In this episode, I discuss how to shock chlorinate and sanitize your well with chlorine bleach.  This is sometimes referred to as “shock chlorinate” because it uses a high dose of bleach to kill bacteria, eliminate odors and oxidize iron and other contaminants.   I also go over why it is important to not add too much bleach, or too little bleach and other safety steps to follow.
What You’ll Hear in this Episode
1. What is shock chlorination?
2. Testing for bacteria and other contamination
3. Reasons for shock chlorinating your well
4. The Right Procedure in chlorinating your well yourself
5. Precautions to take in chlorinating your well yourself
6. What kind of chlorine to use in shock chlorinating your well
7. How to find a certified well contractor in your area
8. Why it’s important to mix and add the chlorine in a well ventilated area
9. Identifying the source of well contamination
10. When to call a professional well contractor
11. When is it safe to use the water again after chlorination
12. Benefits of shock chlorinating your well
 

Transcript
Hello! Thanks again for tuning in into the podcast. Gerry Bulfin here. I am a water treatment contractor, WQA- Certified Master Water Specialist. I hope you’re having a great day, everything’s going great for you and your water.
In this podcast series, I’m giving useful, easy to follow tips and information. Mostly all about well water, well water treatment systems, and how to improve the quality of your well water.
Free Download of Guide
Today’s episode we’re going to cover the basics of how to shock chlorinate and sanitize your well, and also how to sanitize pipe lines and storage tanks. I actually have a free guide for this podcast called How to Shock Chlorinate wells, pipe lines, storage tanks and systems. This is an easy to follow guide, has step by step lists of what to do, as well as very useful charts to show you how much chlorine bleach pellets or powder to add based on the size and depth of your well.
I’m offering that free to listeners in this podcast and you can get your guide by texting the word, SHOCKGUIDE, just one word to 44222 or go to cleanwaterstore.com/podcast. You can find it there. So just text the word SHOCKGUIDE to 44222 and we’ll get that going to you.
Shock Chlorination
So what is shock chlorination? Well, shock chlorination means that you’re adding sufficient bleach (which bleach is liquid sodium hypochlorite, or if it’s powdered bleach or pellets, it’s calcium hypochlorite) to raise the chlorine concentration inside the well, tank or pipe line to between 200 and 300 parts of per million. This kills bacteria and sanitizes the well. That’s the main reason. It’s also good for odors as well. But most people shock chlorinate the well to sanitize it and to kill bacteria.
The city water has maybe somewhere between .2 and 2 parts of per million of chlorine. So, shock chlorinate means you’re adding a high amount of chlorine, usually two to three hundred parts of per million. And if you leave it there long enough, it will kill the bacteria typically.
For best results the chlorine level must be maintained in your well for 6 – 12 hours and it helps if the pH is between 5 and 7. If you have a very high pH, if your pH is 8/8.5 it doesn’t work as well, it’s much less effective. So it doesn’t hurt to check the pH.
Most of the time the pH is around neutral but there are a lot of cases where the well water pH is high and then the shock chlorination is not as effective, unless you add some citric acid or something to lower the pH, but we’ll get into that in a minute.
So after 12 hours, at least 6 hours or up to 12 hours after you added the chlorine, you test it again for chlorine. If you find you have less than ten parts of per million, then you repeat the procedure. So,

In this Episode 9 of Clean Water Made Easy Podcast, our host and resource person, Gerry Bulfin, a water treatment contractor and WQA Certified Master Water Specialist explains the differences between traditional salt-based water softeners and no-salt water conditioners or softeners.
 You will hear and learn about:

* What is a water softener and how are they used?
* About hard city water due to calcium carbonate and magnesium
* How traditional water softeners work.
* What is a no-salt water conditioners and how does it work?
* Under what water conditions do you not use a no-salt water conditioner?
*  Signs that your water is already soft.
*  Definition of hard water
*  Advantages of having soft water
*  What is a Template Assisted Crystallization (TAC)?
*  What is a scale stopper?
*  What is the role of the German Society of Gas & Water on the study of no-salt softeners?
*  Why is the no-salt softener controversial?
*  Does the no-salt conditioner actually remove the excess calcium in your water?
*  Which one has a limited application, the salt or no-salt softener?
*  Which of the 2 softeners has lower maintenance cost?
*  What is capacitive deionization?
*  Which type of softener does our host/resource person recommend?

After finding the explanation to the above questions, we hope that you will now consider the enigma of the salt and no-salt water softeners as solved. For further questions, our host can be reached at gerrybulfin@cleanwaterstore.
Related readings on no-salt water softeners.
Hard Truths About Soft Water
FULL TRANSCRIPT
Episode 9: No Salt Versus Salt Water Softener Pros and Cons
You’re listening to the Clean Water Made Easy Podcast episode 9.
Hello, welcome back to the Clean Water Made Easy Podcast. My name is Gerry Bulfin, I’m a water treatment contractor and WQA certified Master Water Specialist here in Santa Cruz, California. It’s a beautiful day and hope it’s going good wherever you are. Thanks for tuning in again or if it’s your first-time, thanks for tuning in at all.
In this episode, I’m going to talk all about differences between water softeners and no salt water conditioners. Something we get a lot of questions about. Mainly I talk about well water & well water treatment systems on these episodes but today, this covers folks on city water as well. There is a lot of city water that’s hard because it’s high in calcium, magnesium and creates scale.
So we’re going to cover how traditional water softeners work and the types of no-salt water conditioners. Some people call them no- salt water softeners but we prefer to call them conditioners. We’re going to talk about when to use them, and more importantly under what conditions not to use a no salt water conditioner. There are some conditions where you would prefer a standard softener if you have hard water.
And if you want to go to the website it’s CleanWaterStore.com/blog/podcast and you can get more information about some links to one of the studies I talk about in this episode and you can see pictures and stuff so, if you want to check it out, go there and you will get more information.
Okay so, what about water softeners?
When would you use a water softener?
Well, really if you don’t need a water softener, you’ll probably know it. Your water is soft, meaning it’s not leaving white spots and stains on your shower heads, your dishes come out clean, and the water feels soft, which means that soap easily dissolves in it.
What is hard water?
If your water is hard, we consider water that’s hard over about 5 to 7 grains per gallon.

