Clean Water Made Easy Podcast Gerry Bulfin Master Water Specialist

In this episode, I discuss how to shock chlorinate and sanitize your well with chlorine bleach.  This is sometimes referred to as “shock chlorinate” because it uses a high dose of bleach to kill bacteria, eliminate odors and oxidize iron and other contaminants.   I also go over why it is important to not add too much bleach, or too little bleach and other safety steps to follow.

What You’ll Hear in this Episode

1. What is shock chlorination?

2. Testing for bacteria and other contamination

3. Reasons for shock chlorinating your well

4. The Right Procedure in chlorinating your well yourself

5. Precautions to take in chlorinating your well yourself

6. What kind of chlorine to use in shock chlorinating your well

7. How to find a certified well contractor in your area

8. Why it’s important to mix and add the chlorine in a well ventilated area

9. Identifying the source of well contamination

10. When to call a professional well contractor

11. When is it safe to use the water again after chlorination

12. Benefits of shock chlorinating your well

 



Transcript

Hello! Thanks again for tuning in into the podcast. Gerry Bulfin here. I am a water treatment contractor, WQA- Certified Master Water Specialist. I hope you’re having a great day, everything’s going great for you and your water.

In this podcast series, I’m giving useful, easy to follow tips and information. Mostly all about well water, well water treatment systems, and how to improve the quality of your well water.

Free Download of Guide

Today’s episode we’re going to cover the basics of how to shock chlorinate and sanitize your well, and also how to sanitize pipe lines and storage tanks. I actually have a free guide for this podcast called How to Shock Chlorinate wells, pipe lines, storage tanks and systems. This is an easy to follow guide, has step by step lists of what to do, as well as very useful charts to show you how much chlorine bleach pellets or powder to add based on the size and depth of your well.

I’m offering that free to listeners in this podcast and you can get your guide by texting the word, SHOCKGUIDE, just one word to 44222 or go to cleanwaterstore.com/podcast. You can find it there. So just text the word SHOCKGUIDE to 44222 and we’ll get that going to you.

Shock Chlorination

So what is shock chlorination? Well, shock chlorination means that you’re adding sufficient bleach (which bleach is liquid sodium hypochlorite, or if it’s powdered bleach or pellets, it’s calcium hypochlorite) to raise the chlorine concentration inside the well, tank or pipe line to between 200 and 300 parts of per million. This kills bacteria and sanitizes the well. That’s the main reason. It’s also good for odors as well. But most people shock chlorinate the well to sanitize it and to kill bacteria.

The city water has maybe somewhere between .2 and 2 parts of per million of chlorine. So, shock chlorinate means you’re adding a high amount of chlorine, usually two to three hundred parts of per million. And if you leave it there long enough, it will kill the bacteria typically.

For best results the chlorine level must be maintained in your well for 6 – 12 hours and it helps if the pH is between 5 and 7. If you have a very high pH, if your pH is 8/8.5 it doesn’t work as well, it’s much less effective. So it doesn’t hurt to check the pH.

Most of the time the pH is around neutral but there are a lot of cases where the well water pH is high and then the shock chlorination is not as effective, unless you add some citric acid or something to lower the pH, but we’ll get into that in a minute.

So after 12 hours, at least 6 hours or up to 12 hours after you added the chlorine, you test it again for chlorine. If you find you have less than ten parts of per million, then you repeat the procedure. So,

In this Episode 9 of Clean Water Made Easy Podcast, our host and resource person, Gerry Bulfin, a water treatment contractor and WQA Certified Master Water Specialist explains the differences between traditional salt-based water softeners and no-salt water conditioners or softeners.

 You will hear and learn about:



* What is a water softener and how are they used?

* About hard city water due to calcium carbonate and magnesium

* How traditional water softeners work.

* What is a no-salt water conditioners and how does it work?

* Under what water conditions do you not use a no-salt water conditioner?

*  Signs that your water is already soft.

*  Definition of hard water

*  Advantages of having soft water

*  What is a Template Assisted Crystallization (TAC)?

*  What is a scale stopper?

*  What is the role of the German Society of Gas & Water on the study of no-salt softeners?

*  Why is the no-salt softener controversial?

*  Does the no-salt conditioner actually remove the excess calcium in your water?

*  Which one has a limited application, the salt or no-salt softener?

*  Which of the 2 softeners has lower maintenance cost?

*  What is capacitive deionization?

*  Which type of softener does our host/resource person recommend?



After finding the explanation to the above questions, we hope that you will now consider the enigma of the salt and no-salt water softeners as solved. For further questions, our host can be reached at gerrybulfin@cleanwaterstore.

Related readings on no-salt water softeners.

