Well water - seasonal and infrequent winter use?

winni83 · 11-15-2017, 10:57 AM

Our well water was tested multiple times in the years we used this system and there was never any contamination. The water that drains back into the well is only the water that was already in the well line. The water in the pipes in the house all drained onto the dirt floor and it was not a huge amount of water.

ChrisStratton · 11-15-2017, 11:19 AM

Much appreciated.

Quote:

Originally Posted by winni83

there was never any contamination.

Personally, the only thing I might see would be "stirring up" the sediment at the bottom of the well. However, I suspect that this might not be "code", hence, a plumber might be reticient to do it again now. I don't know as a fact, I just have a hunch.

winni83 · 11-15-2017, 11:41 AM

The code issue is certainly possible. Our work setting up the camp to use it during the winter was done in 1983. Eventually we stopped draining the house since we were coming up more often and wanted to leave food, liquids, etc in the house and got tired of the draining routine and left the heat on at 50 degrees and just turned off the water and hot water breakers and opened the hot and cold water valves on the sink, bathroom sink and bathtub/shower. Still kept the heat on in the pump "room". Had forced hot air heat so the heat from the furnace in the crawl space and leaked air from the heat ducts going up into the house kept the crawl space warm enough to prevent the well water line from freezing. A Freeze Alarm alerted us to power outages and furnace issues. It helped being only an hour and 15 minutes away to deal with any issues.

Good luck with your investigation.

TiltonBB · 11-19-2017, 09:18 AM

Since the general subject is water, and not to hijack the thread: My house pumps from the lake. I have a $5 Lowe's filter for sediment that I change every coupe of weeks. After that filter, a large 3 chamber system with a sediment filter, charcoal filter and a UV chamber for bacteria. The theory is the Lowe's filter may catch 90% of the sediment before it gets to the more expensive system.

It works great and I change the large filters and the UV light bulb every year. I have had the water tested and it is rated "drinking quality water".

The problem I have is with white laundry. No matter how much bleach I use the whites get a little less white with every wash. If anyone has had this problem and solved it I would be glad to know how you did it.

ishoot308 · 11-20-2017, 09:20 AM

TiltonBB,

Sounds like your doing everything right filter / UV wise. Not sure why you would have a problem with whites especially since your able to use bleach. Living on the island and having a septic we can’t use bleach but we have no problem with whites. We are also very conscious and careful what we use for soap and laundry products. A number of years ago we changed to a laundry soap called “Ecos” and my wife says it’s the best laundry soap she has ever used. Seems to work extremely well with the lake water. It might be worth a try in your case. It’s available at a very reasonable cost through Sam’s Club or you can buy at Amazon.

God Luck!

Dan

11-20-2017, 09:20 AM	#5
ishoot308 Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Gilford, NH / Welch Island Posts: 6,307 Thanks: 2,406 Thanked 5,309 Times in 2,070 Posts	TiltonBB, Sounds like your doing everything right filter / UV wise. Not sure why you would have a problem with whites especially since your able to use bleach. Living on the island and having a septic we can’t use bleach but we have no problem with whites. We are also very conscious and careful what we use for soap and laundry products. A number of years ago we changed to a laundry soap called “Ecos” and my wife says it’s the best laundry soap she has ever used. Seems to work extremely well with the lake water. It might be worth a try in your case. It’s available at a very reasonable cost through Sam’s Club or you can buy at Amazon. God Luck! Dan __________________ It's Always Sunny On Welch Island!!

11-15-2017, 10:57 AM	#1
winni83 Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Moultonborough, NH Posts: 435 Thanks: 17 Thanked 213 Times in 135 Posts	Our well water was tested multiple times in the years we used this system and there was never any contamination. The water that drains back into the well is only the water that was already in the well line. The water in the pipes in the house all drained onto the dirt floor and it was not a huge amount of water.

11-15-2017, 11:41 AM	#3
winni83 Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Moultonborough, NH Posts: 435 Thanks: 17 Thanked 213 Times in 135 Posts	The code issue is certainly possible. Our work setting up the camp to use it during the winter was done in 1983. Eventually we stopped draining the house since we were coming up more often and wanted to leave food, liquids, etc in the house and got tired of the draining routine and left the heat on at 50 degrees and just turned off the water and hot water breakers and opened the hot and cold water valves on the sink, bathroom sink and bathtub/shower. Still kept the heat on in the pump "room". Had forced hot air heat so the heat from the furnace in the crawl space and leaked air from the heat ducts going up into the house kept the crawl space warm enough to prevent the well water line from freezing. A Freeze Alarm alerted us to power outages and furnace issues. It helped being only an hour and 15 minutes away to deal with any issues. Good luck with your investigation.

11-19-2017, 09:18 AM	#4
TiltonBB Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Gilford, NH and Florida Posts: 3,025 Thanks: 705 Thanked 2,208 Times in 940 Posts	Since the general subject is water, and not to hijack the thread: My house pumps from the lake. I have a $5 Lowe's filter for sediment that I change every coupe of weeks. After that filter, a large 3 chamber system with a sediment filter, charcoal filter and a UV chamber for bacteria. The theory is the Lowe's filter may catch 90% of the sediment before it gets to the more expensive system. It works great and I change the large filters and the UV light bulb every year. I have had the water tested and it is rated "drinking quality water". The problem I have is with white laundry. No matter how much bleach I use the whites get a little less white with every wash. If anyone has had this problem and solved it I would be glad to know how you did it.