How to Eliminate Odors and Freshen Well Water with Hydrogen Peroxide
In today’s episode, I am talking about hydrogen peroxide for well water and how great it works to eliminate odors in well water.  This is the same hydrogen peroxide found at the local pharmacy or supermarket but slightly higher.
Four years or so ago, I put up a post on our blog called  “Eliminate Well Water Odors: Four Reasons Why Hydrogen Peroxide Water Treatment Is Best.”  We have had many folks call and email us regarding that article and ask about peroxide systems. I wanted to do a podcast episode explaining it in simple terms: why peroxide can often be the best option to kill sulfur odor in your well water!
Well Water Odor
If your well water smells like rotten eggs, you’re not alone. Well water odor is a common problem. Many homeowners on well water battle the stinky hydrogen sulfide.
Rotten egg hydrogen sulfide-laden water has an objectionable odor, but higher concentrations can be dangerous to health. It’s corrosive to plumbing fixtures and appliances because when hydrogen sulfide is formed and gets into your groundwater, you get sulfuric acid.
 
That makes the water tarnish fixtures and eat up the pipes. This unique rotten egg odor, hydrogen sulfide, is usually found in hot and cold water and can sometimes be worse in your water heater and hot water.
It can be a problem. It not only fouls and ruins water softeners and filter systems if not properly treated, but it’s corrosive to pipes and fixtures and just generally a nuisance.
Historically, aeration has been a common way to get rid of smelly water. Chlorine, however, has some undesirable byproducts and can leave chlorine taste and odors if not properly set upright. 
Also, if the pH of your water is over 7.5 to 8, in other words, if you have alkaline water, then you have to use a lot of chlorine to get it to kill the hydrogen sulfide rotten egg odor. We found, as a lot of other folks do, we found that hydrogen peroxide does a better job.
Aeration can work well, but if you have iron or sulfur bacteria present, sometimes the bacteria can still create odors after your aeration system. In other words, it can develop in your water heater and plumbing system. 
Aeration systems can also be more expensive to set up at times compared to peroxide injection. Peroxide, if you have the right concentration, can kill these iron-sulfur laded bacteria.
So the 4 reasons hydrogen peroxide works:
1. It works faster than chlorine, so often, no contact tank is required
2. Unlike chlorine, the peroxide will not leave a chemical residue or chemical by-products after it’s injected into the water.
3. Peroxide works over a wider pH range
4. Does not affect taste; it often improves the taste compared to chlorination
Over the last 10 years or so, hydrogen peroxide has become a preferred method of treatment for odor by many well water contractors and water treatment specialists all across the U.S. and Canada.
Peroxide and Chlorine
So you might ask: Hey if peroxide is so great, would you ever use chlorination?  Well, yes, because chlorine has residual. If you have a chlorine residual, it works better to disinfect your water throughout a distribution system or plumbing system.
That’s why it’s used in communities and municipal systems because you want a chlorine residual to kill bacteria in the pipeline.
Chlorine is cheaper, too, as far as home systems go. Chlorine is less expensive; peroxide can be more expensive...

Note: This podcast transcript has been edited for clarity and length.

Today’s episode is about troubleshooting low water pressure on well water for homes and small businesses.
Do you have plenty of water but experience low water pressure?  This is a common problem.
I put together a Checklist and quick Troubleshooting guide called “How to Troubleshoot Low Water Pressure On Well Water.”  This free guide includes pictures, checklists, and things to look for to troubleshoot low water pressure (see the link below to get your guide).
Discussed During This Episode

* What is the water pressure, and what is the difference between water pressure and flow rate?
* Determine your water pressure and the flow rate before any water treatment systems or plumbing.
* How to Troubleshoot common problems with low water pressure and flow rate.
* How to read a filter pressure drop chart and a pump curve chart.
* How to size whole house filters, automatic backwash filters, and softeners to avoid pressure drop problems.
* What is the water pressure, and what is the difference between water pressure and flow rate?

