Drinking Well Cleaning: A Review of Best Practices

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The well has long ceased to be the main source of water supply in cottages and in rural areas, but still the owners are in no hurry to part with it. Indeed, in the summer there is a large flow of liquid for watering the garden, and if you connect the hose to the central water supply, the water bills will increase significantly. And in the well, water is free and always in place. True, periodic use of wells leads to water deterioration, and at one point the owners discover that it is simply impossible to drink. There are two ways out: either leave everything as it is and use this source only for economic purposes, or perform a “general cleaning” of the mine. Consider how to clean the well with your own hands, depending on the cause of contamination.

Signs of contamination and possible causes

Before cleaning the well in the country, you need to understand what caused the water pollution. This will help fix the problem exactly where it arose, and not act blindly. What could have caused the spoiled water is judged by the signs: color, smell, presence of impurities in the liquid raised from the bottom.

In the deposits of clay and sand at the bottom of the well, leaky seams between the rings are guilty, passing a top-hole with mud into the mine

Floating leaves and debris on the water surface indicate that the owners do not care too much about the condition of the mine, forgetting to close the door of the house

The most common types of pollution are:

  • Water loses its transparency and looks cloudy. The main reasons: the seams between the rings were depressurized, and the top began to penetrate inside. It carries small particles of earth and clay, which is deposited at the bottom of the shaft, interfering with the work of the bottom filter. The second reason is poor-quality filtration of the aquifer. And the bottom filter is to blame.
  • Large debris, leaves, or a fallen neighbor's cat are present in the water. The reason is free access to the mine from above. If the door is skewed, or it is completely absent, then the wind will cause a lot of dust and debris in the water, and its quality will gradually deteriorate.
  • Darkening of water. Dark shades are direct evidence that the owners rarely use the well. Water does not renew and stagnates. In it, bacteria begin to multiply actively.
  • Greening. Green color indicates the presence of small algae in the water. And this is the fault of the owners, who leave the mine open. Penetrating sunlight causes the rapid growth of microorganisms on the inner walls, turning the well into a swamp.
  • The red color of the water. Yellow-red shades in the liquid indicate an excess of the norm of iron in the well. If such water is poured into a container and let it settle, then a rust coating will be visible on the walls. The reason is the poor quality of the aquifer, which cannot be eliminated by cleaning the well. It is necessary to install a filter system at the water inlet to the house, and if the pipeline is not created, then use special home filters.
  • The smell of sewage and unpleasant taste. If the water stinks, and when drinking, foreign tastes are felt, then the problem is in the depressurization of the mine. Sewer drains somehow get into it. By the way, these same signs will occur if an animal fell into the water, which you had no idea about.

If too many flaws are identified, perhaps it is worth drilling a well? You can compare the pros and cons of both water supply options using the following arguments: //diz-cafe.com/voda/chto-luchshe-skvazhina-ili-kolodec.html

Preventative well cleaning

The main goal for the owners should be the annual preventive cleaning of the mine after winter. Even if the water looks quite decent in appearance, it must be scanned. To do this, buy ordinary potassium permanganate (potassium permanganate), dissolve in a bucket of water and fall asleep directly into the mine. One tablespoon is enough. After 2-3 hours, a complete pumping of water is carried out. By the way, it can be poured directly into the garden. At the same time, disinfect the ground.

Important! Remediation should be carried out after the snow has melted and the probability of rainfall and water penetration will decrease.

Full shaft cleaning: options available

Elimination of a clogged bottom filter without completely pumping out water

If the water does not suit you because of the sand or clay sediment that has covered the bottom filter and interferes with its operation, and the quality and taste are at a level, then you can clean the well with a drain pump.

The scheme of work is as follows:

  1. You buy or borrow from a friend a water pump, such as a trickle, and a drainage pump designed to pump dirty cold water.
  2. The brook will play the role of "balamut." It is lowered to the bottom by screwing a short hose (up to half a meter). He must create an intense fluid movement to raise as much sand and debris from the bottom as possible.
  3. The drain pump is suspended on a cable or a winch so that it does not reach the bottom 30 centimeters. Its hose should extend outside the well to where you plan to drain dirty water.
  4. First they turn on the "Trickle" so that it stirs up the water, and after 5 minutes the drainer is started.
  5. By the state of the pumped water, you will see how much it has become cleaner. Typically, a 10-centimeter layer of sand is removed in 2 hours of pump operation.

