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

[ponytug]

That is in line with my feelings on the matter too. I think it there is a combination of things going on. Some salt in the air, everywhere, and some chlorides from the well water inside the house.

I have attached a study of atmospheric corrosion which shows that, depending on how you represent the data, my area can be said to be somewhere barely affected and severely affected. And it seems that the air can be corrosive far far inland. Like as in the whole state of the Florida has a corrosive atmosphere according to some of the representations.

My read of that study, which has a fair few bits of extrapolation to my mind, is yes, you are in the "moderate to severe" regions. However, given the indoor issues that you are experiencing, I would have expected far more issues outdoors, e.g. door handles, window trim, down spouts, outside AC condensers, etc. if salt spray/chloride in the air were the prime cause, especially given your home's exposure to hurricanes and hurricane force winds.

So, I am back on the page of not understanding the magnitude of the indoor issues. It is just off the charts in my experience, and I lived in a location with indoor water with lots of chloride. What is the typical winter and summer relative humidity in your house?

All the best,

Peter

 

[strantor]

My read of that study, which has a fair few bits of extrapolation to my mind, is yes, you are in the "moderate to severe" regions. However, given the indoor issues that you are experiencing, I would have expected far more issues outdoors, e.g. door handles, window trim, down spouts, outside AC condensers, etc. if salt spray/chloride in the air were the prime cause, especially given your home's exposure to hurricanes and hurricane force winds.

So, I am back on the page of not understanding the magnitude of the indoor issues. It is just off the charts in my experience, and I lived in a location with indoor water with lots of chloride. What is the typical winter and summer relative humidity in your house?

All the best,

Peter

I don't know the relative humidity in the house but I know it isn't good. The house might as well have a door open year round. Electric bill gets up over $500 in the summer. I had all the windows replaced with double pane energy star windows and it made zero difference because the windows weren't the problem. The walls are. There is no sheathing. I learned when a pipe in the exterior wall burst, I pulled the shiplap siding off and I'm looking right through the "vapor barrier" (disintegrated, eaten up tar paper) at the back side of the insulation. Except in the spots where the rodent tunnels are all the way through the R11 insulation, in which case I'm looking at the back of the drywall. The siding needs to come off the whole house and reinsulate the whole thing, put up modern vapor barrier, put up sheathing, and install siding that isn't full of knot holes and welcome signs for mice.

 

[strantor]

here i found a picture.

The more I talk about it the more I think I should just move. The amount of crap I've conditioned myself to deal with, isn't normal.

 

[ruffdog]

The more I talk about it the more I think I should just move. The amount of crap I've conditioned myself to deal with, isn't normal.

That is what I was thinking while reading this thread.....that is a bunch of crap you are dealing with. Life is too short.......MOVE! Good luck.

 

[dicktill]

I don't know the relative humidity in the house but I know it isn't good. The house might as well have a door open year round. Electric bill gets up over $500 in the summer. I had all the windows replaced with double pane energy star windows and it made zero difference because the windows weren't the problem. The walls are. There is no sheathing. I learned when a pipe in the exterior wall burst, I pulled the shiplap siding off and I'm looking right through the "vapor barrier" (disintegrated, eaten up tar paper) at the back side of the insulation. Except in the spots where the rodent tunnels are all the way through the R11 insulation, in which case I'm looking at the back of the drywall. The siding needs to come off the whole house and reinsulate the whole thing, put up modern vapor barrier, put up sheathing, and install siding that isn't full of knot holes and welcome signs for mice.

here i found a picture.

View attachment 3418991

The more I talk about it the more I think I should just move. The amount of crap I've conditioned myself to deal with, isn't normal.

If you decide to stay, I would highly recommend that you use spray foam insulation between the studs (relatively easy with the siding off), but you also need it up in the attic (not so easy).

 

[dodge man]

My degree is in civil engineering and I had a class in water treatment but I graduated in 1984 and forgot most of it. I too wish I could remember the different ways to treat water. One thing that jumps out at me is the TDS, that is very high as you know. Mine is 500 and is rural water, not well water. The water softener doesn’t lower the tds but removes the undesirable stuff. I know reverse osmosis is what we designed for our local town but of course it’s industrial sized.

You might consider a dehumidifier for your house if the humidity gets high. I run one and it helps improve the efficiency of your ac.

 

[ponytug]

I don't know the relative humidity in the house but I know it isn't good. The house might as well have a door open year round. Electric bill gets up over $500 in the summer. I had all the windows replaced with double pane energy star windows and it made zero difference because the windows weren't the problem. The walls are. There is no sheathing. I learned when a pipe in the exterior wall burst, I pulled the shiplap siding off and I'm looking right through the "vapor barrier" (disintegrated, eaten up tar paper) at the back side of the insulation. Except in the spots where the rodent tunnels are all the way through the R11 insulation, in which case I'm looking at the back of the drywall. The siding needs to come off the whole house and reinsulate the whole thing, put up modern vapor barrier, put up sheathing, and install siding that isn't full of knot holes and welcome signs for mice.

Well, given the local salt air, what seems like a relatively porous house, and the likelihood that the home insulation probably gets at least damp, if not wet in storms, it would seem that you have some real issues there. I hope that you don't have any mold.

I find moving to be a bit of a hassle, but sometimes starting over with a clean slate makes a big difference. We are in the midst of repairs to an older house, and on the one hand, bulldozing and starting over would result in a home better in so many ways, for perhaps not much more money, and on the other hand it seems...wasteful of resources. I do not find it an easy call, but we are on the patch up side here. We fully expect the next purchasers to bulldoze.

All the best,

Peter

 

[etpm]

I'm wondering why your water is so high in chlorides and if another well might be able to draw water from another aquifer. Your water is kinda scary to me. Are well logs available for you to see in your area so maybe you could decide if the risk of drilling another well is worth it? Maybe you should move as you suggested. If I had your power bills and bad water I would seriously ask myself why I am living where I am. You are in a truly tough situation and I can't help but feel for you.
Good Luck,
Eric

 

[ponytug]

I'm wondering why your water is so high in chlorides and if another well might be able to draw water from another aquifer. Your water is kinda scary to me. Are well logs available for you to see in your area so maybe you could decide if the risk of drilling another well is worth it? Maybe you should move as you suggested. If I had your power bills and bad water I would seriously ask myself why I am living where I am. You are in a truly tough situation and I can't help but feel for you.
Good Luck,
Eric

The aquifer under @strantor's area is large, and has some ionic gradients in it, but from the Texas and Louisiana maps of water quality for the aquifer, it seems unlikely that a local well would be significantly different. Stranger things have happened. Houston to the NE is on the same aquifer for 14% of its water supply, the other 86% comes from surface water, which can have issues in that area as well. The wells average 1,200' deep, which counts as a deep well in my book.

Drinking Water Operations

Drinking Water Operations (DWO) Branch, ensures that approximately 2.2 million citizens receive high quality drinking water a

www.houstonpublicworks.org

All the best,

Peter