There is a rotten egg (hydrogen sulfide) odour coming from my bathroom water. What is wrong with it?
The rotten egg odour that is sometimes detected in the water from the bathroom sink is in fact not in the water. All sinks are equipped with “S” shaped traps that contain a water seal to prevent the sewer gases from the sanitary sewer from entering the house. Gases from the sewer can be absorbed into this water if it is left standing for extended periods of time without use, such as when the home owner is on vacation or even over night. When the water is turned on, the water exiting the tap displaces the air in the piping and a short duration indication of the rotten egg smell is detected. A quick way to determine this is to collect a glass of the water leaving the tap and smelling it away from the sink where no rotten egg smell will be detected.
