Originally Posted By: jrobnett This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
Any ideas on testing water from a well? In our area, well and pump installers say the only way the water will pass the county test is to add 2 gal. of bleach to the well. Let it run until one smells the bleach. Let it sit over-night. Run water the next day for 15min and then take a sample. The problem is this house is occuiped and they do not want to be without water.
Originally Posted By: bking This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
If you treat the well with bleach before testing you will be guaranteed no bacteria I would think so the test is a waste of time/money. I think you should test for other nasty stuff and then wait several months to test for bacteria if bleach was added. Note, the bleach is necessary to at least kill the germs on the pipes and pump that gets introduced during installation. www.h20test.com is where I got some FHA kits, ask them for a discount. minimum 4 kits for a discount usually.
edit- I think 1 gallon max should be plenty, 2 gallons and that water will smell like a pool for 6 months. Always add lots of water back to the well as you very slowly pour the bleach.
Originally Posted By: shuggins This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
Jack,
Pull a sample before adding the bleach, have tested in your area. If the sample fails then add bleach, the amount of bleach to add is based on the depth of the well. (1-2 gallons is the avg for my area.)
Thanks, Spencer
-- Spencer Huggins
H & H Inspection Services, LLC
Piedmont, Oklahoma
spencer@hhinspections.com
http//www.hhinspections.com
Originally Posted By: jhagarty This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
jrobnett wrote:
Any ideas on testing water from a well? In our area, well and pump installers say the only way the water will pass the county test is to add 2 gal. of bleach to the well.
Jack
Sorry to hear that the injestion of Coliform and E-Coli Bacteria is the accepted norm in your area. Adding Chlorine prior to testing will give you a False Result.
Rather than adding Chlorine to Fool the Lab and your Client, this may be in order....
Originally Posted By: The Water Shed Labs This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
Our Laboratory has been performing FHA type analysis on private wells since 1985. The key to a proper well test is to make sure that all of the chlorine used for disinfection has been removed from the well before retesting. Coliform, and more specifically E. coli bacteria, are introduced from surface water contamination. If the well is properly sealed from surface water contamination, the resample bact. test should be negative(unless the deep aquifer water is contaminated, which is not usually the case). In either situation, complete removal of chlorine before retesting is essential for a proper water analysis.