Hard Truths About Soft Water

FULL TRANSCRIPT

Episode 9: No Salt Versus Salt Water Softener Pros and Cons

You’re listening to the Clean Water Made Easy Podcast episode 9.

Hello, welcome back to the Clean Water Made Easy Podcast. My name is Gerry Bulfin, I’m a water treatment contractor and WQA certified Master Water Specialist here in Santa Cruz, California. It’s a beautiful day and hope it’s going good wherever you are. Thanks for tuning in again or if it’s your first-time, thanks for tuning in at all.

In this episode, I’m going to talk all about differences between water softeners and no salt water conditioners. Something we get a lot of questions about. Mainly I talk about well water & well water treatment systems on these episodes but today, this covers folks on city water as well. There is a lot of city water that’s hard because it’s high in calcium, magnesium and creates scale.

So we’re going to cover how traditional water softeners work and the types of no-salt water conditioners. Some people call them no- salt water softeners but we prefer to call them conditioners. We’re going to talk about when to use them, and more importantly under what conditions not to use a no salt water conditioner. There are some conditions where you would prefer a standard softener if you have hard water.

And if you want to go to the website it’s CleanWaterStore.com/blog/podcast and you can get more information about some links to one of the studies I talk about in this episode and you can see pictures and stuff so, if you want to check it out, go there and you will get more information.

Okay so, what about water softeners?

When would you use a water softener?

Well, really if you don’t need a water softener, you’ll probably know it. Your water is soft, meaning it’s not leaving white spots and stains on your shower heads, your dishes come out clean, and the water feels soft, which means that soap easily dissolves in it.

What is hard water?

If your water is hard, we consider water that’s hard over about 5 to 7 grains per gallon.

How to Eliminate Odors and Freshen Well Water with Hydrogen Peroxide

In today’s episode, I am talking about hydrogen peroxide for well water and how great it works to eliminate odors in well water.  This is the same hydrogen peroxide found at the local pharmacy or supermarket but slightly higher.

Four years or so ago, I put up a post on our blog called  “Eliminate Well Water Odors: Four Reasons Why Hydrogen Peroxide Water Treatment Is Best.”  We have had many folks call and email us regarding that article and ask about peroxide systems. I wanted to do a podcast episode explaining it in simple terms: why peroxide can often be the best option to kill sulfur odor in your well water!

Well Water Odor

If your well water smells like rotten eggs, you’re not alone. Well water odor is a common problem. Many homeowners on well water battle the stinky hydrogen sulfide.

Rotten egg hydrogen sulfide-laden water has an objectionable odor, but higher concentrations can be dangerous to health. It’s corrosive to plumbing fixtures and appliances because when hydrogen sulfide is formed and gets into your groundwater, you get sulfuric acid.

 

That makes the water tarnish fixtures and eat up the pipes. This unique rotten egg odor, hydrogen sulfide, is usually found in hot and cold water and can sometimes be worse in your water heater and hot water.

It can be a problem. It not only fouls and ruins water softeners and filter systems if not properly treated, but it’s corrosive to pipes and fixtures and just generally a nuisance.

Historically, aeration has been a common way to get rid of smelly water. Chlorine, however, has some undesirable byproducts and can leave chlorine taste and odors if not properly set upright. 

Also, if the pH of your water is over 7.5 to 8, in other words, if you have alkaline water, then you have to use a lot of chlorine to get it to kill the hydrogen sulfide rotten egg odor. We found, as a lot of other folks do, we found that hydrogen peroxide does a better job.

Aeration can work well, but if you have iron or sulfur bacteria present, sometimes the bacteria can still create odors after your aeration system. In other words, it can develop in your water heater and plumbing system. 

Aeration systems can also be more expensive to set up at times compared to peroxide injection. Peroxide, if you have the right concentration, can kill these iron-sulfur laded bacteria.

So the 4 reasons hydrogen peroxide works:

1. It works faster than chlorine, so often, no contact tank is required

2. Unlike chlorine, the peroxide will not leave a chemical residue or chemical by-products after it’s injected into the water.

3. Peroxide works over a wider pH range

4. Does not affect taste; it often improves the taste compared to chlorination

Over the last 10 years or so, hydrogen peroxide has become a preferred method of treatment for odor by many well water contractors and water treatment specialists all across the U.S. and Canada.

Peroxide and Chlorine

So you might ask: Hey if peroxide is so great, would you ever use chlorination?  Well, yes, because chlorine has residual. If you have a chlorine residual, it works better to disinfect your water throughout a distribution system or plumbing system.

That’s why it’s used in communities and municipal systems because you want a chlorine residual to kill bacteria in the pipeline.

Chlorine is cheaper, too, as far as home systems go. Chlorine is less expensive; peroxide can be more expensive...

