My well water is terrible. Should I just use pool water?

[MossRoad]

Why? What's wrong with that? Here's a picture in case my description was bad.
View attachment 3239358

That's an odd one.

 

[ruffdog]

That's an odd one.

There are many wells like that down south as they don't have the problem of freezing like we have. I still say have a well person look at it and have the water tested.

 

[strantor]

I still say have a well person look at it and have the water tested.

I have had it tested and I have had a well person look at it. Two different ones. I just am not confident with the solutions they have proposed because they're not much different than what I already have (water softener + inline filter), which is something I don't use because it isn't effective. I am going to have to pay $10k+ to get my whole house re-plumbed and I don't want to have to do it again in 20 years.

 

[strantor]

There are many wells like that down south as they don't have the problem of freezing like we have.

what do wells look like up north?

 

[ruffdog]

I have had it tested and I have had a well person look at it. Two different ones. I just am not confident with the solutions they have proposed because they're not much different than what I already have (water softener + inline filter), which is something I don't use because it isn't effective. I am going to have to pay $10k+ to get my whole house re-plumbed and I don't want to have to do it again in 20 years.

It sounds like they expect you to spend a bunch of money to clean up horrible "water" that you pump out of the ground. Maybe that is normal for your area... ...I don't know. It is normal to us have clean and cold water right at the well. I hope you are able to get that someday.

 

[ruffdog]

what do wells look like up north?

This is what they look like. The wires are in the conduit and the water exits the casing 4+ feet down. I think the casing is 6" and most wells are 130+ feet deep.

Wells | Wisconsin DNR

 

[ponytug]

I have had it tested and I have had a well person look at it. Two different ones. I just am not confident with the solutions they have proposed because they're not much different than what I already have (water softener + inline filter), which is something I don't use because it isn't effective. I am going to have to pay $10k+ to get my whole house re-plumbed and I don't want to have to do it again in 20 years.

When you write the softener is not effective, what do you mean?

Our water softener didn't work well when we bought this place, and the water hardness was more than I expected. Come to find out that even though the softener went through its cycles regularly, the internal valve had shattered, so it wasn't actually softening water. . A new water softener and our water quality went way up.

I suspect that your water would benefit from putting the water softener back on line, (or, like us, a new one. We like ours. Hellenbrand) perhaps with new resin. That should soften the water, and remove some of the particles. With the right resins a softener can even remove some of the sulfates (if you have them) which with bacteria can make the water smell. Depending on which way the pH is off, a prefilter with the right elements or media should be able to address that. Copper does oxidize black under the right conditions. Again, it all depends on what is in your water.

Once the water has been softened, and with a sediment pre-filter, an RO filter should be able to clean things up. Our RO unit goes through a membrane every seven or eight years, just in case, and the pre-filters every six months or so. I do monitor the TDS going into and out of the RO u it to ensure that everything is working well. I would comment that we have a sediment filter at the well, store it in a tank, and then run it over a softener before the water gets to the RO, so particles/sediment are basically nonexistent.

That looks like a normal well head to me, check valve, pressure regulator and power, albeit one that has no frost protection...

As an aside, a water heater with gunk in the bottom is likely to burn out elements, and not be very efficient. It won't help with odors either.

All the best,

Peter

 

[check]

NEVER use pool wate! Make sure you have a plenty deep enough drilled well. Ours is 400 feet and is encased by a steel pipe that is 6 inches across, and works very nicely. We have been told that the water we draw is probably 1000 years old. We did have to install an iron bacteria filter and a water softener, however. We live way out in the sticks, and I can’t imagine some of that crap and corruption that you guys are talking about getting into your wells. Good luck to you!

 

[5030]

Ive had an ro filter under kit sink for 15+ years. I swap out filters every 2 years. The unit included a selftest indicator thattells when to change filters. There not that expensive. That water is only used for drinking. Bottled water in some cases simply comes out of a tap. Some out of artesian wells. Your guess is as good as anyones. And now look at microplastic issues with bottled water.

Change (filter) frequency with any reverse osmosis system depends entirely on what is suspended in the raw water and your cade is most likely different than the norm. Once I precipitate the sulfur out of our well water, it's just fine for consumption and as a side benefit of the H2O2 injection, it renders the raw water devoid of any harmful cysts or contamination and we don't require an ion exchange system to 'soften' the water either. Hydrogen Peroxide injection at the proper dilution rate effectively renders the raw water inert.

 

[5030]

I equate people not frequently draining the hot water heaters to not maintaining their tractors as well. I drain our HWH once a month to rid it of any solids or sediment that collects in the bottom and eventually leads to tank failure.

I also run a Pentair containment tank between the bladder tank and the industrial filter and the Pentair containment tank has a blow down valve at it's base to evacuate and of the precipitated sulfur dioxide that the H2O2 has precipitated to a solid. None the less, the HWH tank gets a partial drain monthly.

Been doing this for over 35 years now, employing 35% H2O2 injected with a Pulsa-Feeder commercial injection pump. I inject the H2O2 upstream of even the bladder tank to insure the longest amount of total dwell time. Every county test of our water yields nothing, just water and I have it tested yearly because of where the farm is located and the amount of herbicides and pesticides used around here that could contaminate our well water.

Every situation is unique however.