How much disinfectant to use?

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Daisy

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Can anyone tell me how much disinfectant to use in a shock treatment of my well?. The water is 35' in a 90' well and pipe is 6". Also how to go about doing it? Thank you all in advance
 

Hydrohead

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I have been told by the Dept. of Health to add 1 gallon of bleach for every 50' of water in a 6" casing.

Attach garden hose to bib and run water back into the well casing until you smell the bleach. Let it stand for 2 hrs.

Then run water through all fixtures in house until you smell the bleach and let stand for 24 hrs.

Then flush system and retest 24 hrs later.

I would contact your local Dept. of Health to verify.
 

Raucina

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I cant find my book with the formula, but in my experience - I have saved 3 or 4 wells from condemnation with repeated treatment- most of the well guys take pretty wild guesses based on experience and their nose.

In your shallow well, would start with 1/2 gallon bleach or 1/4 gallon pool chlorine, recirculate it down the casing for at least 1/2 hour [sniff test - pretty strong smell like the pool at the city] then start to open all taps until the smell appears and close, and let sit as long as possible.

After the taps were showing chlorine i would add another gallon of bleach and keep recirculating. That may sound like a lot, but the chlorine is quickly oxidized in the splashing down the well hole.

You could use a pool chlorine test kit and shoot for dark yellow at all taps for 24 hours.

I also drop a few 3" tablets down new wells when the rig leaves, much junk gets in with the process.

Once it took 4 cycles of this before the health dept allowed an occupancy permit, I had almost given up.
 

Bob NH

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Hydrohead said:
I have been told by the Dept. of Health to add 1 gallon of bleach for every 50' of water in a 6" casing.

One gallon in 50 ft of a 6" casing is excessive. The site at the link below (Mississippi State University Extension Service) recommends about 1/4 gallon for 50 ft of water in a 6" well.

First, you need to find out how much WATER is in your well. You need to know the depth of water and diameter of the well. The site at the link below describes the process and quantities.

http://msucares.com/pubs/publications/p1865.htm
 

Sammyhydro11

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I have always went with 1 quart for every 50 gallons in the well. If the coliform count is off the chart i'll double or triple that amount to make sure i get rid of it.

SAM
 

Speedbump

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I say do what works. You will find a lot of differing opinions, and no one person ever seems to come up with the same solution. If a little bid doesn't do it. Use more.

By the way, the three inch tablets should never be used in drinking water applications.

bob...
 

Gary Slusser

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Absolutely NO POOL chlorine!!

It is very different chlorine than the chlorine used on potable water systems. It is dangerous stuff humnas and animals. Actually nothing but 70% chlorine 1 gram FDA approved chlorine pellets should be used but many people mistakenly think "chlorine's chlorine and more is always better". Which is wrong but look what we have going on here in this thread...

Anybody, but especially a well guy!! using 3" tablets or ANY other pool chlorine is asking for serious law suits. Man that's dangerous stuff you're doing to the groundwater and the people using the water from that and surrounding wells.

When you shock chlorinate a well etc. you run the risk of creating DPBs (disinfection by-products) called THMs (trihalomethanes) which are known carcinogens and limited to 50-80 ppB(illion) by all states and the EPA.

You also run the risk of creating pump, drop pipe, power cable and water quality problems when shocking a well. Most if not all are expensive to fix.

Shocking usually fails and is only a temporary 'fix' if it gets you a Coliform bacteria free test result. Usually in 1-6 weeks the contamination returns.

The proper volume of chlorine is 200-500 ppm of chlorine but there has to be 2-5 ppm of Free chlorine. That is NOT total chlorine, it is the amount that still has disinfection and oxidizing capabilities.

To kill bacteria, the water should be lower in pH than higher, and best is like 6.2 pH. When you chlorinate water it raises the pH of the water which decreases the ability of the chlorine to disinfect but makes it better at oxidizing. You must kill/disinfect bacteria. You oxidize iron etc. and you usually don't shock a well because there's iron in the water.

Shocking a well can cause recovery problems of the well; reduced production. Bacteria form slime to protect themselves from chlorine. The slime can not be penetrated by chlorine and the slime forms encrustations that require acid and/or caustics to remove. That is called well rehabilitation or cleaning. It is expensive.

Rather than allowing the chlorinated water to sit still in plumbing (and the well) for hours, it is best to flush the plumbing every 20-30 minutes and clear the lines of dirt and bring in new chlorine to work better than the older spent chlorine. You flush by drawing water from each faucets for 10-30 seconds and flush toilets and do the tubs too. Do cold water only. Repeat every 20-30 minutes for a few hours. Every hour or so run water down back the well too, for say 5 minutes each run. The chlorine will lay on the bottom of the well unless you do that.
 

Leejosepho

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Gary Slusser said:
Absolutely NO POOL chlorine!!