Episode 15. How to Troubleshoot Low Water Pressure On Well Water Systems



Read or Listen to See How to Troubleshoot Low Water Pressure On Well Water.

Today’s episode is about troubleshooting low water pressure on well water for homes and small businesses.

Do you have plenty of water but experience low water pressure?  This is a common problem.

I put together a Checklist and quick Troubleshooting guide called “How to Troubleshoot Low Water Pressure On Well Water.”  This free guide includes pictures, checklists, and things to look for to troubleshoot low water pressure (see the link below to get your guide).

Discussed during this episode:

1. What is the water pressure, and what is the difference between water pressure and flow rate?

2. Determine your water pressure and the flow rate before any water treatment systems or plumbing.

3. How to Troubleshoot common problems with low water pressure and flow rate.

4. How to read a filter pressure drop chart and a pump curve chart.

5. How to size whole house filters, automatic backwash filters, and softeners to avoid pressure drop problems.

6. What is the water pressure, and what is the difference between water pressure and flow rate?



What is Water Pressure?

Water in residential plumbing systems is “under pressure,” that is, it is pressurized by either gravity or a pump to give you the flow and pressure you need.  Your well has a pressure tank to keep water pressure even and work with your submersible well pump.

In the U.S. and Canada, the pressure is typically measured in Pounds Per Square Inch, referred to as PSI.  The pressure tank usually has a captive air bladder pumped up with air up to 3 PSI less than the cut-in pressure.

Pressure is how many pounds per square inch your water is under. For example, if you had a storage tank 100 feet in elevation above your house, you would have 43 PSI. So for every 10 feet, it is higher (referred to as Head). You will have a 4.3 PSI.

The pressure would be the same if you had a million-gallon storage tank or a 1000-gallon storage tank on a hill 100 feet above your house. The pressure would still be 43 psi.

But we don't have gravity flow for many of us on residential well systems. We have a submersible pump that is used to build up water pressure. The higher the pressure you have, the more flow (up to a point) can flow through a given size pipe.

Most modern homes and appliances like to have at least 30 PSI. However, 50 to 60 is much better, especially if there are several bathrooms or irrigation.

Generally, most appliances don’t like to see more than 70 PSI because it can damage some appliances.  Irrigation systems often require 50 to 60 PSI.

Water pressure is easy to measure with a pressure gauge. Most home well systems will have at least one pressure gauge, usually on the pipe near your tank.

By looking at the pressure gauge near your pressure tank and noting the PSI, you can easily find out what the PSI is. The pressure tank might turn on at one PSI and off at different pressure, say on at 30 and off at 50 PSI.

If you have a constant pressure pump system, your water pressure will be set to maintain a constant pressure.

Knowing your water pressure can help you troubleshoot low water pressure on well water.

What is Flow Rate?

Flow rate can be thought of as gallons per minute flowing through a pipe. A common residential well pump might deliver anywhere from 5 to 20 gallons in one minute.  Pressure is not the same as flow, however.

For example, you could have great water pressure from the well but a terrible flow rate and reduced water pressure in the home.

Most pipes in traditional homes are ½”,

On this latest installment of the Clean Water Made Easy Podcast, I talk about how to eliminate odors in well water.  I also go over how to identify odors in well water and then walk listeners through the basics steps of eliminating these same odors. As with other issues we’ve discussed, causes may be surprising, but solutions to eliminate odors in your well water are not complicated.

What You’ll Hear in this episode:

1. Kinds of odor in well water

2. What causes these odors?

3. The 4 basic methods of eliminating odor in well water

4. The 3 low-cost methods of eliminating odor

5. What types of water filters are best for treating odors

6. Dangers of hydrogen sulfide in water

7. Ideal water PH

8. What causes rusty water?

9. The importance of doing a water analysis

10. Easy tests you can do at home to analyze your water

11. How to do a physical inspection of your water

12. What happens when you aerate water?

13. Which oxidizer is the most economical?

14. Ways of removing bacteria in water.

15. What is the most affordable method of treating odor and bacteria?

 





Eliminate Odors in Well Water

Hello! Thanks again for tuning in to the Clean Water Made Easy podcast. Episode #6. My name is Gerry Bulfin. I’m a Water Treatment Contractor and  WQA Certified Master Water Specialist. Hey I hope you’re having a great day wherever you’re listening.  You know this podcast series is here to help you learn all about well water, water treatment systems, how wells work, and how to improve the quality of your well water.

Free Book Download

In today’s episode, we’re going to cover the basics of how to eliminate odor in well water, particularly rotten egg odor and we’ll talk about the other kinds of odors that folks run into as well.

Some years ago I wrote a book called The Definitive Guide to Well Water Treatment. It’s being sold on Amazon, we update it every year and you know one section of that book, How to Remove Odors in Well Water, is actually one of the most downloaded guides.

