House Project: Water Treatment System
Updated 5/6/16 – SPOILER ALERT! We had to have the system I mentioned installing below (aerated) taken out, and the hydrogen peroxide one put in.
Part of the contingency of buying our house was that the bank (that owned the house due to foreclosure) inspect the septic and well systems and fix any issues with them. The septic tank had to be replaced and there’s money in escrow in case the drain fields need to be repaired (which is supposed to be inspected one month after living in the house – we’re pending an appointment to get it checked out).
The well tested with flying colors! Water is safe to drink/use. No issues there.
Except one.
The sulfur.
That rotten egg smell.
We couldn’t handle it. Ha! I am surprised people LIVE with that. We first thought the smell might go away after living in the house a bit. Nope. A few days after moving in, we had the well chlorinated. That made the smell go away for a few days, then it came back.
There was an existing water treatment system in our house (that wasn’t running). We had someone come over to look at it, and give us a quote for a new system (if needed). They suggested draining the old system. That made the smell even MORE intense.
Old system – the two blue tanks were the filters (water heater in the middle)
Eek!
I felt better when I talked to people about this, and heard that it is common with wells. “Oh yeah, my parents are on a well, so we don’t shower there.” “I had lots of friends on wells growing up, and they got used to the smell!”
We don’t plan on getting used to the smell (especially since it gets in your clothes… AND SMELLS LIKE ROTTEN EGGS – did I mention that?!) and we don’t want to be the house no one wants to visit because of that. And, I’d like to drink my water instead of buying gallons of it (I know it’s okay to drink, but ick).
So we had three different companies give us quotes for three different systems! The options were:
- An aerated system – least $
- A hydrogen peroxide system – $$
- A chlorinated system – most $$$
All of the systems used carbon filters. Each system was a different price, had different service plans, and required filters that could need to be changed every 3-10 years, depending on how hard your system is working! The aerated system gets out the sediment and gets rid of the sulfur smell, the hydrogen peroxide system does that and kills some bacteria, and the chlorinated system does all that and kills ALL bacteria. There’s more to it, but this is the gist of it. (And note: EVERYONE tried to sell us a water softener, but we’re not sure we want one, so we’ll wait on that.)
In the end, we decided to try the aerated system. It’s what our neighbors have, and it worked for them. Steven had a glass of water at their house, and it was fine. And, we’d like to try the system with less chemicals.
New system – filter on the left
We had it installed on February 26th and the sulfur smell left the cold water right away! Yay! I drank out of our faucet for the first time since moving in!
Steven drained the hot water heater to try to get rid of as much of the sitting sulfur water as possible. And… we still had some scent of it. Sigh.
The treatment system is set to “recharge” (clean the filter) every three days. We set it to two. Still smelled sulfur a bit toward the end of the day. We set it to ONE day. The most frequent we’re willing to go.
Ugh.
We had the installer come back and we talked to him about it. He had some ideas to try before we get a completely new system. He thought maybe there was still sulfur residue in the pipes, and that chlorinating the well would get it out.
Last time we had the well chlorinated, we paid someone to do it, but this time, we did it ourselves! You basically pour the chlorine in to the well, then run a hose back in to the well to make sure the chlorine is going through the system.
Our well is not what I picture in my head when I picture a well. I think of the typical storybook well, ha!
Then you have to run all the hot and cold water in the house in a certain order. Then not use your water for 24 hours (as to not put too much chlorine in the septic tank). Then drain it all out after 24 hours, and run all the hot and cold water in that order, again.
Fingers crossed this helps… otherwise, we might be getting a different treatment system installed!
Themocracy
Good luck! I remember that smell from visiting friends that had wells and it really was unpleasant but I think they all just got used to it.
Thanks!
And yeah… that’s not gonna happen for us. Unless we stop being able to smell. Or taste. Ha!
