Well water?

[MissRubyandKen]

I'm thinking about buying a house with well water. What do I need to know? We've never had a well, but I know they can be ruined, no good, etc. What should we do/test for? How do we test, what to use? Can we buy something to diy?

[Jaxinator]

FWIW, I think a lot of it depends on the area where you're planning to buy. Near my parents, if the well is dug too deep you get sulpher water, which is disgusting. My parents, however, had a more shallow well put in, and their water is great. Low mineral buildup, clean tasting, perfectly clear. BUT, they don't have as much water as a deeper well would provide, so they just have to watch to make sure they don't leave a faucet on by mistake, or a broken toilet running, because the well will go dry, which means you have to wait the rest of the day to use any water. But that doesn't usually happen, and they had up to 5 adults in the same house using water.

That's the extent of what I know... I wish something more helpful!

[annethcz]

We have a well, and we've never had any problems with it. Make sure that your purchase offer is contingent on not only a home inspection, but a water/well inspection as well. I believe that when we bought our house a few years ago, the seller even paid for the water testing. Many companies will come in and test, it's a common thing. They can walk you through what you need to know. The well may require some maintenance, so ask the company that does the testing or the current homeowner to walk you through the maintenance. With our water system, there's a filter on the water line coming into the house that needs to be cleaned about once a month. We have a green sand iron filter, which needs chemicals added to it once in a blue moon. We also have a water softener that needs to be filled with salt once a month or so.

Also be aware that your well will probably be electric, so if the power goes out, so does the well. You'll probably have a pressure tank that holds several gallons of water, so you'll have *some* water available if the power goes out. We sometimes take the precaution of filling the bathtub with water if there's a HUGE storm coming, but we've never had to use it.

We've never had a bit of trouble with our well. We were a little concerned about living with a well/septic, since we'd never lived with one before moving to our current home. But so far it's no big deal at all. And it's nice not having a water bill

[Alyantavid]

We have a well and there's nothing to it. We did have it inspected before we bought the house, but we've never had any issues. I believe the inspection tested the water, tested the depth of the well and so on.

[Farmer'sWife]

annethcz gave a lot of good info. When we bought our house, the local well company that drilled and had done any repairs on the well provided a statement of how deep it was, when it was drilled, etc. We had to do the water quality testing ourselves. We used a testing lab near us that also tests soil samples for our farm. They give you little containers to fill with water (and instructions on how the sample should be taken). Our county also does free testing once a year or so, I think it was the soil and water conservation people. But as far as having a well goes, I've had well water my whole life and it's no big deal.

[HeatherAtHome]

When we bought our house this past fall we were required to have the water tested as part of the conditions for getting a mortgage. I think it's standard around here.

There was a company in a nearby city that did it. All I had to do was get a little kit, fill the bottles with water and drop it off. We had a regular test done (bacterial etc) for about $50. There was another test they could have done to check for metals etc in the water but we declined. It would have cost another $100. We had the results back within 5 days by email.

Know where your well is. It should be on your map from the surveyor. The town has rules about where it can be, distance from septic etc so as long as it conforms, it should be ok.

The only time I would be worried about well water is if there was a farm or factory nearby that was leaching chemicals and bacteria into the water system. Or if it was close to a river for the same reason.

I LOVE well water. Grew up on it then had to tolerate yucky town water for 8 years but now we're back on well water. Yay!

[karne]

You've gotten good advice here, so I'll second some of it. Have a qualified well/pump company inspect your set up. You definitely want to know the exact location of your well, have it mapped, and keep that info along w/other important home documents. Have the location of your well clearly marked on the property. The pump company will tell you that this is extremely important, should something happen to your well and they need to access it. This becomes very important if you live in an area that gets frozen ground and snow-you don't want to be paying for someone to search around for the location or jack hammer up frozen ground looking for the well site in the event of needed repairs!

I would advise knowing what type of pump is in place, and it's age, as well as any previous repairs. There are fine older working pumps (we have one), but eventually we'll replace ours w/something more efficient.

Obviously, have a lab test your water so you'll know what's in there. I'd want to know the depth and flow of the water, esp. if you are going to need water for gardening, etc.

We have a back up generator so that the well stays on during power outages-we've been long enough w/out toilets or running water to feel like this was a necessity for our home.

I'd guess that you're also doing a seperate septic inspection as well?

Good luck!