Buying a house with a well (water tank, insulated, sinks, smell)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Ok I'm pretty clueless about this. Does anyone know what I need to do when buying a house with a well rather than public utilites? Do I need a "special" inspector to check it out in addition to the regular home inspection? And what do I need to look for (water testing, flow rate, etc.)? About 1/2 of the houses I am looking at have wells. They are all at between 6500' and 7500' altitude if that matters. Thanks!
Ok I'm pretty clueless about this. Does anyone know what I need to do when buying a house with a well rather than public utilites? Do I need a "special" inspector to check it out in addition to the regular home inspection? And what do I need to look for (water testing, flow rate, etc.)? About 1/2 of the houses I am looking at have wells. They are all at between 6500' and 7500' altitude if that matters. Thanks!
I am not an expert but I understand your confusion because that was me a year ago. We moved to a new state and where we bought our house 90% of the homes are on well and septic. Quite a learning curve for this city slicker.
In our state it is law the well be inspected and it was part of our closing package. I had a dip for a realtor and she didn't call me so I could be here when it was inspected. I would have liked to ask some questions. Our water came back good but after we moved in I turned on the faucet and the water smelled like rotten eggs. I called a well company to come out and got my small education from them. The house sat for a month and half and I was told that bacteria starts to collect in the water. Not really harmful but ekkk. We paid to have it treated. I felt pretty stupid after handing over a 125 bucks when all they do is pour bleach down the well. I was told its good to treat the well once a year. I have been here a year now and sometimes I smell a faint scent, so I may do it again.
I would make sure your pump is throughly checked. Our pump started acting funny after we moved in. Turned out to be a bad switch. I also learned that our pump is nearly the end of its life span. Well at least that is what the well company stated. Ours is 14 yrs old and I was told the life span is between 15-20.
The perks are no water bill. We live on half an acre and I have irrigation system. My yard looks like golf course. So it would be a killer if I had a water bill. The drawbacks are I hate the taste and only drink bottled water. We also have hard water with lots of iron so it doesn't take much to make things rusty.
I think there is a member on here that drills wells for a living. Hopefully they will show up on this thread to give you more solid info.
We have well water and I would recommend getting a water softener if your water has high iron content. The high iron content turns your clothes brown, and your sinks orange. We drink bottled water too, although my husband thought the water tasted great before we got the water softener.
The smell may be a natural phenomenon from either the aquifer the well is on or the minerals in the water reacting to the anode in the hot water tank.
Here in MD a couple of the aquifers are notorious for that.
Not much to add to the original question. One advantage is that the water is always cold from the cold side of the sink.
Are you also on septic? Where I am got sewer in the late 50s but not central water until the early 90s.
The only thing you really need to do is take a sample and have the water tested to see if it's safe. Since someone has been living in the house and they aren't dead yet, it probably is.
Pouring bleach down the well is really a futile exercise is it only "treats" whatever water happens to be near the foot valve when you pour it in. If you're on the water table, it will only disinfect whatever it can reach. If you're on an underground stream, it'll quickly be washed away.
If you're concerned about water quality, the best bet is to treat it between the pump and the house. There are several ways to do this and any competent water treatment company can advise you. However, due to my past experience, I'd stay away from chlorine injectors. We had one installed when our well went "bad," and the whole apparatus collapsed one day and we never knew it until my wife took a shower in nearly pure chlorine. She didn't breath well again for 6 months.
Your biggest problems with wells will be these:
1. Freezing in the winter. You MUST make sure the pumphouse is heated or very well insulated, including any pipes which are exposed outside. We kept a heat lamp going in ours all winter and never had a problem, so that's your best bet.
2. Pump problems. They will wear out and they will quit working for a variety of reasons. Most wells now have submersible pumps, which means the actual pump is at the bottom of the well, rather than the top. I personally never liked those because any problems require one to pull the whole thing up to check on it. On the other hand, wells with the pump at the top have what's called the foot valve down in the water and it tends to get clogged with sand or corrode.
3. Things fall into the well if you don't have the opening where the pump sits well covered. We once had some kind of animal (probably a rat) fall into the well and we never knew it was there until the washing machine intake got clogged with gray hair. Who knows how long we'd been drinking that rotten rat before we discovered the problem. After that, I wrapped the well head with very fine mesh wire and we never had that problem again.
4. Water quality can change over night and you'll never know it unless it begins to smell or you have it tested regularly. For instance, a well we had ran pure, clean, superb water for over 20 years, then suddenly began stinking to high heaven. When I had the water tested, we found that it contained dangerous levels of fecal matter. There was no way to determine where it came from. The local water quality guy told me it could be coming from right next door or 100 miles away. After that, all our water had to be treated for as long as we owned that house.
