What Should I Test My Well Water For?

Dear sir,

I just bought a home in the country and the water is supplied by a well.  I plan to get the water tested, but not sure what to test for?   Can I ‘over test’ my water? I want to make sure its safe for our kids, but we won’t be living there for a few more years.   The water looks fine, but we do get a light blue staining on the fixtures and some sediment builds up in the toilets.   The bank had us test for bacteria and it passed that.  The well is in a farming area, so we wonder about that.

Jonathan S.

Alberta Canada

Most private wells provide a clean, safe supply of water; however, contaminants can pollute private wells, and unfortunately you cannot see, smell or taste most of them. Consequently, you should test your well water on a regular basis. The decision on what to test your water for should be based on the types of land uses near your well.  At a minimum it is recommended you test for bacteria and nitrate once per year.

Iron and Sulfur/Hydrogen Sulfide Problems: Using Greensand Filter and Chlorination To Solve the Problem

“We have a well and appear to have iron and possibly sulfur/hydrogen sulfide problems.  I tried measuring pump output, got about 4 gallons per minute. Looks like a greensand system would be the way to go, but would like your opinion.  Disturbs me that all greensand systems call for 5 gpm backflush flowrate but our system can only do 4 gpm.”

Mr N.

Virginia

Hello sir,

Actually if you went with the smallest greensand system, the 0.75 CF, you could technically flush it with a 4 gpm backwash rate without any problems.  4 gpm is enough to make sure the rust gets properly cleared out.   This would be large enough for a 1 bathroom home or a home with 1 to 2 persons in it.

How to Treat Acid Well Water with Iron, Manganese and Odors

I sent you my water sample for testing and need to know how to treat our well water.  We get a lot of staining, some corrosion it looks like… and there are odors too, its bad. 

Jeff

Dear sir,

The test results are attached for your records.  The results are showing a low (acidic) pH as well as high amounts of iron & manganese which will contribute to staining, odors, and general ruining of plumbing fixtures and piping. 

Well Water Treatment for High Iron Content

I recently bought this home and the water system is broken, when the water was tested, high iron content was found. There is a filter that is not working from what the other company said.

I need to have filtered water to remove the iron to make is safe for pets as well as myself.  

Max

Hi Max,
 It is important to have your well water tested first, before you choose a solution.  If you need a low cost well water test kit, we recommend this one:

How to Treat Well Water with Low pH (Acid Well Water)

My well water has a low pH (6.1) and it is eating up our copper pipes.  Our house is about 5 years old and we have been plagued with blue stains and copper corrosion.   Is there a way to fix our copper pipes? 
 

Alan

Pennsylvania

Dear Alan,

This is a common problem in your area and we have many hundreds of customers in Pennsylvania with the same problem.   Fortunately it will be easy for you to fix it by installing a simple calcite neutralizer and optional phosphate feeder on your water.

How To Handle Sulfur Smell, Bacteria, and Hardness in Well Water

 have sulfur smell in my well water. I am needing a system to remove smell and filter out coliform bacteria and remove hardness. results from lab test: sulfur total by ICP - 60.6mg/l hardness – 7  grains/gallon.  Total dissolved solids - 757 mg/l.  My ph 7.7. However, iron and manganese are low and not a problem. What do you suggest?

John B.

Salem, Missouri

To thoroughly treat this water, we can recommend using a Precision-24 chlorine injection metering pump, which provides extra strength oxidation for killing bacteria and oxidizing high levels of iron and manganese (which can be linked with sulfur odors).  

How to Remove Sulfur Odors Without Using Chlorine

Hello there,

Can I remove sulfur rotten egg smells without using chlorine bleach?  A friend from church suggested I pour bleach down the well, but I want a permanent solution that doesn’t use chlorine. 

We did have our well tested for bacteria, and its safe to drink, but the water has a faint smell of rotten eggs and it is really annoying.  We don’t get any rust stains and we really don’t have any other problems with the water, just the smell and occasional sediment.

Caroline F.

Georgia

 For an inexpensive solution to removing sulfur smell in water and to avoid using chlorine, we can recommend the following Air Charge Sulfur Filter 5900 to address the odor problem.   

How to Kill Bacteria and Remove Iron, Odor and Sediment at the Same Time

We have a ranch outside town and our well water sometimes tests positive for coliform bacteria (not e.coli though).  We grew up there and always drank the water, but I am concerned about my grandkids drinking or bathing in it.

My question is about bacteria, but we also have iron. How can I kill coliform bacteria in our well water, and also treat for iron?  The local Kinnetico guy wanted to use a larger softener with UV light, but it cost over $5000.  Our water is very rusty and my husband didn’t think the softener alone would do the job.

What do you folks recommend?

Mrs Carlyle

San Antonio

UV will kill the bacteria, but the water must be very clean, soft and low in minerals to work properly.   Another way that works very well is chlorinate the water and pass it through a contact tank to allow time to kill the bacteria, then filter and softener the water.