We have a sulfur smell coming from the cold water tap of our sink in our upstairs master bedroom. The hot water does not smell. After running the cold water for a while, the odor goes away, but is always present when the faucet is first turned on.

The master toilet, bathtub and shower do not have this smell, nor do any of the downstairs faucets. We live in the country on a septic system using well water from community wells.

Can anyone help me diagnose and repair this problem? Thanks.

 

Try replacing the aerator, clean it or run faucet without the aerator installed.


What type of piping leads to this faucet, and what type of supply lines are underneath the sink?

 

Thanks for your reply. I am a complete plumbing novice so I'm afraid my answers are not going to satisfy. As for the aerator, I think that's part of a water filter system and I'm not sure we have one.

As for the piping under the sink, the house was built in the '70's in California, but we recently remodelled the bathroom. (Odor was there before and after remodel.) When I look at the pipes under the sinks, they look like dark grey plastic with a black plastic trap.

The supply line into the bathroom...how could I determine what that is?

 

The aerator is on the end of the sink spout. You can grab it by hand or may have to use pliers and turn it clockwise to unscrew it from the faucet (clockwise because it's upside down). Then follow Dunbar Plumbers post. The supply line is a small line(s) that go up to the faucet. The line you are seeing is the drainline. Good luck and post back.

 

Thanks for the education on plumbing terminology.

I located the aerators, which are made of hard gray plastic with a red plastic screen, not like the metal screens that are on the downstairs faucets. The aerators screwed off quite easily and I let the water flow through the faucets without the aerators. No (or very little) smell, but I still wasn't sure that cured the problem because water flow always got rid of the smell.

I then rinsed the aerators thoroughly and reinserted them. It seems to have worked as this morning when I turned on the tap, there was no smell!

What I don't understand is how rinsing the aerators helped. It was the same water that always went through them, though at a different angle.

As for the supply lines, they are white with metal webbing and are flexible.

 

The reason this resolved the problem is because buildup, like a shower drain over time, a drain in a lavatory.........starts to sour.


The removal of such keeps the potable water from contamination of this debri.