Haskell's Water Treatment

Well Chlorination for Midcoast Maine

The first step to solve a bacteria or e-coli problem is to “shock” your well with bleach or chlorine tablets. Chlorinating or “shocking” the well is not very complicated, so if you would like to attempt it yourself we have provided directions below. If you would like us to chlorinate the well for you, please call our office at (207) 594-4947 to schedule an appointment.

IMPORTANT!

Some water treatment equipment can be damaged by high levels of chlorine. To be safe, water treatment equipment should be put in bypass until the chlorine has run through. Any carbon or charcoal filters must be taken offline, as the chlorine will use up their capacity. If you already have water treatment equipment in place, please call us before shock chlorinating your well to prevent damage.

1. Turn well power off at circuit breaker.
2. Remove the well cap and pour the proper amount of bleach into the well. Use about 3 quarts of bleach for every 100 ft. of well.
3. Connect a garden hose to a nearby faucet and wash down the inside of the well casing. Leave the hose in the well to recirculate the water for a minimum of 1 hour. (2-3 hours is preferable)
4. Open each indoor faucet one by one and let the water run until a strong chlorine odor is detected. If a strong odor is not detected, you may need to add additional chlorine.
5. Let the water stand in the plumbing of the house for a minimum of 12-24 hours.
6. Flush the pipes of the remaining chlorine.  Start by turning on outside faucets and running the water on the ground away from your house until the chlorine smell dissipates. After you can no longer smell chlorine, go turn on your indoor faucets and finish flushing the system of the remaining chlorine.
7. After 1-2 weeks, have the water retested for bacteria. If bacteria are still present, you may want to install a UV Light for continuous disinfection.

Be careful when handling strong chlorine solutions. Wear rubber gloves, goggles, and an apron. If any chlorine gets on your skin, flush immediately with clean water.

Never mix chlorine with any other cleaning agents or ammonia; this can give off toxic gasses.

Do not use fresh scent bleach or other special laundry products. Use the regular bleach.