10 year old well suddenly Cloudy

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jmbrad

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My well is 10 years old and has always been perfectly clear. We had some heavy rain and 2 days later my water went cloudy. It has never done this before. If left to set in a glass the water does not clear. Stays cloudy. Beige in color.

154 ft total depth

110 ft of PVC case

Submersible pump


The guy that drilled the well looked at it today with a camera. He found no problems with the case. He says the rock has crumbled and left big vains that might be letting in surface water. I wasn't home when he came today, so I didn't get to see for myself. He raised the pump up to 95 ft.

He gave me 3 options.

1. Gravel fill and screen case. $1500.00
2. Filter system. $3500.00
3. New well at least 250 ft total with 150 ft of Galvanized case this time. $5200.00

Any Suggestions? Should I give it some time and see if it clears up?

Jody
 
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Gary Slusser

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The price for the filter is way too high, by $2k if bought from a local dealer and more from an online dealer but, if you fill a glass and let it sit, how long does it take to settle out. Beige is probably iron, take a sample somewhere for testing.

I'd pump the well off and see if it clears. If it does, it will come back the next rain like you just had.

What did he charge for the camera inspection? Where are you?
 

jmbrad

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Gary,

I'm in Salisbury, NC.

He charged me 235.00 for the inspection and chlorine treatment.

The water doesn't settle out. It stays cloudy.

Some clarification on the filter system:

He says it will do 4 things:

Soften
Filter grit
Raise pH
Kill Bacteria

I don't know the brand yet. Sounds like from what I have been reading on this site he is going to install multiple devices.He is supposed to bring some literature by tonight.
 
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jmbrad

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Water Test Results

Hardness 7 GPG
Iron 1 PPM
pH 6
Solids 127 PPM

Manganese and Sulfur were 0.
 

jmbrad

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The filter system the guy is trying to sell me is a WaterRight Sanitizer.

3300.00 + install.
 

Gary Slusser

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I used to be a dealer for them many years ago. That is a softener, not a filter. The price should be roughly $1200 plus $200 to install it. It creates a bit of chlorine during a regeneration that 'sanitizes' the resin bed but, the resin is not resin, it is their own crystal zeolite. That chlorine does not disinfect/sanitize your water.

If you wanted to be a DIYer, you can buy from an online dealer like me and install it yourself in about 2+ hours. Depending on the size, you'll usually spend less than $850 but, no softener is going to clear up cloudy water!

Have you run the well off yet?
 

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Gary,

I did run the well off over the weekend. It is steadily clearing. The more water we use, the clearer is gets.

We're going to get some heavy rain again this weekend. I'll keep my fingers crossed it doesn't get cloudy again.

Jody
 

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That's good, do it again.

Although it doesn't happen frequently, this is what can happen by shocking a well, or as the government and well drillers calls it, sanitizing a well. This cloudy water problem may clear up or may not and if not, it will require a very good backwashed filter. If it only happens after a heavy rain, you have dirty water infiltration into the well. It would cost tons of money to fix the well and less than $1000 for the filter and $400+ for a UV light if you buy online from a dealer like me or others. From a local dealer, you can add a $1000-$1500 and up.
 

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So far so good!

Water has cleared up and stayed clear. We had over an inch of rain last weekend and so far, the water has stayed clear.

I'm still holding my breath.

Jody
 

Gary Slusser

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http://www.ohiopurewaterco.com

This company is very reliable and has a high reputation for excellent service. Free Shipping!

Andy Christensen, CWS-II
As I said, you being a Kinetico salesman, how would you know the reliability and extent of this company's service but, I keep hearing from their customers and I'm hearing from them because of poor service BEFORE and AFTER the sale. Here's something I found out about just last night and I checked and it is verbatim on their web site but usually would only be found after ordering from them:

**************
Please refer to the Leaflet for General Operation that will be located inside the Clack Valve Cover, about how to set the “Time of Day†, Adjusting the Hardness and Days between Regeneration and How to Manually Regenerate the unit.

