What's with the black stinky water??

14 years ago

We decided to sell a condo we were renting about 3 months ago. It needed a major overhaul......including a new water heater. It was putting out horrible black smelly water, so we just assumed it was because it was so old. So it has a new electric water heater.

I went over this morning to check on it, run the water awhile, etc.

I turned on the bathtub faucet, and pure black smelly water poured out again! Next time I'll open the kitchen faucet first.

Its on city water. What is this horrible stuff that comes out of the faucet, when it hasn't been used for awhile?

It runs clear after that initial swamp water comes out.

Why is it doing this, with a brand new water heater?

Since its not selling very quickly, I turned off the breaker for the water heater, so we're not heating water for months at a time with no one using it.

This doesn't make sense to me. Where is that horrible black stuff coming from??

Thanks.

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Comments (4)

jake2007
14 years ago
You might do a quick check: Stand in the middle of the room and say "What do you want from us?". If something answers back, "GET OUT, GET OUT OF THIS HOUSE!" you will have your answer to your plumbing problem.

If nothing answers back, and you are sure the place wasn't built on top of an ancient burial ground, then I would guess that something is reacting with the water heater anode - possibly bacteria as a result of the heater being off.

A solution is to shut off the power to the water heater, shut off the water to it and drain it. Be sure to mark the breaker so that nobody turns it on without water in the tank (or, better yet, cap off the wires in the heater).
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catherinet
Original Author
14 years ago
LOL jake...........there WAS a strange cold rush of air around me when I opened the closet door to look at the water heater. ;)
The heater has been on for months. I just turned it off today. I was thinking it was just gas water heaters that had trouble with the anode rod.
When I drain it, can I just open a hot water spigot and that would drain it enough......or do I need to drain it from the bottom?
This black stuff was really nasty and stunk up the condo for awhile. Here's hoping none of the people looking at it to buy turn on the water! They'd go runnin'!
Thanks!
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jakethewonderdog
14 years ago
Just to make sure: the stinky water is only on the hot side, right?

To drain the tank, you must turn off the power to the tank and make sure that it doesn't get turned on while the tank is empty. Otherwise it will burn out the elements in seconds.

You will have to drain the water from the bottom of the tank. The idea is to get the water out of the tank.

The whole idea here is to get the water out of the tank so it stops reacting with the anode. The other reason is to prevent a potential buyer from turning on the hot water.

The smell is sulfur (smells like rotten eggs).
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catherinet
Original Author
14 years ago
Ok. So I can't drain enough of the water just by turning off the power to it/shutting off the intake and opening a hot water faucet until it doesn't run anymore?
There's no floor drain around and I sure don't want to risk getting this swamp water on the new carpet/lineoleum.
Does this mean the new owners (whenever we sell it), will always have problems like this? Or does it happen from not using the water for months at a time, like we've been doing?
Does it have anything to do with the brand of water heater?
Is there any way of deodorizing the tank now that it stinks?
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What's with the black stinky water??

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jake2007

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What's with the black stinky water??

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