What is Water Pressure?
Water pressure refers to how strongly water flows through your pipes, measured in pounds per square inch (PSI). In well systems, pressure is typically maintained by a submersible pump and a pressure tank with an air bladder.
Most homes run best with 50–60 PSI. Too low, and you’ll get weak flow, especially in multi-bathroom homes. Too high (above 70 PSI), and you risk damaging appliances.
You can check your system's PSI using the pressure gauge near your pressure tank. Standard systems cycle between a lower and upper range (e.g., 30–50 PSI), while constant pressure systems aim to hold steady at one setting.
Knowing your PSI helps you troubleshoot low water flow and keep your system running smoothly.
What is Flow Rate?
Flow rate can be thought of as gallons per minute flowing through a pipe. A common residential well pump might deliver anywhere from 5 to 20 gallons in one minute.  Pressure is not the same as flow, however.
For example, you could have great water pressure from the well but a terrible flow rate and reduced water pressure in the home.
Most pipes in traditional homes are ½”, ¾,” or 1” in diameter. Say you had really great water pressure of 60 or 70 PSI, and your home had all ½” piping, and you had 3 bathrooms all being used at the same time, or you had a large spa-type bathtub that likes to be filled at 15 gallons per minute.
Because you have ½” piping, you might experience a low flow rate, even if you have 70 PSI to start with, because the flow rate needed requires a larger diameter pipe.
How to Find Out You're Well Pumps Flow Rate
If you get a chance, listen to Episode 2, where I discuss how easy it is to find out your well pumping flow rate and what it is. I am putting a link in the show notes that goes to a page that shows how to check your well flow rate easily. Basically, the flow rate in gallons per minute is how many gallons can flow in one minute.
Link to Flow Rate Calculator Page
Pumps are typically set to turn on automatically at one pressure and off at a higher pressure, usually 20 PSI higher than the low pressure.
Standard single-speed submersible wells or booster pumps operate with a pressure range that fluctuates between a low and high setting. Some homeowners use a constant-pressure system, which maintains steady water pressure throughout the home.
Standard systems use a pressure switch to turn on and off the well pump. If you measure the drawdown from your pressure tank in gallons and determi...

On this latest installment of the Clean Water Made Easy Podcast, I talk about how to eliminate odors in well water.  I also go over how to identify odors in well water and then walk listeners through the basics steps of eliminating these same odors. As with other issues we’ve discussed, causes may be surprising, but solutions to eliminate odors in your well water are not complicated.
What You’ll Hear in this episode:
1. Kinds of odor in well water
2. What causes these odors?
3. The 4 basic methods of eliminating odor in well water
4. The 3 low-cost methods of eliminating odor
5. What types of water filters are best for treating odors
6. Dangers of hydrogen sulfide in water
7. Ideal water PH
8. What causes rusty water?
9. The importance of doing a water analysis
10. Easy tests you can do at home to analyze your water
11. How to do a physical inspection of your water
12. What happens when you aerate water?
13. Which oxidizer is the most economical?
14. Ways of removing bacteria in water.
15. What is the most affordable method of treating odor and bacteria?
 


Eliminate Odors in Well Water
Hello! Thanks again for tuning in to the Clean Water Made Easy podcast. Episode #6. My name is Gerry Bulfin. I’m a Water Treatment Contractor and  WQA Certified Master Water Specialist. Hey I hope you’re having a great day wherever you’re listening.  You know this podcast series is here to help you learn all about well water, water treatment systems, how wells work, and how to improve the quality of your well water.
Free Book Download
In today’s episode, we’re going to cover the basics of how to eliminate odor in well water, particularly rotten egg odor and we’ll talk about the other kinds of odors that folks run into as well.
Some years ago I wrote a book called The Definitive Guide to Well Water Treatment. It’s being sold on Amazon, we update it every year and you know one section of that book, How to Remove Odors in Well Water, is actually one of the most downloaded guides.
I have that separately as a guide and for listeners of this podcast, I’m offering it to you for free.  The How to Remove Odors from Well Water is an easy to follow guide, a  handy checklist, step by step lists and guides and pictures and useful information all about removing odor from well water.
It covers a lot of what we’ll talk about in today’s episode.   Although it’s more in-depth that you can take your time and look at what section pertains to you that kind of thing.
You can get this free guide by texting the word ODORGUIDE to 44222  or you can go on  website cleanwaterstore.com/podcasts and find this episode and you can get it from there. So again if you want it might be easy just text the word ODORGUIDE to 44222 and we’ll get that going to you.
Podcast subtopics
In this episode, we’re going to cover: What is the cause of the odor in my well water? What’s the best way to eliminate odor without spending a lot of money? What types of filters or systems are out there to treat odors? We’ll also cover how you can run a little test at home and see what approach would work to eliminate odors in your well water without spending any money.
Rotten Egg Odor
So the most common odor that we run into is rotten egg odor which is hydrogen sulfide gas. It has a very distinctive rotten egg odor and it may be especially present in those homes running hot water but you can find it in cold and hot water. This kind of water discolors coffee, tea, and other beverages  and it alters the appearance and taste of cooked foods. Truly a nuisance. It’s not usually a health risk at concentrations found in household water but it can be very toxic at higher levels. Usually the gas can be detected long before it reaches harmful concentrations but at higher...

Why use ozone water treatment for your well water?