If you happen to lose or misplace this leaflet, please click on this link to our web site where you can download and print off another copy….!!
http://www.ohiopurewaterco.com/shop/files/clackinfomaster.pdf

Our obligation to all our customers who purchase the Clack WS1 system from
our company, is to assist them with the programming information that is
available to the home owner on the “General Operation†leaflet supplied with
your Clack Valve. (See Leaflet Link Shown Above)

We are not obligated to address any additional programming tutorials with any customer, that may be available on the Clack WS1 valve. (the emphasis is THEIRS!)
**************

What that means is that they will not tell their customer how to program the control valve in the installer/dealer side of the computer where you set the K of capacity, the meter setting, the salt dose lbs. etc. etc. etc. etc. OR tell them how to get into that side of the programming!! I hear that when a customer can make contact with them after the sale, they are told to use the default settings.

BTW, they also do not tell their prospective customer how to correctly size a softener; including anything about salt or water efficiency etc. etc..

So people, be careful about taking advice from anyone that says OPW (or numerous other sites) is a good place to buy from (simply to prevent people from buying from me as Andy and others have done for years).
 

Gary Slusser

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Hardness 7 GPG
Iron 1 PPM
pH 6
Solids 127 PPM

Manganese and Sulfur were 0.
So now that you got rid of the cloudiness and it didn't return after a serious rain, you are left with the same water quality.

You don't have to buy equipment, although a softener will remove the hardness and the iron with no more maintenance than keeping salt in the salt tank, but then you get to live with the rust stains and hardness.

The iron and hardness will usually cost more to deal with and suffer the hidden cost of than a softener will if you buy right; like online from me or other online dealers. I suggest a correctly sized softener for your family size, the number of bathrooms you have and the type of fixtures in them, and I suggest the Clack WS-1 control valve.
 

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You don't have to buy equipment, although a softener will remove the hardness and the iron with no more maintenance than keeping salt in the salt tank, but then you get to live with the rust stains and hardness.

We have no rust stains. Been living there 10 years. And I can live with the hardness.

I have no data to back this up, but I believe if I have another test done without the cloudiness, the water will test differently. I just hate to add something else to my life to have to maintain. For me, and I stress "for me", the advantages of soft water do not outweight the expense and maintenance of adding another piece of equipment to my life.

Jody
 

Gary Slusser

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I'll bet you an adult beverage that there will be little to no difference in hardness or pH (you have acidic water) but, more than 3-4 gpg of hardness, you have 7, will cost you more in hidden costs than a softener and some salt every month will cost you. The acid will also cause deterioration of metals in your water system and appliances while adding copper and any other metals in the system to your water; that can be a health concern, and especially for infants and young kids. And you can't maintain a water heater or other water using appliances against the problems they suffer because of hard or acidic water.

You said you had 1 ppm of iron, as little as .3 ppm can cause rust stains.

So post the new results.
 

jmbrad

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We have had more heavy rain last weekend. So far so good. No noticable change in water quality.

Might have dodged a bullet on this one. Ye Haw!
 

jmbrad

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Well, I hate to say that after 6 months without any problems, my water is cloudy again. Back to the beginning. :mad:

Where do I go from here? I'm tempted to drill another well, before I add a stupid water treatment plant under my house. The initial expense is about the same. The well alone won't have near the upkeep as a treatment system.

Feedback?

Jody
 

Gary Slusser

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And what guarantee do you have that if you drill a new well say 100' across the yard from this one that you won't get the same or worse water quality?

NONE! is the only correct answer.

At the same time, IF you bought the filter or softener online and installed it yourself or hired a plumber to do it, you normally wouldn't spend more than $850 plus a couple hundred for the installation. And I know that you can't get a well drilled usually for less than $2,500-$4,000, then you pay to move the pressure tank, plumbing and maybe a pump too, or DIY.

If you have enough money to do a new well, you are much better off buying treatment equipment online instead.

I have instructed many people on how to install equipment under a house in very low overhead crawl spaces.

So how bad is the color this time?
 
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