Water has an unusual odor (musty, rotten egg, or metallic) after installing or servicing the softener.

Safety first: If odor is accompanied by discoloration or health concerns, contact your water supplier or a water treatment professional.

Sanitize the softener:

• Follow AO Smith’s procedure for sanitizing the resin tank and brine system (typically involves adding a measured amount of unscented household bleach to the brine well and running a regeneration).

Flush plumbing:

• Run all faucets for several minutes to flush stagnant water.

If odor persists and is related to hydrogen sulfide or iron bacteria in the source water, additional treatment (e.g., an AO Smith iron/sulfur filter) may be required; the softener alone may not resolve it.