If the water supply is causing the odor, you will experience the odor at every water faucet and it will be persistent. If the source of the odor is in your plumbing, you will experience the odor in only one or several, but not all, of the faucets. If the problem goes away after running the water for a few minutes, the cause is somewhere in your plumbing. If your plumbing is the source of the odor, you can try flushing the plumbing system or you can consult a licensed plumber. Contact SUB at (541) 726-2396 if you suspect the public water supply. When you detect an odor in your tap water, we recommend that you perform what we call a glass test at the faucet where you detect the odor.
- Run the cold water tap for at least 30 seconds
- Get a clean glass, then fill and rinse twice with cold tap water
- Fill the glass and turn off the faucet
- Step away from the sink (This eliminates the possibility of mistaking odors from your drain for odors in your water)
- Smell the water in the glass and characterize the odor, if any