[JV II]

Don't forget to replace the anode. I think the Magnesium anode is less likely to produce the rotten egg smell than the aluminum ones.

 

[my DOG HOUSE]

After it is clean, 1 tbs. of unscented Clorox per 50 gallons will keep it that way and you cant smell or taste it.