Hello all. Edward here.
I hope my experience with this problem will help a few of you fellow sufferers.
Like most here I developed sticky skin quite rapidly over a couple of weeks and it just kept getting worse with all of the symptoms described in the previous posts.
I also read every comment on this site and many others. After changing soaps and eating habits etc with no success I looked for something we all have in common. Putting it all together I believed it to be water related and worked from that angle.
We have lived in our house for 20 years without any problems showing up before so it was hard to suddenly blame the water. However, luckily, we have a green box composting plant opened up in the last two years only about 3/4 kilometer uphill from us. I thought something was getting in the ground water which could cause the problem. This was a total red herring but it kept me working on the water angle.
I had two lucky occurrences. The first is that we went away to the cottage for a week and my skin did start to become less sticky. But the real luck was that when we returned our water smelled overpoweringly of hydrogen sulfide - rotten eggs!
We have lived in the country with wells for a long time and immediately knew how to deal with that. A bottle of peroxide in the hot water tank and the smell started to go and and over the next few days so did my sticky skin!
However in two weeks my skin started to get sticky again and a few days after that the rotten eggs returned. Hit the tank with two bottles of peroxide this time with the same results. A couple of weeks later the cycle repeated. I couldn't understand why. When we had the problem in another house it would be a year or more before the smell would come back. What happens is that every hot water tank has a zinc rod in it to reduce internal corrosion. Unfortunately some little microbes just love the zinc rod, when the conditions are right, and the by product is hydrogen sulfide. It seems our bodies produce the waxy/sticky residue to fight off the effects of the microbe or gas (don't know which).
I couldn't figure out why we suddenly had this problem and why it would return so quickly. And that is where the second lucky occurrence came into play. I had been working on the cars and had some very dirty work clothes that I decided to run through the wash with the temperature on HOT. As soon as that had finished I decided to have a soak in a hot tub to get some of the grease out of my skin. With only a third of a tub of water the flow started to go cold - shouldn't happen out of a 60 gallon hot water tank. I also knew the answer to that problem - the lower heater element had burned out.
Changed out the element and while there dropped the temperature to the factory setting of 125 degrees f. We usually ran it at 160 but it does cost more to keep at that setting so while in there thought I may as well save money.
Bad idea. It took more than a month but sticky skin started to return. Figured it wasn't hot enough to keep all the microbes down so put the temperature up to 140, Which is where it is now. Quite a few months now without sticky skin.
The theory is that as long as we were at home using the water, with one element burned out in the heater, the microbes were kept below the smelly level but were bad enough to cause sticky skin. When we went away they were able to get far enough to get to the gas stage. So couldn't pin down the cause as long as we weren't away for more than a day or so. The burned out element kept the water in part of the tank at the temperature they like. As did the energy saving 125 degrees!
This will happen even if on city water as long as your tank has a zinc rod so anyone who uses hot water may be affected by this combination of events.
Sorry but I do not expect this to help everyone but you may be one of the lucky ones.
WHAT TO DO - (only necessary if you or a family member has sticky skin)
1. Check that your heater is set to 140 or higher.
2. Verify that the water is getting to that temperature. Oven thermometer under a hot tap closest to the heater. If it is the bottom element the water will be at the correct temperature that first comes out so you are still best to go on to point 3 even if the temperature is correct.
3. Verify both elements are working - they are on only one at a time so each will have to be tested for the correct resistance value.
4. Treat the hot water tank with peroxide (this could be the first step if you want to try to get rid of sticky skin in a hurry however it will return if any of the other problems are still there).
How do you get the peroxide in the tank?
TURN OFF THE POWER TO THE WATER HEATER! If water is drained below the heating elements during the following steps the element will burn out almost immediately.
1. Fill up a pan or kettle with cold water and then shut the water off at the main or turn your pump off.
2. Open a cold tap on the lowest tap in the hose to release all pressure. Then close the tap.
3. Attach a garden hose to the drain tap near the bottom of the hot water tank and run it to a drain. Do not open it yet.
4. Pour the peroxide in a container that you can get under the faucet of one of your hot water taps that is on a level that is above the top of the tank - next floor up is best. Have your kettle of water handy here.
5. Open the tank drain tap.
6. Put the container of peroxide under the faucet so that the faucet tip is immersed in the peroxide. Open the hot water tap to that faucet and the peroxide will start to be sucked into the plumbing and down into the tank. Tilt your container as necessary to keep the tip of the faucet immersed in the peroxide until it has all been sucked up.
7. Fill your container with water from your kettle and let that be sucked up also. Repeat with the plain water a couple of times to make sure the peroxide is not just sitting in the pipes and not getting in the heater.
8. Close the hot water faucet and any other taps you may have opened.
9. Close the hot water tank drain. And remove hose.
10. Turn on water main or pump.
11. Go to a few faucets in the house and open each, both hot and cold, for a few seconds, until it runs without bubbles, to burp any air out of the system that may have entered during this process. You want to be sure you hot water tank has filled back up.
12. Turn on the power to the heater.
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Hello all. Edward here.
