If the stench only hits you when you turn on the hot water, your water heater is the prime suspect. When it sits unused for a week or two—like after a vacation—those bacteria throw a wild rave inside the tank. The chemical reaction is basically the bacteria converting sulfate into hydrogen sulfide, and the results are astonishingly foul.
Here’s a surprising fact: magnesium rods in your water heater can make it worse. These rods are meant to prevent rust, but some of them actually feed the bacteria like an all-you-can-eat buffet. Switch to an aluminum rod if you want to crash the party without inviting the aroma.
A quick fix? Flush the heater once a year by draining a few gallons from the spigot at the bottom. It’s like evicting the bacteria without a security deposit.
