Podcast Q&A: Best Way to Remove Sulfur Smell from Well Water

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Note: This podcast transcript has been edited for clarity and length.

Welcome to the Clean Water Made Easy Podcast Q&A

Hello, welcome to the Clean Water Made Easy Podcast Q&A. My name is Gerry Bulfin. I hope you’re doing well. I’m a WQA-certified Master Water Specialist and Water Treatment Contractor here in Santa Cruz, CA. Every week on our main podcast, we discuss various well water treatment systems and common water problems, like how to eliminate that unpleasant sulfur smell often found in well water. I also have these quick Q&A episodes to cover folks’ questions.

We receive a large number of phone calls, e-mails, and chats on our website every day, so I pick the most interesting one and answer it.

Today’s Question: Will a UV Sterilizer Remove Sulfur Smell?

Today, Sam contacted us through the chat on our website and asked:

“I have well water, and I have a sulfur smell. What’s the best product to eliminate this for the whole house? I was told the UV-sterilizer will work because it kills the bacteria that create the sulfur smell.”

That’s a great question, Sam. We’ve been asked this many times, and I can tell you clearly: UV sterilizers do not remove hydrogen sulfide or sulfur smell.

People often think the sulfur smell comes from bacteria, so killing the bacteria with UV will stop the odor. But it doesn’t work that way. The bacteria that cause hydrogen sulfide gas live in the well and the plumbing. They release gas that causes the smell. To stop the smell, you have to remove the gas itself.

Disinfecting the water is still a good idea. But UV isn’t the right tool for this. It’s very sensitive to water quality.

If your water is cloudy, has color, or contains sediment—which it often does if there’s a sulfur smell—UV won’t work well. You could use UV as a final step, after removing the odor and filtering the water. If your water is hard, you might also want to add a softener first. Then, as the last stage, UV can kill bacteria—but it won’t remove the sulfur smell.

Best Solutions for Removing Sulfur Odor from Well Water

So, we recommend the lowest-cost way to go for sulfur smell removal is a chlorinator. You chlorinate the water, and then you filter out the chlorine and odor with activated carbon. That is very reliable, and you get disinfected water, and the sulfur smell is gone.

But some people don’t want to mess with the chlorine, and if you don’t want to, you could use aeration, where the water is aerated and filtered with activated carbon.

There’s also ozone gas, which is the most expensive and hardest to deal with, but it does work really well once you get it set up. It’s great, but it’s quite a bit more expensive than chlorination or aeration.

Recommended Product: Air-Charger Sulfur Odor Filter System

If you’re dealing with a strong sulfur smell in your well water, one of the most effective whole-house solutions is our Air-Charger Sulfur Odor Filter. This system uses air injection and catalytic carbon to oxidize and filter out hydrogen sulfide, completely chemical-free.

It’s automatic, low maintenance, and removes that “rotten egg” smell from your water without chlorine or peroxide. Ideal for homes with up to 10 PPM hydrogen sulfide.

Have a Question About Your Water?

If you have questions about a sulfur smell in your well water—or any other water issue—just feel free to give us a call, visit our website, CleanWaterStore.com, chat with us online, or personally e-mail me at GerryBulfin@cleanwaterstore.com.