I have that separately as a guide and for listeners of this podcast, I’m offering it to you for free.  The How to Remove Odors from Well Water is an easy to follow guide, a  handy checklist, step by step lists and guides and pictures and useful information all about removing odor from well water.

It covers a lot of what we’ll talk about in today’s episode.   Although it’s more in-depth that you can take your time and look at what section pertains to you that kind of thing.

You can get this free guide by texting the word ODORGUIDE to 44222  or you can go on  website cleanwaterstore.com/podcasts and find this episode and you can get it from there. So again if you want it might be easy just text the word ODORGUIDE to 44222 and we’ll get that going to you.

Podcast subtopics

In this episode, we’re going to cover: What is the cause of the odor in my well water? What’s the best way to eliminate odor without spending a lot of money? What types of filters or systems are out there to treat odors? We’ll also cover how you can run a little test at home and see what approach would work to eliminate odors in your well water without spending any money.

Rotten Egg Odor

So the most common odor that we run into is rotten egg odor which is hydrogen sulfide gas. It has a very distinctive rotten egg odor and it may be especially present in those homes running hot water but you can find it in cold and hot water. This kind of water discolors coffee, tea, and other beverages  and it alters the appearance and taste of cooked foods. Truly a nuisance. It’s not usually a health risk at concentrations found in household water but it can be very toxic at higher levels. Usually the gas can be detected long before it reaches harmful concentrations but at higher...

Why use ozone water treatment for your well water?



#1: Ozone is a powerful disinfectant:

Ozone water treatment can rapidly disinfect your well water and kill bacteria and viruses, but unlike chlorine does not leave a chemical chlorine residual.

#2: When used with filtration, it removes iron, manganese and sulfur odor:

The oxidizing properties of ozone, when combined with filtration, will eliminate iron, manganese, sulfur and reduce or eliminate tastes and odor problems.

#3: Ozone is automatic and doesn't require additional chemicals:

Ozone is a gas that is generated by an ozone generator at your site and injected into your water.

#4: Sizing is critical:

Ozone generators need to be sized to fit the application. Ozone generators produce ozone in grams per hour and depends on your well water flow rate and water chemistry.

#5: Decide on ultraviolet (“UV”) light ozone water treatment or corona-discharge type: 

While UV light can produce low levels of ozone, it works best for removing slight odors and should be not used for disinfection.  Corona discharge uses electricity inside a ceramic or glass cell or stainless steel plate chamber to produce ozone. It works better with dry air and there are cartridges that will produce dry air and help the generator produce high levels of ozone.

#6: Inject ozone under pressure for best results:

Ozone can be bubbled into the water in open storage tanks or low-pressure vessels, but most of the ozone does not get transferred into the water.  It is much better to draw in the ozone with a venturi into a contact tank that is under 40 – 50 PSI of pressure for optimum transfer of the ozone into water.

Ozone Systems Are Widely Use for Bottling Water and Water Purification Worldwide

Ozone has been used for over 100 years to treat water for cities, bottling water plants and other commercial and industrial processes.   Home systems have been available for some years and improved in quality and design.

If you have iron, manganese, odor AND bacteria, ozone combined with proper filtration can work great and last for many years.

Ozone water treatment oxidizes iron, manganese, and sulfur in your well water to form insoluble metal oxides or elemental sulfur. These insoluble particles such as rust, are then removed by filtration which is typically activated carbon, manganese dioxide, or other media such as filter sand.

Ozone is much faster at killing bacteria and oxidizing iron and manganese compared to chlorine or peroxide.  One advantage for home use is that ozone is quite unstable and will degrade over a time frame ranging from a few seconds to 30 minutes.

So if ozone water treatment is so great, why doesn't everyone use it you may ask?

It is quite expensive compared to chlorination.  Ozone water treatment costs a lot more up front compared to aeration, chlorine injection or hydrogen peroxide injection!  That is the primary disadvantage.  Shop our ozone systems.

Ozone for Disinfection

Ozone has a greater ability to disinfect water of bacteria and viruses compared to chlorination. To properly disinfect water with chlorine or ozone there must be enough residual of the chlorine or ozone in mg/L (same as saying parts per million or PPM) in the water, AND enough minutes of contact time for disinfection to occur.

Water chemistry is also very important.  The pH of the water (how acid or alkaline it is) along with the turbidity and other contaminants all play a role in how effective chlorine or ozone will be at disinfecting your well water of bacteria.

Ozone is faster at killing bacteria and oxidizing iron and manganese compared to chlorine or peroxide. For example, the CT value (Concentrate of the oxidizer multiplied by the Time in minutes) for disinfecting water of viruses is 6.