I have a question for anyone with experience with a well. Our water has developed a funky taste to it lately, kind of like plastic. We have a well and whole house filter system. Someone I called recommended that I ‘Shock’ the well.
I kind of remember how to do it,but was wondering if anyone has experience with doing so. From what I remember you:
Shut the water off to the house. Run a hose from the pump outlet (before the house shut off valve) back out to the well. Dump bleach down the well (how much, I don’t remember…maybe a gallon). Turn on the hose so the water is basically running right back into the well. Run it like that for a few hours. Take the hose out of the top of the well and run it off somewhere so the water gets continually pumped out of the well for a few hours. Once there is no bleach oder from the water coming out of the well replace the filters and then restore water to the house.
Is this the correct steps to follow? If anyone has done this did it work to help improve water quality? Also, I was told it would help to reduce the need to replace filters as often as I do.
Thanks
Do you have an expansion tank? If so, that is where I would look for a possible source of your smell.
Also, if you do have an expansion tank, verify that the liner material will handle a chlorine shock w/o damage.
Brett
Thanks for the tips. Actually, it is not a smell or rotten taste. Every glass of water just tastes like plastic (like if you drank out of a brand new cup without washing it first).
I hadn’t realized that my water softener had been out of salt for several weeks so that may have something to do with it. I addes salt and am going to change the carbon filters on the whole house filter and see if that helps.
FWIW I did have to change the filters at least once every 3 weeks. Wife, 3 kids and me working out twice a day led up to lots of laundry. We just got new front loading washer and dryer and the washer uses a TON less water. Now the filter lasts 6 weeks easily before it gets clogged with sediment and the water flow in the house starts to slow down. I am thinking now that the carbon in the filters is being used too long and I should still have to switch them every few weeks like I had been doing.
I am not sure shocking the well will solve your problem. Chlorine will kill organic smells, but I don’t know if it will take away a plastic smell. I installed an inline, whole-house cartridge filter. It is super easy to do with rudimentary plumbing skills. THere are a wide range of filters that you can use. One of them uses a charcoal filter that removes all smells and tastes from the water. I use this one frequently. The other thing you can do that I think really helps to reduce smells and taste is use a water softener. THis is another fairly easy project (although slightly more complicated than the whole house filter).
Using these two systems and keeping them well-maintained, I have not had to shock my system since the day my water system went online.
If you do insist on shocking your system It would probably be easier to get chlorine tablets from a pool supply store.
Bernie
Thanks for the reply. If you read my last post on this thread you will see that I have an inline whole house system with charcoal filters and a water softener.
The water softener had been out of salt for some time and the filters had been in longer than usual so I am thinking you are on the same line of thought that my last post was in that I need to wait and see if the added salt and changed filters helps.
Sorry, I didn’t catch that before I posted. Get the softener going and change those filters and then see where you are. I was afraid you were on track to trade your plastic taste for a chlorine taste. As I recall it stays for a long time!
Bernie