Water smells like pot!

[Steve S]

K this is very weird, when I take a shower the water smells like pot. It's almost smells like someone's smoking a joint outside but me nor my wife do drugs.
This only happens in the shower and there's no smell from the kitchen, bath sink nor the outside shower.
At first I thought that there was still antifreeze in the lines but we've been through about 7 tanks of water and the smells still there.
Has anyone heard of this before?

[Lost]

Is the smell coming from the shower or the drain or the water or even a floor mat or a cloth soap holder that many people use.

[sbmarks3]

We have had water in some areas smell when heated. A shot of bleach into the water heater stopped for a while but it is a pain to do. It was more of a sulfur smell though. Did this smell just start upon arrival at a new campsite? It may just be their water, a certain mineral combination maybe. Or if you are in Colorado or Washington maybe it's from the camper next door

[JRTJH]

It sounds like corrosion/mineral buildup on the anode rod. If you had any antifreeze in your hot water heater, it's probably pretty much eaten up your anode. RV antifreeze is highly corrosive to anode rods...

Probably the easiest thing to do is to turn off the HWH, run a faucet to remove the hot water, turn off the pump (or the city water connection), open the relief valve, remove the anode rod, (have a replacement), add about a cup of bleach to the hot water heater (through the anode rod port), install the new anode rod, fill the hot water heater (do not open the relief valve as you need the air pocket), let the HWH sit for at least 6 hours, then flush until the bleach smell is gone, restart the HWH and see if that solves your odor problem. It should.

[Steve S]

Originally Posted by Lost

Is the smell coming from the shower or the drain or the water or even a floor mat or a cloth soap holder that many people use.

It's coming from the shower head and it's only the hot water. The drain is direct and I've even closed it and held the water in the grey tank but it still smells.
There's no floor mat or cloths hanging. The vent is open and the fan is turned on.

[Steve S]

Originally Posted by sbmarks3

We have had water in some areas smell when heated. A shot of bleach into the water heater stopped for a while but it is a pain to do. It was more of a sulfur smell though. Did this smell just start upon arrival at a new campsite? It may just be their water, a certain mineral combination maybe. Or if you are in Colorado or Washington maybe it's from the camper next door

I'm not at a campsite, I'm on my property with well water. Even all these years in the house I've never had any smells with the hot water
So people can smoke a joint in campgrounds in Coloado I guess alot of people bake cookies while camping huh

[Steve S]

Originally Posted by JRTJH

It sounds like corrosion/mineral buildup on the anode rod. If you had any antifreeze in your hot water heater, it's probably pretty much eaten up your anode. RV antifreeze is highly corrosive to anode rods...

Probably the easiest thing to do is to turn off the HWH, run a faucet to remove the hot water, turn off the pump (or the city water connection), open the relief valve, remove the anode rod, (have a replacement), add about a cup of bleach to the hot water heater (through the anode rod port), install the new anode rod, fill the hot water heater (do not open the relief valve as you need the air pocket), let the HWH sit for at least 6 hours, then flush until the bleach smell is gone, restart the HWH and see if that solves your odor problem. It should.

The anode rod is fine, I leave it out while it's winterized.
This only happens in the shower, the three other faucets have no smell at all.

[JRTJH]

The showerhead aerates the water and spreads it around a large surface area , the other faucets don't spread the water around, they keep it in a stream so there's less likelihood that you'll smell it anywhere but the shower.

Let's face it, the only possible source of the smell is the hot water heater (or you would smell it in the cold water in the shower. The inner surface of the HWH tank is contaminated. If you read your owner's manual, it will tell you to do exactly what I suggested. However, if you know more about the HWH than the manufacturer, maybe keep trying "your way"...... Up to you, but I'd follow the manufacturer's advice. Double check your owner's manual, you might find some interesting solutions to your problem....

[Lost]

First try just the faucet in the tub and see if that water smells, next try just the spray. If the spray smells, remove the spray head and see if the water still smells when you turn it on just through the hose. It's all just a matter of tracking it down.

[Steve S]

Originally Posted by Lost

First try just the faucet in the tub and see if that water smells, next try just the spray. If the spray smells, remove the spray head and see if the water still smells when you turn it on just through the hose. It's all just a matter of tracking it down.

Yeah that's a good idea as now that I think of it the shower head was new and still wrapped when I bought the trailer so maybe it's the hot water running through the plastic shower head and creating a slight chemical smell. The shower was never used till I got it.
It's not the hw tank as common sense says that if I get a smell in one faucet I'll get them in all of them.

[Steve S]

Originally Posted by Lost

First try just the faucet in the tub and see if that water smells, next try just the spray. If the spray smells, remove the spray head and see if the water still smells when you turn it on just through the hose. It's all just a matter of tracking it down.

Yes I did what you said and when I took the shower head off and ran the hot water the smell was gone I knew it was going to be something simple
I'm just going to run it the way it is for a few weeks to see if the odor tones down.