#1: Ozone is a powerful disinfectant:
Ozone water treatment can rapidly disinfect your well water and kill bacteria and viruses, but unlike chlorine does not leave a chemical chlorine residual.
#2: When used with filtration, it removes iron, manganese and sulfur odor:
The oxidizing properties of ozone, when combined with filtration, will eliminate iron, manganese, sulfur and reduce or eliminate tastes and odor problems.
#3: Ozone is automatic and doesn't require additional chemicals:
Ozone is a gas that is generated by an ozone generator at your site and injected into your water.
#4: Sizing is critical:
Ozone generators need to be sized to fit the application. Ozone generators produce ozone in grams per hour and depends on your well water flow rate and water chemistry.
#5: Decide on ultraviolet (“UV”) light ozone water treatment or corona-discharge type: 
While UV light can produce low levels of ozone, it works best for removing slight odors and should be not used for disinfection.  Corona discharge uses electricity inside a ceramic or glass cell or stainless steel plate chamber to produce ozone. It works better with dry air and there are cartridges that will produce dry air and help the generator produce high levels of ozone.
#6: Inject ozone under pressure for best results:
Ozone can be bubbled into the water in open storage tanks or low-pressure vessels, but most of the ozone does not get transferred into the water.  It is much better to draw in the ozone with a venturi into a contact tank that is under 40 – 50 PSI of pressure for optimum transfer of the ozone into water.
Ozone Systems Are Widely Use for Bottling Water and Water Purification Worldwide
Ozone has been used for over 100 years to treat water for cities, bottling water plants and other commercial and industrial processes.   Home systems have been available for some years and improved in quality and design.
If you have iron, manganese, odor AND bacteria, ozone combined with proper filtration can work great and last for many years.
Ozone water treatment oxidizes iron, manganese, and sulfur in your well water to form insoluble metal oxides or elemental sulfur. These insoluble particles such as rust, are then removed by filtration which is typically activated carbon, manganese dioxide, or other media such as filter sand.
Ozone is much faster at killing bacteria and oxidizing iron and manganese compared to chlorine or peroxide.  One advantage for home use is that ozone is quite unstable and will degrade over a time frame ranging from a few seconds to 30 minutes.
So if ozone water treatment is so great, why doesn't everyone use it you may ask?
It is quite expensive compared to chlorination.  Ozone water treatment costs a lot more up front compared to aeration, chlorine injection or hydrogen peroxide injection!  That is the primary disadvantage.  Shop our ozone systems.
Ozone for Disinfection
Ozone has a greater ability to disinfect water of bacteria and viruses compared to chlorination. To properly disinfect water with chlorine or ozone there must be enough residual of the chlorine or ozone in mg/L (same as saying parts per million or PPM) in the water, AND enough minutes of contact time for disinfection to occur.
Water chemistry is also very important.  The pH of the water (how acid or alkaline it is) along with the turbidity and other contaminants all play a role in how effective chlorine or ozone will be at disinfecting your well water of bacteria.
Ozone is faster at killing bacteria and oxidizing iron and manganese compared to chlorine or peroxide. For example, the CT value (Concentrate of the oxidizer multiplied by the Time in minutes) for disinfecting water of viruses is 6.

Hello. Welcome to the Clean Water Made Easy Podcast Question & Answer. This is Q&A Episode #11.
Each week in our main podcast, I try to go deeper into various well water treatment systems and specific applications or problems.  I also like to do these quick Q&A episodes to answer some questions that we get. Every day we get tons of phone calls, emails, and chats through our website.
I try to pick an interesting one and I answer it.  As a matter of fact, we’ve received a chat message from Joanne who asked: “What do static mixers do for chlorination systems? Can I use a static mixer in place of a contact tank?”
Thanks for your question.
When injecting chlorine into your water to cure specific problems such as removing odors, killing bacteria or oxidizing iron, you need to mix the chlorine into the water rapidly and that’s what a static mixer does.
A static mixer looks like a piece of pipe, there are different sizes, but say a common 1-inch one is about 14 inches long. If you could look inside it, you’d see a series of little pins or baffles inside them arranged in a specific way.  As the water is flowing through, the chlorine or peroxide metering pump, is pumping a little amount of chlorine into the water as the water is flowing.
The idea is the chlorine system pumps it into the pipe and as the water enters the static mixer, it dissolves the chlorine very well into the water. It’s a thorough and rapid mixing. That’s what a static mixer does.
However, with chlorination there’s this concept of you want to have a certain amount of concentration of chlorine, usually it’s somewhere between 1 and 5 parts per million but it depends on how much iron, odor, manganese or whatever you’re trying to correct. I have another episode that goes into detail about that, episode #8.  In episode 8, I go over the chlorination systems. So there’s the idea of the concentration and then the time. That’s called the CT value. You have your concentration and time.
A static mixer will rapidly mix the chlorine into the water but it doesn’t give you time. Depending on what you’re trying to do, you might need a contact tank.  If you’re after disinfection then it’s better to use some kind of contact tank to get time because the bacteria needs a little bit of time with the chlorination for it to be thoroughly killed and sanitized.
The best thing to do is to use both the static mixer with the contact tank.  Say you’re injecting chlorine in order to kill odor and oxidize iron before an iron filter.  Then you only need about 10 to 30 seconds of time before the water that has been chlorinated goes into the iron filter media. So in that case, static mixer is great.  It’s just 2 different things, static mixer and contact tank.

