Customer Symptoms:

A customer contacted us complaining of a rotten egg smell coming from his hot water heater. He would have normally assumed the smell was from a leaking gas pipe, but he was certain the smell was stemming from the unit itself.

Issue:

We assessed the situation and determined that the decay of sacrificial anode had caused hydrogen gas that was feeding bacteria, allowing it to build up in the tank sediment.

Resolution:

Before beginning the job, the technician made sure to cut off the power by turning off the breaker and shut off the water supply to the heater as well. The technician flushed the water heater completely and mixed a solution of hydrogen peroxide and water to treat the tank. He allowed the solution to flow into the water lines to clean them out and let the mixture sit in the tank for two hours. He informed the client that the solution would not need to be rinsed because it wasn’t toxic.