Water Well Clean Out?

[Michael Holmes]

Good Morning,

First I want to say how glad I was to find this site as a resource. I recently moved to a new acreage that is on well and septic. The house sat dormant for about 1.5 years do to a death in the family and the estate being sorted out etc.

We took our water in to be tested and I have an iron level of 4.5 and a hardness of 47.

I was going looking to get a softer and possibly an iron filter because I have terrible staining on the fixtures. It was suggested that we get a well clean out. Basically they would bring a truck with a huge air compressor on it, then remove the well pump, lower the air able into the well and blow it out with high pressure.

They showed me several pictures of this being down and I was amazed at how much gunk came out of these wells.

My question is, has anyone had this done, or have an opinion about it? The cost is around $900 which I would be happy to do if I knew it would help my water quality. The guy I went to seemed to know what he was talking about and really made me think I should do it. But I wanted to take a moment to research it and see if anyone had first had knowledge and feedback about their experience.

Any help you might provide would be very helpful.

(P.S. I tried to do a search on this and didn't find a thread for it, so I apologize if I have missed a previous thread dedicated to this.)

~Michael

[valveman]

If the well really needs cleaning out, that is a good way to do it. But being idle for a year and a half is not a reason to need the well cleaned. If it pumps good water don't clean it. If the water is still dirty after running it hard for a few days, it might need cleaning.

[LLigetfa]

Is this a mud or a rock well? If you pull out too much mud too fast, you risk creating a cavern that can then start caving in. Also, it will do nothing to reduce the iron content.

When you draw fresh water now, is it clear or discoloured? Does it only discolour after it has sat in an open pail for a while. Is this actual sediment besides precipitated iron?

[Michael Holmes]

I will need to research whether this is a mud or rock well. As I do not know, the company who drilled the well back in the 50's is no longer in business and I'm not able to find the particulars on the well in the documentation that was left for us.

I will tell you that I can Iron-Out the walls of the bathroom and within a day there is orange staining on the walls and tub.

I can try to test the water this evening to see if it's sediment or iron...it could be a combination of both. When I took the samples in to be tested they appeared pretty clear to me, although the hot water seemed a little brown compared to the cold water.

The well was inspected before we purchased it, so I will need to see if they have any more info that wasn't included on the inspection for depth, rock or mud, etc.

Thanks for the guidance and I will update this with what I find out.

~Michael

[LLigetfa]

I'm guessing you have what some call "clear iron" meaning that the iron is dissolved in the water and later precipitates out as rust when exposed to air. This can be confirmed if a fresh water drawn from the wellhead into a pail looks clear and later turns brown.

If there is discolouration or turbidity at the wellhead, I would run it hard for a few days as valveman suggests. If there is no turbidity, I'd leave well enough alone.

[Porky]

I believe that you'll find that most wells in Pennsylvania are rock wells. 4.5 iron is high. I'd pump the well intil the water is reasonably clear then catch a sample and take it to a certified laboratory, then take the results to a qualified water conditioner company and they can recommend how to remove the iron and clear up the water.