How to clean the water in the well: useful tips

Did the well water have a strange smack or smell of sewage? Did she become cloudy or greenish? Are particles of debris and algae floating on the surface? The reason is bacteria and untight seams. Water in poorly maintained wells stagnates and becomes a source of E. coli and other infectious diseases. In order to rectify the situation and improve the quality of drinking fluid, it is necessary to arrange general cleaning and disinfection.

Step 1: Nothing Extra

Powerful drainage pumps are lowered into the well. Equipment can be asked from acquaintances or rented so as not to spend money on an expensive installation. The equipment pumps dirty water along with silt and particles of garbage. When the liquid is over, the sediment is turned off, and one of the family members descends into the well to manually clean the bottom and walls of algae and plaque.

The person who will work below puts on a construction helmet, rubber boots and overalls, as well as a respirator and protective gloves. Upstairs is the second mate. He lowers and raises buckets, takes out the trash.

A cleaner removes mucus from concrete rings, sweeps sludge and earth, and disinfects sealed joints. First, the remains of wet cement, particles of algae or twigs are removed from the cracks. Then it lubricates with a solution of chlorine, and after drying it closes up the seams and pits with a special composition. It is recommended to use a mixture of cement and sand, which quickly hardens and normally tolerates high humidity.

Step 2: Filter Layer

So that sludge does not accumulate at the bottom of the well, it is recommended to build a filtering unit. It will take pebbles of small and large fractions. Will fit:

• pebbles;
• zeolite;
• shungite.

If you put limestone crushed stone at the bottom of the well, the water will become cloudy. Granite varieties are considered dangerous, because they have a high radioactive background. If the drinking fluid has a red or brown tint, it is recommended to stay on shungite. The material absorbs particles of iron and other harmful impurities.

Filter installation is carried out in several stages:

1. Build a pallet from aspen boards corresponding to the diameter of the well.
2. Put a layer of cleaned river sand with a height of 10-15 cm at the bottom. Choose coarse-grained material that is pre-disinfected.
3. An aspen shield is laid on top of the sand, which is fixed with wooden or iron wedges.
4. Cover the pallet with geotextiles. Only a variety with good water permeability is suitable. The right material is thin but dense, reminiscent of the lining of a coat.
5. Thanks to the textile, it will be easier to remove and replace the layer of gravel, but you can get by with an aspen shield.
6. A layer of sand is poured onto the pallet, then fine shungite or pebbles. The diameter of the stones is 1.5–2 cm. The height of the gravel filter is 20–25 cm.
7. Large fractions are placed on top of small pebbles.

Shungite or zeolite is washed in advance in order to clean it of crumbs, otherwise you will have to wait until the dust settles, and then pump water from the well at least 3-4 times. After all the manipulations, the liquid will become transparent and safe.

About 200 kg of schungite are poured into a standard well. When the dust settles, you need to go down and evenly distribute the material along the bottom of the well with a rake.

If during the cleaning a spring was found from which muddy water strikes, a layer of anthracite is laid on top of the schungite, then quartz is added, and everything is covered with silicon. A filter consisting of four or more levels even retains iron.

Step 3: Disinfection

The walls of the mine, from which plaque and dirt were removed, are covered with a chlorine solution:

• A liter of liquid is combined with 5 g of a pure substance or 15 g of lime.
• Insist 2-3 hours, then pour the resulting product into a bucket.
• Wet a sponge or whitening brush in the finished solution.
• Impregnate the mine walls with chlorinated liquid.
• Leave for 3-4 hours, then rinse.
• Water is pumped out and poured out. It can not be drunk or used for watering plants.

The well shaft is clean, but bacteria living in spring water need to be destroyed. Drain pumps turn off. While the structure is gradually filled with liquid, a concentrated chlorine solution is prepared:

• Fill a liter jar with cold filtered water.
• Put 200 g of pure chlorine in it.
• Stir with a wooden stick, close the container with a plastic lid, shake.
• The tool is insisted for 2 hours, then the solution is drained, leaving a precipitate in a jar.
• Chlorinated liquid is poured into the well.

The structure is covered with iron sheet or thick film. It is important that there are no openings in the lid and ring of the well through which chlorine can escape.

After 12 hours or a day, another portion of the concentrated solution is poured into the mine. The next day, turn on the drainage pumps and pump out disinfected water. The procedure is repeated twice or thrice. A liquid in which there is chlorine must not be used. It is advisable to drain it into a specially prepared pit, located at a distance of 20-30 m from the well.

Instead of concentrated powder, use the preparation "White", intended for washing. A bottle of the product is mixed with 10 liters of water, and then poured into the well.

Step 4: Disposal

If an incomprehensible reddish or brown liquid flows from a tap, then there is a lot of iron or manganese in underground streams. Only a special filter unit will cope with the problem. A layer of shungite and an aerator for ponds can clean drinking water from a small amount of impurities and heavy metals.

The device contributes to the oxidation of iron, which turns into an insoluble precipitate and remains in pebbles. The compact device works all year round and protects against bacteria and germs. The aerator is supplemented with an ultrasonic washing machine. They recommend buying the most powerful option. The sound waves produced by the device trigger chemical reactions and contribute to the formation of atomic ozone, which is considered the most powerful of oxidizing agents.

The aerator is hidden in a plastic case from a ten-liter canister for gasoline. The top of the tank is cut off, but not thrown away. In the bottom, several holes are made for drainage of condensate. A device and a carrier are attached to the inner wall, because the aerator works from an electric network.

Put on the lid, pull the cord through the neck of the canister. It is not necessary to close the hole so that air enters the plastic case. Both parts of the container are fastened with construction tape. The canister is lowered into the well, secured to the shaft or iron bar with a metal cord. Separately, an ultrasonic machine and parts of the aerator, which must float in liquids, are immersed in water.

Both devices are connected to the network using a 6A machine. Protect devices from short circuit RCDs. They recommend a model with a tripping current of 10 mA.

Aerator and ultrasonic machine will clean water from impurities and germs in 5-7 days. The well before installing the devices is disinfected with chlorine or "White". You can drink water when the characteristic odor disappears, and the liquid becomes clear and clean.

Additional help

Residents of contaminated regions sometimes fail to completely get rid of bacteria that cause infectious diseases. In this situation, there are two ways: to buy drinking water, and to use well water for irrigation and other domestic needs, or to purchase a special disinfecting cartridge.

In a small capsule of cylindrical shape there is a ceramic container in which bleach is poured. The cartridge regularly allocates a small portion of the product. Doses are enough to destroy microbes. The water has a characteristic chlorine taste and smell, but it is safe for humans and animals.

The only minus of the cartridge is that you have to recharge it monthly. It is recommended to contact professionals from the SES who know how to handle bleach.

You can disinfect drinking fluid yourself. First, calculate the volume of the well, then prepare a one percent solution: 10 g of bleach per liter of cold water. Insist, separate the disinfectant from the sediment. For 1 cube meter of water take 800 ml of the finished solution. If the drinking liquid has a weak characteristic aroma, then everything is correct.

To ensure that the water is always transparent and of high quality, you need to clean the well annually and periodically disinfect it. It is imperative to use filters, as well as regularly take samples at SES to check the drinking fluid for infections and germs.

Video: how to clean a well, column or well