Important! The strength of the drainage pump should be enough for 2-3 hours of continuous operation. Low-power models will not cope with such a volume of sand, and the filter will instantly clog.

If you do not want dirt from the bottom to flood your area with a layer of viscous clay, remove the hose away from lawns and flower beds

If, after cleaning, sand still appears, it means that a general cleaning will have to be done with a simultaneous repair of the shaft itself, through the cracks of which the sand enters the water.

Read more about repairing old wells: //diz-cafe.com/voda/chistka-i-remont-kolodca-kak-provesti-profilaktiku-svoimi-rukami.html

Overhaul and repair of the mine

If the water in the well became unusable due to the growth of algae, depressurization of the joints or the ingress of some kind of organic matter, you will have to completely pump out the mine, because it is impossible to clean the well filled with water (unless you are a diver!).

Since the walls and the filter will have to be washed manually, a series of devices should be prepared for cleaning:

  1. Water pump for pumping liquid.
  2. Safety cables for someone who will go down into the mine.
  3. The stairs are more authentic. If this is not found, build a swing from the rope with a board attached to it. On the board, the cleaner will stand with his feet.
  4. Rubber boots.
  5. Bucket and soft brush for metal.

Important! Manual wells are not cleaned alone. This work requires 3 people: one will go down to the mine, the second will take the buckets, the tool out and feed them in, the third will follow the safety equipment.

Wells with deep shafts need to be cleaned by three, going down in turn, as at a depth there is a lack of oxygen and for a long time it is difficult for one person to work

Cleaning starts with the immersion of the pump. They start it and wait until the first ring is pumped out. Then you can go down and begin mechanical cleaning of the empty ring, while the pump will gradually pump out the next. If a person works alone (which is extremely dangerous!), Then it is better to first deflate the mine completely and only then plunge inside. However, before starting the descent, you need to make sure that you can breathe normally at the bottom. It happens that there are accumulating insecure gases coming out of the earth. The easiest way to check air quality is to lower a lit candle in a container. If it does not extinguish, then the oxygen at the bottom is enough for breathing.

The walls are cleaned with a brush with a moderate degree of hardness, so as not to damage the concrete. If cracks in the rings and seams are noticed during cleaning, they are immediately covered with liquid glass mixed with cement.

After the sanitation and repair of the rings, they begin to clean the bottom. Dirt, silt and sand deposits that have clogged the bottom filter are selected with a spatula in a bucket and lifted out by a winch. It is advisable to work in a construction helmet at the bottom, because God forbid a bucket on the rise breaks! The material laid as a filter is washed, and if it collapsed, it is taken upstairs and completely replaced.

When lifting sediment from the bottom of the well, droplets of dirt can fly, so the head of the cleaner should be protected by a construction helmet

When the layers and mucus are cleaned, it is necessary to destroy all invisible parasites. For this, the walls of the shaft and the bottom are chlorinated. Chlorine is diluted in water and rubbed into the walls with a hard brush. Be sure to work in a respirator, otherwise you may be poisoned by volatile chlorine compounds. The remains of the drug are poured to the bottom, and the mine itself is covered with plastic wrap so that bleach does not evaporate. In this state, the well should stand for two days. After the set period, a complete pumping out of the liquid is performed 2-3 times. Even after such a wash, the smell of chlorine will be present for about a month, so before its disappearance, water is not used for drinking and cooking.

If such a long period of disinfection does not suit you - treat the walls with a solution of potassium permanganate and leave for a day. After pumping out twice - and you can use. But in this case, the level of disinfection will be weaker, therefore, it is recommended to throw a mesh with silicon to the bottom. It is considered a natural disinfectant. After six months, silicon is changed to fresh.

Other disinfection options: //diz-cafe.com/voda/dezinfekciya-vody-v-kolodce.html

As you can see, it is not difficult to put in order a stagnant well if you act not alone and in compliance with all safety measures.

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