Static mixer gives you more rapid mixing time and more efficient transfer of the chemical into the water so you get a better job so therefore you can use less chemicals. The idea is after you inject the chemical or peroxide you don’t want any to be left in the water or have very little left in the water. So the static mixer will help that.
We often use them in combination with a contact tank to get mixing and time in order to achieve the results of what you’re trying to do –whether it’s to sanitize the water, kill the odors,  or treat iron & manganese, whatever.
Do you have any questions and you’d like to have your question answered? Just go to our website, there’s a chat box you can chat with us. Ask questions there. You can email us. My email is gerrybulfin@cleanwaterstore.com.  Or you can email support@cleanwaterstore.com.
Hope that helped and hope you folks have a nice day. Thank you.

In this episode, I talk about when to use Soda Ash for Acid Well Water.
Topics discussed include:

* What is low pH and why you might want to correct your low pH to a neutral pH?
* What is soda ash for well water?
* Why use soda ash instead of a calcite neutralizer?
* What are the benefits and advantages of using soda ash?
* How does soda ash compare to other alkaline chemicals such as sodium hydroxide?
* How to set up a soda ash injection system
* How much soda ash you should inject.

>
Episode 14
Acid Well Water: When to Use Soda Ash Systems to Treat Acidic Well Water
Hello, Hey. Thank you so much for tuning in to Clean Water Made Easy Podcast. This is Episode #14. My name is Gerry Bulfin. I’m a Water Treatment Contractor and WQA-Certified Master Water Specialist. You’re in the right place if you want to learn more about well water, well water treatment systems and how to improve the quality of your well water.
Each episode in the series is broken down into a single area or topic that you can listen to each one, one after another, or you can jump around and find the ones that pertain the most to your application.
In Episode 13 I talked about calcite acid neutralizers. An acid neutralizer in general to correct acid well water conditions.  I did talk about a little bit about sodas ash.
In this episode, we’re going to look a little more in-depth look and deep dive into when and how to use soda ash systems.
We’re going to talk about: What is low pH and why you might want to correct your low pH to a neutral pH, what is soda ash, why use soda ash instead of a calcite neutralizer, when to use it as opposed to calcite, what are the benefits and advantages to using soda ash, and how soda ash compares to other alkaline chemicals such as sodium hydroxide. We’re going to go over how to set up a soda ash injection system and how much soda ash should you inject.
First off is What is low pH? How you might want to correct your low pH.
It’s easy to check for pH. If you check your well water and you have acid water,  which is pH less than 7,  then you might also be experiencing some corrosion problems. Particularly if you have copper pipes, but also you can get corrosion on your water heater, appliances, fixtures.
It’s a good idea to have neutral water or water that’s not gonna corrode your pipes. Signs of your acid water could be corrosion of your fixtures, blue stains in your copper pipes, or sometimes rust staining if you old galvanized pipe.
Basically, acidic water with pH value in the range of less than 7 is more corrosive to metal. That’s why we want to correct the pH. Groundwater such as well, and surface water such as spring water, can both be acidic.
The most common cause of acid water (I talked about this in episode 13) is from the rain. So you get the acid rain– the rain goes to the atmosphere, picks up carbon dioxide, or in some case, if it’s in an industrial area where you may have sulfur dioxide or nitric oxide, you get acids forming in the water which is easy to do because rainwater is pure water so it doesn’t have any lime or buffering capacity to it. It goes into the ground and eventually end up as groundwater. What happens is that if you have an area where there’s a lot of limestone, or your well is pulling water out of an area where there’s limestone, then you have hard water and you don’t have acidic water, generally.
A lot of folks will be in an area where there’s fracture granite or sand or some kind of strata in the ground that doesn’t have the buffering capacity to change the pH of water from acidic to neutral or alkaline. There are some cases where you get acid well water from mine run off. We run into that in the West like Colorado. Some areas, you get mineral acids but mostly it’s from the water ...

Hello. Welcome to the Clean Water Made Easy Q & A. My name is Gerry Bulfin. I’m a WQA-Certified Master Water Specialist and Water Treatment Contractor. Every week on our main podcast we delve deeper into the various well water treatment systems and problems. I also do these quick Q & A episodes because we get a lot of phone calls, emails, and chats every day and we get a lot of interesting great questions. Some are really good to share with others.
Today, we received an email from Jim who wrote:  “We got blue stains on our sinks and bathtub and a neighbor told me to use a phosphate filter. I understand our well water is acidic and I’m wondering how the phosphate works and will it fix the acid water at the same time it’s helping my pipes.”
Okay, Jim, that is a very good question and phosphate is often used for corrosion. It doesn’t do anything for the acidity but the most common way we use phosphate for homes is in a crystal form. So it’s hexametaphosphate, actually, it’s sodium hexametaphosphate. So you are adding a little bit of sodium into the water. What happens is it looks like standard water  filter housing, maybe like 12 inches high by 4 inches diameter, then usually ¾ of an inch pipe size.
Inside it has a little canister that’s filled with these somewhat clear-looking crystals of phosphate and when the water flows through a tiny bit dissolves into the water. What phosphate does in copper pipes, after awhile, even sometimes after a few days of running the water, is you’ll get a microscopic coating of phosphate on the pipe. Copper corrosion is really almost like setting up a weak battery in your pipes. There are different corrosion cells and electrons flow from one cell to the other. What’s going on is by coating the inside surface of your copper pipe it seals off that corrosion activity and either stops it or really slows it down.
It can immediately help a lot with preventing corrosion. It needs a little bit of hardness in the water. It doesn’t work on zero soft water, it likes a little bit of hardness because that’s how it’s putting down a sort of a layer of the compound where the phosphate and the calcium form to seal off the surface. When it’s working it’s a layer and it stops or slows down the corrosion. But it doesn’t do anything for the pH so if you have acidic water, you could still get problems with the water heater and get problems with fixtures  and you can still get corrosion.
It could help but it’s usually if you know you have acidic water, you’re better off fixing the acidity. That’s what we recommend to folks. However, the phosphate feeders are much less expensive than neutralizers. Feeders are easy to put in and can be a short-term way to help. The other thing is for folks that have really corroded pipes and you’re fixing the pH with a calcite neutralizer which raises the pH and stops the corrosion by neutralizing the pH. Then a lot of times we’ll combine the phosphate; we’ll put it into a phosphate cartridge after the neutralizer. For some folks use it for say 6 months and that will really help with the corrosion. Later you can try removing the cartridges leaving your filter housing there. Or putting in a cartridge filter, like a 5 micron or 10 micron, on a temporary basis.
Anyway, that’s a really good question and generally, we do recommend them under certain circumstances. But, they’re not recommended for fixing the acidic water. They are put in a low enough rate so the water is drinkable but you’re drinking some phosphate but it’s not considered toxic. These things are NSF-certified for drinking water.
They do work as long as the water has a little bit of hardness in it. It is put on for your hot and your cold. You put it in your cold water and it seals all the pipes in the house.
Okay. Well, if anybody else has any questions, please go to our website cleanwaterstore.com and see the chat box and ask questions there or send us an email.