It is very different chlorine than the chlorine used on potable water systems. It is dangerous stuff humnas and animals. Actually nothing but 70% chlorine 1 gram FDA approved chlorine pellets should be used but many people mistakenly think "chlorine's chlorine and more is always better". Which is wrong but look what we have going on here in this thread...

Does that include spa sanitizer? Thinking "chlorine's chlorine" but while not also thinking "more is always better", the crystal-stuff I used about two weeks ago was 47.6% Calcium Hypochlorite.
 

Raucina

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The pool chlorine sold here in gallons is sodium hypochlorite with no additives [liquid]

But bleach, which seems to be the same by labeling is simply diluted with odorants added.

So explain what is the problem, difference with sodium hypochlorite and calcium hypochlorite.... None of these are intended for drinking and the well will be flushed out many times before anyone drinks anything. The only purpose is disinfection. You can use acid before the chlorine to break up scum and slime if so inclined, but it seems a lot of guesswork and luck is involved no matter what formula you choose.

I would only use a tablet after the rig leaves on a new well and it will sit for some time unplumbed. Liquid might be the better choice but tablets store much longer and carry easier.
 

Bob NH

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Calcium hypochlorite (pool chlorine) and sodium hypochlorite (bleach) will both work. You must adjust the concentration. Here is a link to a site that tells you how much calcium hypochlorite to use.

http://www.lifewater.ca/Section_15.htm

Calcium hypochlorite is used where liquid bleach is not available because of transportation and storage problems. I used calcium hypochlorite for water treatment in a system with a chemical feed pump in Bluefields, Nicaragua. They already had it on the site because they have a pool. It is still working fine after 2 years.

The secret is to make a fairly dilute solution by dissolving the calcium hypochlorite in a fairly large quantity of water before putting it in the well, or before using it in a chemical feed pump for water treatment.

As with all diluting and mixing of chemicals, the small amount of concentrated chemical should be added to a large amount of water; never add the water to the chemical.
 

Speedbump

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We were called out yesterday by another pump guy who couldn't get a pump out of a well because of the rust build up from the duplexes owner pouring chlorine down the well every so often. They broke the pipe in half. We went in and fished it out. After that they put a three inch pump in the well because a four inch pump would no longer fit. (4") well.

bob...
 

Leejosepho

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Great link, Bob_NH! Thank you.

And yes, SpeedBump, I want nothing more to do with any chlorine ... and not only because of the ultimate damage it can do, but also because it can be so dangerous to have around.

If I am now understanding correctly, chlorination should only be a final step for sanitization purposes after a well has been installed or cleaned.
 

Gary Slusser

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Sodium hypochlorite ONLY pool chlorine is way different than throwing a few 3" pool tablets down a potable water well.

I'd have to see the label before I'd believe there are no UV stabilizers etc. in any pool chlorine; sodium or calcium hypochlorite.

And what manufacturer is going to tell you their ingredients of a branded product?

Pool tablets have all kinds of additives etc. that are not supposed to be used in potable water systems. Period. Although they and other things are used for potable water treatment every day, that doesn't say they are not going to cause problems and possibly serious health problems.

Let alone thrown down a well to lay on the bottom for months. And they never fully dissolve.
 

Bob NH

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Gary Slusser said:
Sodium hypochlorite ONLY pool chlorine is way different than throwing a few 3" pool tablets down a potable water well.
See the link at my post 11. I never said anything about throwing pool tablets down a well. There are safe ways to use calcium hypochlorite.

The safest product for water treatment when disinfection is required, whether sodium hypochlorite (bleach) or calcium hypochlorite ("pool chlorine") is to get the cheapest product there is; no scented or special product.

Public water supplies REQUIRE a persistent disinfectant in water delivered to customers. That disinfectant is almost always some form of chlorine or some compound containing chlorine.
 

Gary Slusser

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BobNH, this is what I replied to: ***In your shallow well, would start with 1/2 gallon bleach or 1/4 gallon pool chlorine, recirculate it down the casing for at least 1/2 hour [sniff test - pretty strong smell like the pool at the city] then start to open all taps until the smell appears and close, and let sit as long as possible.

After the taps were showing chlorine i would add another gallon of bleach and keep recirculating. That may sound like a lot, but the chlorine is quickly oxidized in the splashing down the well hole.

You could use a pool chlorine test kit and shoot for dark yellow at all taps for 24 hours.

I also drop a few 3" tablets down new wells when the rig leaves, much junk gets in with the process.****

Raucina posted that before you posted. Apology accepted.
 

Bob NH

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Gary Slusser said:
Raucina posted that before you posted. Apology accepted.

Apology offered.

I was remarking relative to the "Sodium hypochlorite only . . ." part. Sorry for giving offense.
 
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