I am confused about the height of a washing machine rough in box. I read one person say never to mount it below the top of the washing machine, others say 32-36"
Another issue I have is the water in our house has a smell to it - the laundry smells bad, the water in general has a moldy smell to it. The water company says it isn't their problem. Any help would be appretiated

The guy who said never below the top of the washer is totally wrong. Get a clean bucket and fill it outside from your spigot, how does it smell?

I have done that. It is the same

City water? What city?

Yes city water. Pittsfield, IL

We set our washer boxes 42" from the floor to the bottom of the box.
Have you checked the water coming out of the meter to localize the odor? Get bqack with the results. Good luck, Tom

I am in agreement with Tom. We also mount bottom of the recessed box minimum 41" from the rough floor. That way you can close h/c valves w/o reaching behind the washer. Also it is just about the correct height for the stand pipe which should be no shorter than 30" with trap 6" above the plate.

As far as your smelly water goes: what kind of plumbing pipes do you have in your house ? PEX, PVC, copper , galvanized ?

Now go to the houses on each side of your hopuse and gather some water from their taps, you may want to knock on a door or two first. Does their water smell bacd too or just yours?