Musty Smell from hot water in house

[w1ljm]

Our house is fairly new (built in 2000). The wife recently noticed that the water started to smell musty. Upon researching this I found that the musty smell is coming from the hot water faucets. I further found that it is not located in just one sink or shower, the smell is coming from all (3)bathroom hot water faucets and the kitchen one too. The smell is also very strong coming from the two showers. I have tested all the cold water from all the sinks and showers and there is no smell. This leads me to believe that the source of the problem is the hot water heater. Have you heard of this happening before? I am not sure what the temp is set at on the heater, but I do know that straight hot water will burn. What is the resolve for this problem? Is there further testing I can do?

 

[Cass]

Do you have well water?

 

[Sponsor]

 

[w1ljm]

Do you have well water?

No ! We are connected to the town's water supply.

 

[w1ljm]

No ! We are connected to the town's water supply.

Do you think that turning the temp up will kill any bacteria, if infact that it the problem creating the musty smell?

 

[Mikey]

How often do you drain the water heater, and what comes out when you do?

Mike
K2RDB

 

[Jadnashua]

I think that the water has to get above 140 degrees for awhile to kill (most) things, course, that might not be the problem. Some water reacts with the anode rod - if that is the case, changing it for a different kind usually helps. There are some people that specialze in water quality here...they'll have some other thoughts.

 

[Verdeboy]

Do you have a water filter on any of those faucets? I would try that and see if it gets rid of the smell. I would also drain the HW tank and see how that water smells.