I hope my experience with this problem will help a few of you fellow sufferers.
Like most here I developed sticky skin quite rapidly over a couple of weeks and it just kept getting worse with all of the symptoms described in the previous posts.
I also read every comment on this site and many others. After changing soaps and eating habits etc with no success I looked for something we all have in common. Putting it all together I believed it to be water related and worked from that angle.
We have lived in our house for 20 years without any problems showing up before so it was hard to suddenly blame the water. However, luckily, we have a green box composting plant opened up in the last two years only about 3/4 kilometer uphill from us. I thought something was getting in the ground water which could cause the problem. This was a total red herring but it kept me working on the water angle.
I had two lucky occurrences. The first is that we went away to the cottage for a week and my skin did start to become less sticky. But the real luck was that when we returned our water smelled overpoweringly of hydrogen sulfide - rotten eggs!
We have lived in the country with wells for a long time and immediately knew how to deal with that. A bottle of peroxide in the hot water tank and the smell started to go and and over the next few days so did my sticky skin!
However in two weeks my skin started to get sticky again and a few days after that the rotten eggs returned. Hit the tank with two bottles of peroxide this time with the same results. A couple of weeks later the cycle repeated. I couldn't understand why. When we had the problem in another house it would be a year or more before the smell would come back. What happens is that every hot water tank has a zinc rod in it to reduce internal corrosion. Unfortunately some little microbes just love the zinc rod, when the conditions are right, and the by product is hydrogen sulfide. It seems our bodies produce the waxy/sticky residue to fight off the effects of the microbe or gas (don't know which).
I couldn't figure out why we suddenly had this problem and why it would return so quickly. And that is where the second lucky occurrence came into play. I had been working on the cars and had some very dirty work clothes that I decided to run through the wash with the temperature on HOT. As soon as that had finished I decided to have a soak in a hot tub to get some of the grease out of my skin. With only a third of a tub of water the flow started to go cold - shouldn't happen out of a 60 gallon hot water tank. I also knew the answer to that problem - the lower heater element had burned out.
Changed out the element and while there dropped the temperature to the factory setting of 125 degrees f. We usually ran it at 160 but it does cost more to keep at that setting so while in there thought I may as well save money.
Bad idea. It took more than a month but sticky skin started to return. Figured it wasn't hot enough to keep all the microbes down so put the temperature up to 140, Which is where it is now. Quite a few months now without sticky skin.
The theory is that as long as we were at home using the water, with one element burned out in the heater, the microbes were kept below the smelly level but were bad enough to cause sticky skin. When we went away they were able to get far enough to get to the gas stage. So couldn't pin down the cause as long as we weren't away for more than a day or so. The burned out element kept the water in part of the tank at the temperature they like. As did the energy saving 125 degrees!
This will happen even if on city water as long as your tank has a zinc rod so anyone who uses hot water may be affected by this combination of events.
Sorry but I do not expect this to help everyone but you may be one of the lucky ones.
WHAT TO DO - (only necessary if you or a family member has sticky skin)
1. Check that your heater is set to 140 or higher.
2. Verify that the water is getting to that temperature. Oven thermometer under a hot tap closest to the heater. If it is the bottom element the water will be at the correct temperature that first comes out so you are still best to go on to point 3 even if the temperature is correct.
3. Verify both elements are working - they are on only one at a time so each will have to be tested for the correct resistance value.
4. Treat the hot water tank with peroxide (this could be the first step if you want to try to get rid of sticky skin in a hurry however it will return if any of the other problems are still there).
How do you get the peroxide in the tank?
TURN OFF THE POWER TO THE WATER HEATER! If water is drained below the heating elements during the following steps the element will burn out almost immediately.
1. Fill up a pan or kettle with cold water and then shut the water off at the main or turn your pump off.
2. Open a cold tap on the lowest tap in the hose to release all pressure. Then close the tap.
3. Attach a garden hose to the drain tap near the bottom of the hot water tank and run it to a drain. Do not open it yet.
4. Pour the peroxide in a container that you can get under the faucet of one of your hot water taps that is on a level that is above the top of the tank - next floor up is best. Have your kettle of water handy here.
5. Open the tank drain tap.
6. Put the container of peroxide under the faucet so that the faucet tip is immersed in the peroxide. Open the hot water tap to that faucet and the peroxide will start to be sucked into the plumbing and down into the tank. Tilt your container as necessary to keep the tip of the faucet immersed in the peroxide until it has all been sucked up.
7. Fill your container with water from your kettle and let that be sucked up also. Repeat with the plain water a couple of times to make sure the peroxide is not just sitting in the pipes and not getting in the heater.
8. Close the hot water faucet and any other taps you may have opened.
9. Close the hot water tank drain. And remove hose.
10. Turn on water main or pump.
11. Go to a few faucets in the house and open each, both hot and cold, for a few seconds, until it runs without bubbles, to burp any air out of the system that may have entered during this process. You want to be sure you hot water tank has filled back up.
12. Turn on the power to the heater.
Good luck.
December 29, 2011 - 10:13pmTake care,
Edward.
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