I recently bought an old house. There is a complicated water filtration system in the basement, I have heard that the water here has a lot of elements in it. The most annoying is the sulfur. I called a plumber to teach me how to use the system and he told me to add chlorine bleach to it. It seems to have relieved the egg smell from the water but I have noticed some sediment in the pipes. When I clean the aerators regularly (which I have to do just to get pressure from my faucet) I clean a black, almost charcoal looking substance from it. I am afraid that the pipes have been eaten by the elements and that I need to replace them (which I cannot afford). Is there a way or a cleaner to put through the system to clean out the sediment? Is this a lost cause?:confused: :(

Thanks
Christine

Here is a good resource. Sulphur smell in water - TOH Discussions (http://advice.thisoldhouse.com/showthread.php?t=5389)

Is the sulphur smell in the hot water only?

Both I think. I smell it when I am running bath water, but my washer is always run on cold and it is clogged with the sediment think.

Here is the fix directly quoted from the link:

ROTTON EGG ODOR IN COLD WATER- EPA Maximum Contaminant level: N/A

Caused by hydrogen sulfide gas . This gas is very corrosive and will react with iron to form a black sludge of iron sulfide. Most sulfur waters contain from 1 to 5 ppm of hydrogen sulfide.

Use a chemical feed pump to feed chlorine (bleach) in to the line ahead of the pressure tank (3 ppm of chlorine is required for each ppm of hydrogen sulfide). Chlorine causes the formation of sulfur particles that can be filtered. Install an activated carbon filter following the pressure tank to remove the sulfur particles as well as any excess chlorine.

If it is your desire to have a non-maintenance, non-chemical solution, an aerator (up to 5 ppm of hydrogen sulfide) will solve your problem.



Now what you'll probably have to do is figure out a way to back flush the system.

Is there a drain nearby the outlet of the filtration system?

What kind of pipes do you have in the house? Cast iron, copper, PVC or CPVC?