Hello. Welcome to the Clean Water Made Easy Podcast Question and Answer Episode 9.
My name is Gerry Bulfin. I’m a WQA-Certified Master Water Specialist and Water Treatment Contractor here in Santa Cruz, California. We get a lot of phone calls, emails, and chats through our website. For this, I’m  picking the more interesting ones and put up a quick answer to the question.
We received an email from Goldie who wrote:
“My husband has been using pool tablets on a weekly basis in our 3000-gallon holding tank. Our water no longer has the faint tea color from the tannin in it. However, I can smell a strong chlorine smell in the shower and toilet. I do notice a drying effect on my skin. What I’m most concerned with is the effect on our septic tank. Is it safe to use pool chlorine tablets on a regular basis without damaging the septic system?”
Goldie thanks for your email. The pool tablets will be effective for the tannins. They’re releasing chlorine into the water.  I know you’re asking about the septic tank, but normally we do NOT recommend pool chlorine for potable water. Even if you are not drinking the water, it’s not the best even for bathing in it either.
Pool Chlorine is for Pools, not Drinking Water
There are some pool chlorine that are also certified for drinking water; but usually, most of them are not. They are not made for drinking water, they are made for pools.
To give you an example, you can look and see on the bottle or canister what type of chlorine it is. The common chlorine that is used in drinking water is solid and is calcium hypochlorite. Then when you put it into the water, you’re getting the chlorine, and a little bit of calcium, but nothing toxic. Other than the chlorine which at certain levels is toxic, but that’s a topic for a different day. Chlorine is very effective so they’re using it.
Anyway, calcium hypochlorite is what you want for drinking water. When you get into pool chlorine, you get into trichlor and the dischlor type which contain cyanuric acid. Generally, though it sounds like cyanide, it doesn’t give you cyanide poisoning. However, there could be other contaminants in the trichlor and the dischlor chlorinating compound. It’s not good for potable water.
Lithium hypochlorite is another one that’s used in pools. That’s something you would want to absolutely avoid because lithium toxic. There are some trichlorides and dichlorides that are certified for drinking water but I’m not sure exactly how toxic it is but usually we won’t recommend the pool chlorine tablets for potable water because you can get the regular tablets. They’re not that expensive and lasts a long time. We carry one that’s been NSF certified for drinking water but generally, the chlorine pellets that are made for drinking water is the best one.
You mentioned 2 things – dry skin and your septic tank.
Getting into the septic tank, we generally do not recommend a constant high chlorine residual going into your septic tank. It can slow down the bacterial growth in your septic tank and prevent it from becoming a septic tank so you don’t get that septic action. You’re better off getting the chlorine test kit and just add a tiny bit of chlorine so you don’t have a huge residual. We generally wouldn’t want to put more than .2 or .4 parts per million chlorine residual down your septic tank. That’s what we’ve been told by septic guys. They generally want to avoid using chlorine bleach but in the use of chlorine bleach in the laundry, we generally do it like a one-shot thing it’s not putting that constant amount of chlorine down the septic tank. It’s not that it would completely ruin your septic tank but it would stop it from doing what it’s supposed to do which is to digest the sewage. So you want to avoid that.
There is a way to usually deal with that which is to inexpensively get a small tank of carbon and as the water flows into the house,

Note: This podcast transcript has been edited for clarity and length.

Did you know that rainwater is slightly acidic and, in some cases, can be very acidic? This can cause acidic groundwater and might cause your well water to be corrosive to plumbing, fixtures, and appliances. Fortunately, there are simple ways to neutralize acidic well water and protect your home.
Acidic well water is commonly caused by acid rainfall due to atmospheric carbon dioxide and other airborne pollutants and, in some cases, runoff from mines.
Pure water has a pH of 7.0 (neutral); however, natural, unpolluted rainwater has a pH of about 5.6 (acidic). The acidity of rainwater comes from the natural presence of three substances (Carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxide, and sulfur dioxide): CO2, NO, and SO2.  CO2 is present in the greatest concentration and therefore contributes the most to the natural acidity of rainwater. As CO2 levels rise, acid rain might be increasing as well.
How to Neutralize Acidic Well Water?

