Best way to bleach/cleanse well?

[ConstableDuffy]

I just bought a house that was built in 1977. The water test showed violation levels of coliform bacteria in the well water (although no E. coli). I was told that bleaching the well and plumbing would likely resolve this issue. I understand that there are at least two general ways to do this - pour liquid bleach into the well or use chlorine tablets.

I found this NMSU article (NMSU: Disinfecting a Domestic Well with Shock Chlorination) which instructs how to bleach a well using liquid bleach. Is this process a good one? Someone told me that using chlorine tablets is a much better way to bleach a well. Which of these is the most effective method, or is there another, better method?

 

[Reach4]

Chlorine can be from liquid or pellets, but to drop pellets to the bottom, you need space to get around the pump. Dropping pellets, if you have the space, gets chlorine to the bottom In addition to chlorine, pH is important, and "flooding volume" is important, not only to drive chlorine down for a bottom-feeding well, but to drive disinfecting solution into the screen and the nearby paths in the aquifer.


https://terrylove.com/forums/index....izing-extra-attention-to-4-inch-casing.65845/ is my well sanitizing write-up. It is more intensive than what most people do.


For my 4 inch well, I need liquid bleach. I use Aldi 8.25%. I don't think it has the polyacrylate additive. I don't expect that additive is harmful, but I would prefer not to have it in my bleach use for water treatment or well sanitizing. Aldi had a 2-bottle max for a good while. I am not sure if that is in effect now.

https://www.clorox.com/dr-laundry/well-water-and-bleach-usage/ says

Our Clorox® Regular-Bleach actually has an added polymer, polyacrylate, which acts like a sponge to remove and hold the iron keeping it from reacting with the sodium hypochlorite.

https://terrylove.com/forums/index.php?threads/clorox-for-water-treatment-sodium-polyacrylate.73105/

I see they are talking about sodium polyacrylate. Would this be a reason to seek out a different chlorine source for water treatment? I don't see polyacrylate listed on the SDS.

https://www.clorox.com/dr-laundry/w...-might-be-most-compatible-with-clorox-bleach/ says in response to a question about sodium polyacrylate

Finally, to answer your last question, Clorox® Germicidal Bleach1 and Clorox®Regular-Bleach1 are different products that do have different formulas — taking one ingredient out is not the only change. Since our specific formulas are proprietary, I can’t be any more specific than that.

The dollar store bleach is much weaker. I am sure of that for my area. The bottles I looked at did not even have a % number on the bottle.

 

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[Water Pro]

Has the well sat for an extended period of time. If so a shocking may resolve the issue. If the presence of E. Coli or coliform is ongoing, the issue will only be resolved while chlorine is present. Once the chlorine dissipates, the issue will return. In that case chlorine injection or a UV treatment would be preferable. The latter requires the incoming water be treated to be effective.

 

[Reach4]

A positive coliform test in a deep well is often (I suspect usually) the result of improper sampling techniques. Well tested negative for E. coli.

For any bacteria test to be meaningful, you have to follow proper sampling techniques including sterilizing the faucet. If you care about the coliform test results, care needs to be taken in sampling. There are variations on suggested sampling techniques, but they have some other things in common:
https://www.doh.wa.gov/Portals/1/Documents/Pubs/331-225.pdf
https://www.anra.org/divisions/wate...nking_Water_Samples_for_Coliform_Analysis.pdf
https://myhealth.alberta.ca/Alberta/Pages/Bacteria-Testing.aspx
https://www.digbydistrict.ca/559-water-testing-sample-taking-procedure/file.html
https://servitechlabs.com/Services/Water/WaterSamplingProcedures/tabid/128/Default.aspx
These all describe methods to avoid contaminating the sample.

 

[JoeJee]

I am about to disinfect my well (I sampled and followed sampling directions) since I came back positive on Coliform and ecoli. Well case cap was only 4-6” above ground at best, had grass and what not growing into it, had lots of Dirt dobber nests and spider webs in there.
I am going to drop some small chlorine pellets down, use liquid bleach, and vinegar. ONLY place I could find regular chlorine is Aldi’s. Everywhere else had Clorox with stuff in it or the off brand that didn’t list ingredients or %.

 

[Reach4]

had lots of Dirt dobber nests and spider webs in there.

You need a that new well cap that has a vent screen as was pointed out on https://terrylove.com/forums/index.php?threads/seal-well-cap.91602/. You need to have a good conduit connection. That will keep insects out.

Maybe add some duct seal where the wires come up into the well cap. https://www.homedepot.com/p/Gardner-Bender-1-lb-Plug-Duct-Seal-Compound-DS-110/100212441