Well questions

[motion]

This well water thing is new to me. Everything was fine during the sumer, but we're finding lots of brown stuff in the water now that the water flow has slowed during winter. The toilet tanks are coated in brown stuff. What is it and what do you do about it? Is it safe to drink? When I bought the place, I had water samples taken and analyzed and everything was A OK.

[911Rob]

Your municipality or district should do water testing for you, free?
Nevertheless, you should get it tested.

Also, you can call a well installation company and they should treat the well twice a year.
Watch what they do and then you can do it yourself, but I know its a good idea.

I sell lots of "well" properties and my cabin is on well.
The biggest concern is the GPM, then of course potability.
water tables change/fluctuate though and you should be aware of the changes.

Like you say, the flow has probably decreased and its sitting now.

We always have a chilled water jug set up for the ladies.

Good Luck Mr. Big Sky
Merry Christmas too

[MT930]

Motion:
Well casing rust or Montana iron. No big deal, filter & softener will eliminate it. Buy a home water system filter and change the filter every 3 months. As time goes on it will trap less particulates you will not need to change as often. I am guessing the home is less than 5 years old ? talk to the neighbors with the older homes. We are at 4 Years in the new house new well, same problem filter & softener should take care of it. The well casing will stop dropping rust in time. It is high in iron.

[notfarnow]

Chances are it's rust or silt; probably safer than clorinated city water.

We have our water tested every year, just to be safe. Many people around here shock their well yearly, I do it every couple years.

[williecoyote]

Every once in a while, remove the top off the toilet tank. Reach your arm in there, and stir up the sediment off the bottom. Then flush. Repeat as necessary until there is clean water in the tank. Also, filter, and softener as mentioned before.

[Taz's Master]

The brown is probably silt. Do you have a filter? If so, it probably needs changed. Mine have been inline filters with easy to replace elements, the canister the filter is in is typically clear and you can see the element. Shut off the in and out lines, unscrew the canister and swap out the element.

[notfarnow]

Originally Posted by motion

The toilet tanks are coated in brown stuff. What is it and what do you do about it? Is it safe to drink?

For god's sake man, don't drink from the toilets!

[motion]

Yeah, its probably rust. The house is new. I'll get down in the crawl space and check for a filter. Thanks.

[pwd72s]

Talk to your neighbors is good advice...I'm on a well, but not all well water is the same. Before buying this place, I talked to a school buddy. His family homesteaded in this area. I found his comments to have been spot on in the decades since.

Also, be careful where you have testing done. Some "testing" is designed to sell equipment that may or may not be needed. Perhaps a university offers this service? Also, check with a county "agent". If so, you can trust their feedback to be unbiased.

[lendaddy]

It's just iron/rust. You can go to any hardware/plumbing store and buy a take home test to tell you for sure.

FWIW a softener will take care of it, I just installed one and it was simple.

[Flatbutt1]

I use a sediment filter on my well to take out rust and stuff. But do have it checked.

[Taz's Master]

Motion, my inline filter was just after the pressure tank. The sediment wouldn't be any more contaminated than the water. Motion, where would the rust come from? Do you have cast iron well casing that extends the full depth of the well? I assume the line from the pump to the pressure tank is plastic.

I had a well go dry on me (not really dry, but it was unable to produce adequate water supply). I got sand in the bowl of the toilet. Not sediment in the tank, but sand in the bowl. Also the well pump would shut off while washing clothes and such.

Any contaminents in the rust/sediment that the water comes in contact with would probably already be present in the water. So if the water tested fine, probably the particulate matter in the water is uncontaminated. I'd test the water annually regardless.

[schamp]

Be very careful with the water filter sales people. Be very careful about anything made by a company called Ecoquest and a filter named Springhouse. I would suggest you talk to your County agent and first is to get the water tested. Good luck.

[motion]

We have a reputable tester here in the area who sends samples to the university. I'll proceed with that route again. I checked the precharged pressure tank in the crawl space and found no signs of a filter. I'll have to look into one. Thanks for all the tips