If the smell is coming from both taps—hot and cold—your well itself has a bacteria party going on. Your best move is what pros call “shock chlorination.” It sounds dramatic, like you’re about to waterboard your aquifer, but it’s just pouring a gallon of bleach down your well.
Here’s the surprising fact: you don’t use scented bleach. Use plain, unscented sodium hypochlorite. If you use “Fresh Lavender Burst” bleach, you’ll get lavender-scented rotten eggs, which is somehow worse.
Turn on every hose and faucet until you smell bleach coming out. Let it sit for 12 to 24 hours. Then flush, flush, flush until the chlorine is gone. Your water will be sterilized, and your neighbors will think you’ve opened a very aggressive laundromat.
Your Ultimate Guide to Well Water Sulfur Smell Removal
The "But I Don’t Want to Smell Like a Pool" Alternative
If shocking the well sounds like a chemistry experiment you weren’t invited to, consider a continuous chlorinator. It’s a small pump that injects a tiny, safe amount of chlorine into your water line. It kills the sulfur bacteria before they can burp in your glass.
Yes, it requires a little maintenance—refilling the chlorine tank every month. But you can set it and forget it, like a slow cooker for clear, non-farty water. Plus, you’ll sound super technical when guests ask, “Why does your water taste like a hospital?”
You say, “It’s my continuous chlorination system. The aftertaste fades after twenty seconds.” They’ll be impressed, or they’ll never drink your water again. Either way, you win.