You and Steven are becoming so handy! You are eventually going to be putting Bob Vila to shame. You should start your own DIY TV show. =D
It’s all Steven! He loves researching and figuring things out! I am good at documenting, providing muscle, and following instructions. HA! 🙂
OMGoodness! That would get old quick! I lived with a well for years and thankfully had amazing water. I have lived in town for almost a year now and am still not used to the water! I really hope everything works out with this treatment!
Isn’t it interesting how different water tastes based on where you are and how it’s treated? I remembering it taking me awhile to get used to the water in my college town, after leaving home!
Try putting Rid-X in your toilet once a month, that helps as well. We have a well and sadly I just don’t drink the water. I also recommend getting a water softener. You’ll notice stains in your toilets/sinks and the best thing for it is a cleaner called “The Works” that you can get most places. I have even found it at the dollar store!
We do have the toilet stains! 🙂 I will have to look for that!
Oh my! The joys of home ownership 🙂 I’m glad it seems that you have finally figured out how to get rid of the sulphur smell. I can’t imagine how annoying it must be to have to deal with this and try solutions until it gets the result you’re looking for. Hopefully this is the end for you for this project.
I hope it’s the end too! We do have the guys coming on Tuesday to look at the system again. I think the real test will be when I fill up that bathtub 😉
It’s only annoying cause it’s all at once, you know?!
I grew up on well water, and we never once had issues with sulfur-y water (though I have no idea what kind of water treatment system plan my house has, as that was obviously not something I concerned myself with when I was a kid). When I worked at summer camp down the road from my house, though…YIKES. It was a Y camp, so they treated the water at the rec center, since that’s where people would go to work out, shower, etc., but none of the water for the cabins was treated, and it smelled vile. I’d always go home to shower instead of staying at camp to shower, and never drank the water unless it came out of one of the big water jugs they provided, because that water wasn’t sulfur-y.
As for a water softener: my family softened the water that went to our bathrooms, and let me tell you, soft water is MAGICAL for hair washing. I always look forward to going home because my hair is never softer or cleaner than after a few showers at home (or anywhere else with soft water). It also conditioned me to be afraid of drinking out of bathroom sinks, because that water was softened (not that it actually has any ill effects on a person, according to Wikipedia, but it’s saltier than regular water, so my parents would tell us not to drink it).
ASK YOUR PARENTS WHAT SYSTEM THEY HAD RIGHT MEOW!!! jk 🙂 Oh gawd. Well… I guess… that is camp life? Yuck yuck yuck!!! The smell is bad enough, then to use it?! ICK! I wonder how many kids did.
Everyone keeps telling us how nice it is to wash your hair with softened water so I will have to pay attention the next time we’re at a place with it – cause our water seems fine, now. And I heard about not drinking the water too… so I guess every house with a softener needs a system for drinking water?
Oh man, this all sounds very complicated!!
In Iceland all the hot water coming out of the taps was SUPER sulphur-y as well (since the entire country is basically powered by hot springs!) and apparently everyone there just *does* get used to it. The signs next to the sinks in hotels would say something like “don’t worry, the water is perfectly safe, and you’ll get used to it in a few months!” MONTHS!? How long do you think we’re planning to stay here, hotel?? 🙂
Man. Props to them. I don’t know if I ever could!
Ha! I like to think of that as an invitation from them to stay for a long time. How welcoming 🙂
Fingers crossed you get rid of the smell soon! I wouldn’t be able to live with that, either. I could barely manage the one time I was at overnight camp for a week and the water tasted and smell super copper-y. All I could think is that it tasted like blood. Blech!
When you can’t use your water for 24 hours are you just using water out of jugs from the store?
Every time we go on vacation to southwest Michigan my mom buys tons of jugs of water because she hates drinking “unfamiliar” water. It’s so interesting that water can vary so much.
Oh yuck! I couldn’t stand that, either!
Yeah, we make sure we are going to be gone for most of the day when we can’t use the water, then use jugs if we need it.
Some water DOES really taste different! Even the store bought stuff! I’ve realized I like the Walmart spring water (in gallons) the best!