* Test your well water first for pH, alkalinity, hardness, and total dissolved solids
* Use a calcite neutralizer to eliminate the acid pH… OR
* Use a blend of calcite and magnesium oxide (Corosex or Flomag brands, etc) for very low pH
* Use a backwash-type neutralizer OR an upflow neutralizer, depending on your application and water
* Consider a soda ash injection system if your pH is 5 or below and/or your water is high in calcium


Welcome to the Clean Water Made Easy Podcast
Hello, and thanks so much for tuning in again to the Clean Water Made Easy Podcast. I'm Gerry Bulfin. I’m a Water Treatment Contractor and WQA-certified Master Water Specialist. I hope you’re having a great day wherever or however you’re listening.
Why Acidic Water Is a Problem
Today’s episode is all about acid well water. It’s very common. We’ll also cover acid rain and acidic spring water, which are often used in private water systems.
One of the most common causes of pipe and fixture corrosion is low pH—meaning acidic water. If the pH is less than 7, it's considered acidic. The pH scale runs from 1 to 14; 7 is neutral.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode
I’ll explain how copper corrosion from acidic water occurs, how to slow it down, and how to eliminate blue stains (a clear sign of copper corrosion).
We'll cover the main systems used to treat low pH:

* Calcite neutralizers
* Calcite/Corosex blend systems
* Upflow neutralizers
* Soda ash injection systems

What Causes Acidic Water?
A common source is acid rain, mostly caused by atmospheric carbon dioxide. CO2 levels are rising, so rainfall is more acidic. Natural, unpolluted rainwater has a pH of about 5.6.
Once rainwater becomes groundwater, its acidity depends on the surrounding geology. If groundwater flows through limestone, it’s often neutralized. But granite or sand doesn’t buffer pH, so the water stays acidic.

* Common Symptoms of Acidic Water
* Blue stains on fixtures (from copper corrosion)
* Pinhole leaks in pipes
* Rusty water from galvanized pipes
* Damaged water heaters

What is Corrosion?
Corrosion is the chemical or electrical degradation of metal in contact with water. Acidic water (pH < 7) is more corrosive than alkaline water.
Even homes with repiped systems may still experience corrosion if small pipe sections remain. Acidic water easily eats through these areas.
How to Treat Acidic Well Water
The most common and effective solution is a calcite neutralizer. Calcite is a natural form of calcium carbonate that dissolves into the water to raise its pH. It’s best for pH levels between 6.0 and 6.9.
For lower pH levels (5.0 to 6.0),

No-Salt Water Softeners for Well Water?
Hello and welcome again to the Clean Water Made Easy Podcast Q&A, this is Q&A Episode 8. In this episode, I am going to answer a question about No-Salt Water Softeners for well water.  Actually, they should be referred to as no-salt water conditioners, not softeners since they do not soften the water.
I’m Gerry Bulfin and I’m a WQA- Certified Master Water Specialist and Water Treatment Contractor here in Northern CA. I have a main podcast where in each episode I talk about various types of well water problems, well water treatment systems and solutions.
I also have these quick Question & Answer episodes. Every day we get a lot of phone calls, e-mails, chats through our website and I pick a pertinent or interesting one and then answer it.
This one came in through our chat box on our website from Sheryl and she asked:
“Hello, I’m looking for a no-salt water softener for our very hard well water, I can’t find any on your website about how much hardness each of your models removes, do you have that information?”

Hello Sheryl,
I did another podcast episode (Episode 9) and this goes in-depth about no salt water softeners or actually, no-salt water conditioners as we call them. They don't soften the water, but rather, they transform the hardness in the water into a form that won’t build up as scale, so they prevent scale build-up.
They don’t remove anything from the water and especially, they don’t remove any hardness. You can test the water before and after, and it's the same hardness. They’re pretty popular because people don’t want to deal with the salt even though the new water softeners have been out for some years now and use a lot less salt than the old style water softeners. But still, the softeners need brine or salt water to regenerate or clean the softening resin inside the softener.
So folks think, well, the no salt water softeners sounds a lot better because it doesn't use any backwash water or salt. But the thing is that it just depends on what your expectations are. Theoretically, that will work up to 50 grains per gallon of hardness. 50 grains per gallon is very high and it depends on what you mean by working. If the water evaporates on the surface, you’re going to see hard water, you’re going to see the minerals there and you're going to feel hard water in the shower.
Generally, we wouldn’t recommend a no-salt water conditioner for very hard well water unless you’re only after protecting your water heater, or say you had an instant water heater or boiler. If you have just clean hard well water with no iron, no manganese, no sediment then that’s what the no-salt water conditioners like. If you have a little bit of iron in the water or any manganese, hydrogen sulfide or sediments in the water, then the resin inside these TAC- type template assisted crystallization water conditioners will become fouled very quickly.
This can be very expensive and it could lead to an unhappy conclusion, so generally you’re better off sticking with the water softener. Then really looking at and making sure you dialed it in to use as little salt as possible, you can even bypass partially some of the water so it only softens some of the water. So instead of being 30 grains hard, it might reduce it to 5 grains, so that it’ll save the amount of salt you use and the hardness of your water.
Typically we do NOT recommend no-salt water conditioners for very hard well water.
You can blend a little bit of hardness in if you can live with water say up to 10 grains per gallon and if you’re looking to reduce the amount of salt that it uses or salt in the wastewater.

