# Bleach in well water



## Lester_7

I have a well and I heard you can pour a little bleach down in there to rid some of the smell. Is it ok to this? And ok to drink the water afterwards?


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## dilligaf

2 drops of Regular Clorox Bleach per quart of water
8 drops of Regular Clorox Bleach per gallon of water
1/2 teaspoon Regular Clorox Bleach per five gallons of water

For overly yucky water double these amounts

use only regular scent bleach to do this.

here is a link to a site that may help you in this 
http://www.newjerusalem.com/PureWater.htm


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## JeepHammer

Regular chlorine bleach will work in well water, but since the volume in the well usually isn't known, it's usually better to treat the water in a container of known size so the dosages are correct.

When we had a well, I used plain old 'Clorox' bleach.
None of the 'Smell Good' or 'Color' they like to put in things now.
Later we used the water treatment chemical power like they use in swimming pools and water treatment plants.
Cheaper and didn't take as much work to get the smell out.

To take the chlorine smell/taste out, simply aerate the water.
Chlorine is volatile and will evaporate/evacuate the water simply pouring it back and forth from one container to another.

There are several chemical filters on the market that will take chlorine out of water also, they are cheap, easy to install in a pressurized water system, and they are nearly 100% effective.


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## jalapenoM

Couldn't you measure the volume using a rope and a ruler or is there an underground area full of water at the bottom?


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## JeepHammer

The water flows into, AND OUT OF wells all the time...
A well is nothing more than a deep spot on an underground stream, and if you pour the bleach in the well, it will be migrated out almost immediately and replaced with 'Raw' water.

It's much easier and more convent (not to mention using a bunch less 'Bleach' or whatever!) to have a large reserve tank, and when the tank is refilled from the well, add the bleach.
Since you know exactly were the pump comes on and when the pump goes off, you know how much water (within a few gallons) has been replaced in the tank, and most places with a 'Bad Well' have automatic cycling treatment tanks anyway...

When the tank gets full, it looks like a toilet tank float that administers a metered amount of disinfectant into the water... every time the tank is refilled...


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## SierraM37

*Bleach in Well*

We have two wells - One is low (or is to high) PH that was corroding the copper pipes. When we built the in law house, we used plastic plumbing pipe and now use that well on that house.

We dug a new well which has great water properties but get a little iron algae that we treat with plain old bleach every 3-6 months. As someone else said, don't use anything but plain bleach and do not use chlorine.

We have both wells tied together so if one run's dry, both houses can be served by either.

Todd.


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## headhunter

*a while back*

A while back (29 yrs) the check valve at the bottom of our well had to be replaced. When finished 2 gal of chlorine were dumped down the well to take care of "whatever". After a couple of days, the taste wasn't detectable. It has been good tasting ever since.


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## childclown

You didn't just get used to the taste?


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## skip

A friend had a well that was polluted by a bad septic system. I do not know where, but he bought a chlorine injector that held and put a set amount of bleach into his pressure tank every so often. The well is still in use today, and all he does is send in a sample to a lab every 6 months. With the bleach, the water comes back fine.


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## Nomad

When I lived in Maine, I had to clean our well yearly. Basically I created a strong chlorine solution, poured it in the well, waited, then purged the well. I am being vague because the details depend on your well.

Check with the state board of water quality, state health agency or similar groups to find details calculated for your well. 

This is a very common practice in rural areas, especially areas which have a certain bacteria which smells like sulpher (how is it spelled??). Don't guess, get the facts.

Nomad


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## Homer_Simpson

In Northern Wisconsin this is a common practice, to "shock a well" (pouring bleach down it) it's not something I would do without talking to a person in the business to make sure you are doing it right. Around here the bleach is dumped in, we not talking drops but jugs. Just did a quick google search on the subject and found two sites that might be helpful. Again, I would talk to someone in the business first

DWP: Well Shocking Procedure

Chlorine Shocking Your Well


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## Magus

Lester_7 said:


> I have a well and I heard you can pour a little bleach down in there to rid some of the smell. Is it ok to this? And ok to drink the water afterwards?


Just run it through an aquapure or similair filter,bleach will kill you!
I'm deadly allergic to it and floride!


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## EvilTOJ

Magus, bleach in sufficient quantities to disinfect microbes is not deadly to humans. If you're on city water most likely there's chlorine and chloramine in your water supply.


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## Merlin

Lester_7 said:


> I have a well and I heard you can pour a little bleach down in there to rid some of the smell. Is it ok to this? And ok to drink the water afterwards?


Hi please fallow the links provided by Homer_Simpson they are by far the most correct !!!!!!! the only thing you need to know is when they talk about deep or shallow well shallow wells for the most part are just that less than 50 most of the time less than 25 feet deep 2nd when they talk about depth of well what they really mean is the depth of water in well so you need to first sound you well this is done by a small 1.5 - 5 weight on a line if you know about how deep your well is.. you were told by a well person or have record of it this will give you a idea of how long of line you will need I use a 300 ft nylon tape measure home improvement stores have them 10-30 dollars but you may have friend that has one. So here I will try to walk you through it* 1st *clean off then power wash of top of well head and concrete pad check to make sure water runs away not sits on top or around if it is correct this!! * 2nd *open top were the seal is and inspect it was there any way bugs slugs rodents could have or getting washed in will cont next posting
DWP: Well Shocking Procedure
Chlorine Shocking Your Well


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## Merlin

*The rest of the story*

3rd my well is aprox 377 ft so I use 200 ft tape and tie a line to this to make up difference lower weight slow just do not drop it when you feel it hit bottom raise and lower it 2 or so feet to make sure your not hitting on the top of the pump or thrust dampers then pull out checking to feel and see when it is wet this will give you the most info like mine for say is 377ft deep depending on time of year and how much I have been irrigating or neighbors for miles around on the same water aquifer you are I will find my well to be 377 pump hangs at about 340 and and top of water is at about 280 this tells me on my 10 inch well I have about 100 ft of water I also know that the area were water comes into my casing is at about 350 a good driller always over drills and your pump is always 10 ft min to 25 ft above bottom so you do not pump the sand etc from bottom this is how you get that footage to treat and no the water in a well dose not flow like a water hose through it water always seeks its own level to hard to tell you how I Hope this helps you and every one there are many sites on the web from local government, health inspection and university groups all saying the same thing *CLOROX BLEACH with CLORINE* not purex nor econ types must have chlorine next is pool chlorine but this must be diluted more to chlorine may rust steel shaft and pipes make sure you do the rinse out with hose do not just treat well because the pipe have had bad water also !!!!!!!!


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## cowboy

We just pour 1/2 gallon of bleach in our well once a year to kill coliform bacteria. open all of the faucets in the house and run all of the dirty brown stuff out. coliform bacteria is from vegetation like leaves and moss. anytime you open your well you really need to do this again. you will smell the bleach for a couple of days. this practice has been the norm for years around here. most of the wells have high water flow and are around 130 feet deep.


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