Based upon my experiences, I'll never own another house with a well. Yes, the water quality is usually better than municipal water, but the headaches involved in having a well just aren't worth it to me.
We have well water and I would recommend getting a water softener if your water has high iron content. The high iron content turns your clothes brown, and your sinks orange. We drink bottled water too, although my husband thought the water tasted great before we got the water softener.
We have a water softener but from what I am told, the softener is not hooked up to our kitchen sink per code. I think our water tastes terrible and try not to drink it. I don't know if the toilets are on the system because they are stained with rust. Its embarrassing. I buy the salt that has rust preventer in it. It doesnt seem to help much.
Things fall into the well if you don't have the opening where the pump sits well covered. We once had some kind of animal (probably a rat) fall into the well and we never knew it was there until the washing machine intake got clogged with gray hair. Who knows how long we'd been drinking that rotten rat before we discovered the problem. After that, I wrapped the well head with very fine mesh wire and we never had that problem again.
]
OMG! I am going to think of this every time I turn on the faucet! Our well has a cap that is held in place by several pins and its actually a pain in the arse to open, after reading this I do not think I will be complaining anymore.
The only thing you really need to do is take a sample and have the water tested to see if it's safe. Since someone has been living in the house and they aren't dead yet, it probably is.
Pouring bleach down the well is really a futile exercise is it only "treats" whatever water happens to be near the foot valve when you pour it in. If you're on the water table, it will only disinfect whatever it can reach. If you're on an underground stream, it'll quickly be washed away.
If you're concerned about water quality, the best bet is to treat it between the pump and the house. There are several ways to do this and any competent water treatment company can advise you. However, due to my past experience, I'd stay away from chlorine injectors. We had one installed when our well went "bad," and the whole apparatus collapsed one day and we never knew it until my wife took a shower in nearly pure chlorine. She didn't breath well again for 6 months.
Your biggest problems with wells will be these:
1. Freezing in the winter. You MUST make sure the pumphouse is heated or very well insulated, including any pipes which are exposed outside. We kept a heat lamp going in ours all winter and never had a problem, so that's your best bet.
2. Pump problems. They will wear out and they will quit working for a variety of reasons. Most wells now have submersible pumps, which means the actual pump is at the bottom of the well, rather than the top. I personally never liked those because any problems require one to pull the whole thing up to check on it. On the other hand, wells with the pump at the top have what's called the foot valve down in the water and it tends to get clogged with sand or corrode.
3. Things fall into the well if you don't have the opening where the pump sits well covered. We once had some kind of animal (probably a rat) fall into the well and we never knew it was there until the washing machine intake got clogged with gray hair. Who knows how long we'd been drinking that rotten rat before we discovered the problem. After that, I wrapped the well head with very fine mesh wire and we never had that problem again.
4. Water quality can change over night and you'll never know it unless it begins to smell or you have it tested regularly. For instance, a well we had ran pure, clean, superb water for over 20 years, then suddenly began stinking to high heaven. When I had the water tested, we found that it contained dangerous levels of fecal matter. There was no way to determine where it came from. The local water quality guy told me it could be coming from right next door or 100 miles away. After that, all our water had to be treated for as long as we owned that house.
Based upon my experiences, I'll never own another house with a well. Yes, the water quality is usually better than municipal water, but the headaches involved in having a well just aren't worth it to me.
None of this things will happen with a properly constructed water well.
Over time you will new a new pump and tank. Call a pro.
Ok I'm pretty clueless about this. Does anyone know what I need to do when buying a house with a well rather than public utilites? Do I need a "special" inspector to check it out in addition to the regular home inspection? And what do I need to look for (water testing, flow rate, etc.)? About 1/2 of the houses I am looking at have wells. They are all at between 6500' and 7500' altitude if that matters. Thanks!
Talk to your local health department. That is the best information. And it is free.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I called a well company to come out and got my small education from them. The house sat for a month and half and I was told that bacteria starts to collect in the water. Not really harmful but ekkk. We paid to have it treated. I felt pretty stupid after handing over a 125 bucks when all they do is pour bleach down the well. I was told its good to treat the well once a year. I have been here a year now and sometimes I smell a faint scent, so I may do it again. 
I am going to think of this every time I turn on the faucet! Our well has a cap that is held in place by several pins and its actually a pain in the arse to open, after reading this I do not think I will be complaining anymore.
