A common complaint about local tap or well water is that it occasionally has a sulphur (or, rotten egg) smell.  This is caused by Hydrogen Sulfide gas (H2S) that occurs naturally, and gives water its trademark “rotten egg” smell and taste.

Is Sulphur Smelling Water Dangerous?
Most of the time, no.  A sulphur smell in your water likely doesn’t relate to the sanitary level of your water.  However, it IS possible that exposure to sewage or other pollution, and you should have your local Culligan Dealer test your water.

Here are a couple general tips to go by when identifying the source of your sulphur smelling water:

• If the smell is only from the hot water faucet the problem is likely to be in the water heater.

• If the smell is in both the hot and cold faucets, but only from the water treated by a water softener and not in the untreated water the problem is likely to be sulfur bacteria in the water softener.

• If the smell is strong when the water in both the hot and cold faucets is first turned on, and it diminishes or goes away after the water has run, or if the smell varies through time the problems is likely to be sulfur bacteria in the well or distribution system.

• If the smell is strong  when the water in both the hot and cold faucets is first turned on and is more or less constant and persists with use the problem is likely to be hydrogen sulfide gas in the groundwater.

An easy solution to this is to set up a whole home water treatment system – such as the reverse osmosis water softening equipment provided by Culligan dealers in your area.

Culligan’s corporate office recently launched a press release covering their new product – the world’s only certified whole-house arsenic filtration system.

Here are some excerpts from the release:

To address consumer concerns about arsenic in their water, Culligan, the leader in home water treatment solutions for more than 70 years, just introduced the only certified Whole-House Arsenic Reduction Filter on the market. The entire system has been tested and certified by the Water Quality Association (WQA) against NSF/ANSI Standard 53 for the reduction of total arsenic (pentavalent and trivalent). Homeowners can be assured that the new Culligan solution is backed by third-party certification experts who uphold independent testing standards to validate which devices are successful at reducing arsenic and other contaminants. Whythird party certification is important to consumers is the entire system passed laboratory tests (including arsenic reduction performance), material review, structural integrity, and literature compliance.

As you can see – this is another step forward by your local Culligan man to improve the quality of your drinking water. If you’d like to learn more, please contact one of the Culligan dealers in your area.  Here’s links to a few areas of interest:

Iowa City Home Water Softener
Binghamton Home Water Softener
Winnipeg Home Water Softener

An article from last summer at cbc.ca outlines some common problems Winnipeg residenta have with their drinking water.

Winnipeggers are holding their noses yet again to fend off the distinctive musty smell and taste that often plague the city’s tap water in the summer.

Winnipeg’s water has an odd taste for a few weeks almost every year due to seasonal algae growth in Shoal Lake, a 227-square-kilometre lake on the Manitoba-Ontario border that provides Winnipeg’s drinking water.

Despite its unpleasant taste and smell, Winnipeg tap water is still safe to drink, says Winnipeg Regional Health Authority’s medical officer of health. Tap water is routinely tested during the summer season for substances produced by algae.

If you, like many consumers, are interested in improving the quality of the water in your home, you should contact your local Culligan Man!

Stewart Water Conditioning has been serving the Winnipeg, Manitoba area for years – and can provide you with anything from bottled water to whole home water treatment systems!

You can check out their contact information here.

Here is information from water quality surveys as presented by ewg.org. This information illustrates just some of the findings for the quality of the drinking water in Binghamton, New York.

Related Posts:Rochester Drinking Water

This report is published by the Environmental Working Group – and is a result of tests performed on the Iowa City, IA Water Department. The full report is available for viewing here.

Pollution Summary:
Contaminants found in your tap water (1998 – 2003): 18

Health effects or target organs of contaminants found: Cardiovascular or Blood Toxicity, Cancer, Developmental Toxicity, Endocrine Toxicity, Immunotoxicity, Kidney Toxicity, Gastrointestinal or Liver Toxicity, Neurotoxicity, Reproductive Toxicity, Respiratory Toxicity, and Skin Sensitivity.

Overall Water Contaminant Information:

Iowa City, IA Water Quality Report