Bathroom running water smells?

Question

I have one sink that has smelly running water. It is not the smell of sulfur, it just smells almost stale, possibly metallic. The stopper area, which is metal has turned green. It smells when it runs hot and cold. There is a shower in the same bathroom, but it doesn't have the same smell...and the other two bathrooms and kitchen also do not have odor problems. What could this be? Is it safe?

Answer 1

I doubt if it's the running water that smells or all of your water would smell. It's probably the drain under the sink. Go to your local hardware and buy some drain cleaner and follow the instructions.

Answer 2

call to plumer

Answer 3

Does the water coming to the taps pass through a filter? If so replace or clean the element inside this unit. It may be associated with a fungal growth there. Clean the stopper area by scraping it and remove the green coating (copper oxide, or verdigrease, which incidently is poisenous). If badly corroded it should be replaced. Metals don't give off odors in this situation and it would help if you could identify the cause.

The other place is the drain outlet. Use of some kinds of liquid drain cleaners may help, but be careful of getting these chemicals on you skin or in your eyes. Wash out immediately if this occurs.

If it is modern in design, the piping below the sink has plastic joints which can be unscrewed so as to allow you to clean the pipes, but its a messy job and you and the floor will get wet and slimy!  Be ready with a bucket to catch the worst of the flood. Get a set of rubber washers and sealing rings to replace the older ones which may leak after being removed, and fit them during the re-assembly operation.

If the design is not modern and the pipes are metal, then try plunging the partly filled bowel by using a rubber plunger or by poking flexible wires into the plug hole, don't use too much force here. Then remove the drain of the water-lock (or U bend, bad smell and small flood) and clean this region using suitable wires and brushes, Run fresh water from a hose through the parts of the system you can't directly reach. The end of the hose is also a useful tool for scraping the pipes from inside.

Answer 4

Try removing & cleaning the aerator (thingie on the end of the faucet).