Well water

[Deleted]

I grew up with well water and I love it.
My plants love it.
BUT
Since I've moved in my water has been getting increasingly stinky!
I installed a whole house water filter an that reduces the odor to a metallic smell. but that lasts about a month and then its back to poo smell, not sulphur, poo!
I have no well cap as numerous people have said to pour bleach in the well.
The water lines are 50 yrs old, galvanized, and I'm thinkin about replacing the lines but I was hopin for some input before I go through the expense an time of doing all that.

Anybody? Help? PLease?

[Laura]

We have well water out here too. No smell's & this is an OLD system.
It does make good coffee..It however is BAD on Blonde hair from the bottle. I have very unusal looking hair now. Pholk's ask me how I got my hair this way..I just smile & tell em it's well water..

[Pharmer Phil]

have you had it tested Bro?
I personally don't think that changing the water lines will help with the odor.
Hmmmm, no well cap? almost has to be...
Where is your well, not near your septic, I'm hoping!

[douglas]

Not sure how much yer willing to spend but I found this on a google search

www.awqinc.com/sentry.html

[Songbird]

admin said:

have you had it tested Bro?
I personally don't think that changing the water lines will help with the odor.
Hmmmm, no well cap? almost has to be...
Where is your well, not near your septic, I'm hoping!

yea...that was my thought too.

[Deleted]

No I havent had it tested.Im not really sure WHERE to bring it to have it tested.
The septic is in back and the well is in front.That was the first thing I thought of!
I gotta get this fixed!
I cant even do a sinkful of dishes without gettin the dry heaves!

[Pharmer Phil]

Bro, this worked in Ia, Mo, and Mn., I'm guessing it will in Illinois Too!
Look up the number of the County Health nurse, she will lead you to the testing! cheap too!

[Deleted]

Thanks Phil!

[Pharmer Phil]

XdX, go outside and clear your smeller, now, you have to smell quickly, or the gasses you are smelling, will deaden your sniffer...

If the smell is only from the hot water faucet the problem is likely to be in the water heater.

If the smell is in both the hot and cold faucets, but only from the water treated by a water softener and not in the untreated water the problem is likely to be sulfur bacteria in the water softener.

If the smell is strong when the water in both the hot and cold faucets is first turned on, and it diminishes or goes away from the water has run, or if the smell varies through time the problem is likely to be sulfur bacteria in the well or distribution system.

If the smell is strong when the water in both the hot and cold faucets is first turned on and is more or less constant and persists with use the problem is likely to be hydrogen sulfide gas in the groundwater.

And yes Bro, I know it smells more like S*** than rotten eggs, but the gasses will get very strong, and can smell unlike rotten eggs

[Talks With Beagles]

If the water lines are 50 years old, then the well itself must be at least as old as that. Many rural areas didn't have building codes in those days, and if they did there may not have been much enforcement. How deep is the well? Nowadays most states won't let you tap the surface vein, and some have minnimum depth requirements. Contrary to popular opinion, these codes were not passed primarily to make well drillers rich. Shallow wells are unreliable and subject to contamination.

When I was a kid in Chicago, we used to go to the Cook County Forest Preserves for picnics and outdoor social gatherings. There was also a Boy Scout camp that I went to a few times in the same area. All the wells there smelled and tasted like rotten eggs, and many city people thought that well water was like that the world over. We used to bring drinking water from the city whenever we went out there. One year the District pulled all the old wells and had new ones drilled, which were much deeper. After that, the forest preserve water tasted just like Chicago water, but without the chlorine.

On the other hand, my parents in Palos Park had a well that was over 200 feet deep. (For the benefit of you desert dwellers, that is considered quite deep by Great Lake States standards.) They never were able to clean that water up, and eventually the citizens passed a bond issue or something and piped city water in all the way from Chicago. My dad still kept his well for watering plants, but it was no good for drinking or washing up. It also corroded the pipes something fierce, and left rust stains in the sink which required a specialized cleanser to remove. (I seem to remember it was called "Zud" or something like that.)

I guess the bottom line here is that you need to consult with your neighbors, find out if they have the same problem, and what they usually do to mitigate it. Then you might have to think about drilling a new well. It won't be cheap, but if it's done right it will be worth it in the long run. All well drillers are not created equal, so check again with your neighbors to find somebody who is reputable.

[Deleted]

I do share the well with the neighbor an I've talked to her an she says she has the same problem.
I do notice the smell only seems to come on when runnin the HOT water.
The water heater is only 4yrs old though.
Whatcha think if I drain the heater an see if that helps?

[Compost Pharmer]

Give it a try and let us know if there is any improvement. Since both of you are having the same problem, it may not solve the issue. Is there any way to intercept the water right from the pump and see how it is?

[Laura]

I have one building IN TOWN that has the worst smelling water.. It is a Bank of all building's..man their water is BAD. Why would a townie building have such nasty water?

[jeanette]

our water stinks and turns all black in the toilets if we don't keep salt in the water softener.. it always tastes yucky.. but it is safe.

[Talks With Beagles]

The city of Cheboygan had problems with their water for years. They have several wells, and had them all tested. One or two were eventually shut down, and they drilled new ones. The problems continued in certain neighborhoods, and it was determined that something was wrong with the mains. Most of them were cast iron and nearly a hundred years old. When they got to digging them up, they even found a few that were made of wood. They flushed them several times with chlorine, and eventually replaced them all with plastic. I have not heard any complaints lately, so I guess it's fixed now.

[Compost Pharmer]

Never heard of wood water pipes. You would think they rot over time.

[Laura]

I think we will have to take another picture of my hair so you all can see just what the well water has done to it. It doesn't bother me as much as it used to..Pholk's look at it & ask me how I did it..

[Talks With Beagles]

gar said:

Never heard of wood water pipes. You would think they rot over time.

They did, which was one of the reasons the water tasted funny. Apparently cast iron doesn't last forever either.

[Deleted]

If the smell is only from the hot water faucet the problem is likely to be in the water heater.

Well I had to drag this out again but I just wanted to share my new NON SMELLY happiness!

This is where I found the answer to my problem.
It's a very interesting site when it comes to water heater maintenance!
And I have 100% NO smell!!

[Deleted]

Glad ya got yer problrm solved Bro.

[Laura]

I solved my well water problem also.. I dyed my hair red..

[bscamo]

It's also a good idea to drain & flush your hot water tank about once a year.......That gets rid of a lot of "nasties"... ....(Well or no well.....).

[oldfella]

Great bit of information about the water heater anode rod. Thanks for sharing.

Pete