 
Welcome to Episode 11 of Clean Water Made Easy Podcast.
In today's episode, our host Gerry Bulfin, a water treatment contractor and WQA Certified Master Water Specialist discusses iron filter media, particularly manganese dioxide filter media for removing iron and manganese from well water.
Manganese dioxide is a natural filter media that effectively removes iron, manganese and sulfur odor from well water.   There are different types of manganese dioxide filter media and Gerry discusses the advantages of the various kinds as well as discusses what to look for when using this filter media.
Filter media is what is inside a filter tank and removes iron and manganese.  
Manganese Dioxide Filter Media for Well Water
Items We Cover in this Episode:

What is manganese dioxide filter media and how is it used?
What are the benefits and advantages of using manganese dioxide for removing iron, manganese, and odors from well water?
What is the difference between greensand, birm and other coated media and solid manganese dioxide media such as Pro-OX, Filox, Pyrolox, Birm etc.
Under what conditions does manganese dioxide media work best?
Importance of water chemistry, and flow rate, such as how many gallons or liters your pump puts out per minute  

 

Transcript of Episode 11
Iron & Manganese Removal Using Manganese Dioxide Filter Media
You’re listening to the Clean Water Made Easy Podcast Episode 11
Hello, hey thanks so much for tuning in to the Clean Water Made Easy podcast. Gerry Bulfin here again. I’m a Water Treatment Contractor and WQA-Certified Master Water Specialist. I hope you’re having a fine day wherever you are listening.
In this series, I’ve been giving useful easy-to-follow tips and information all about well water, well water treatment systems, and how to improve the quality of your well water. I appreciate the emails and feedback I’ve been getting and if you’re using iTunes and you’d be so kind, it’d be great to if you went over to iTunes and rate it and maybe left a short review of the podcast. That helps the podcast a lot, I appreciate it.
In today’s episode, we’re going to talk all about iron and manganese media. Specifically, manganese dioxide filter media. Media is the word that we use, it looks like sand, it’s a granular type of filter media and it goes inside a filter tank. In this context what we are talking about are backwashing iron filters. So the water flows in down through the filter media, iron and manganese is removed and then after a while, they’re usually automatic, it turns on, backwashes and cleans this media.
So there’s many different kinds of filter media, and that’s what we are going to talk about. Specifically, manganese dioxide media which is the probably the most common type of filter media used for iron and manganese removal.
If you want to see pictures of what the media looks like and iron filter tanks, please go to our website, cleanwaterstore.com/blog/podcast and you can also email me directly at gerrybulfin@cleanwaterstore.com and I spell my name with a G, G E R R Y and then B U L F I N.
Topics in this Episode
Anyway, today the items we’re going to cover are: what is manganese dioxide, how is it used, what are the benefits and the advantage of using manganese dioxide for removing iron, manganese, odors from well water, and what’s the difference between the coded type of media such as greensand or Birm where there’s a thin layer of manganese dioxide coating on a different type of mineral element underneath it. And the solid manganese dioxide media where it’s a solid granular like a solid chu...

Welcome to Episode 10 of Clean Water Made Easy Podcast.
Our host and resource person, Gerry Bulfin, a water treatment contractor and WQA Certified Master Water Specialist discusses ultraviolet sterilizers for well water and how to use them for disinfecting and sanitizing well water.
Ultraviolet sterilizers use UV light to kill bacteria in water and are often a good fit for you if your well or spring water has bacteria in it, or might be at risk for coliform bacteria.
Ultraviolet Sterilizers for Well Water
You will hear and learn about:

* How does UV light disinfect (kill bacteria) in water?
* How can I know if UV disinfection is right for my water application?
* What is the difference between Class A and Class B UV sterilizers, and when to use which for a given application
* Should the water be treated prior to UV sterilization?
* Is UV light effective at killing parasites, such as Giardia?
* Maintenance and servicing UV sterilizers

 

 
 Transcript
 Clean Water Made Easy Podcast Episode #10.
Ultraviolet Sterilizers for Well Water
Hello! Hope your day is going good. My name is Gerry Bulfin. I’m a water treatment contractor and WQA-Certified Master Water Specialist here in Northern California and I want to welcome you to the podcast. If it’s your first time, thanks for listening or welcome back if you’ve listened before. I really appreciated all the feedback and emails about the podcast I’ve been getting and if you have any questions or if you have any topics you would like to see covered on the podcast, please write me an email.
I like to say you’re in the right place if you want to learn about well water, water treatment systems or how to improve the quality of your well water or spring water as well.
In this episode, I am going to talk about Ultraviolet Sterilizers, a very popular device, and there are many different kinds.
Topics we’re going to go over are: How does it work? How does UV light disinfect to kill bacteria in the water? How can I know if UV is right for my particular application?
We are going to talk about the difference between Class A and Class B UV sterilizers and when to use which. Should the water be treated prior to UV? We are also going to talk about parasites such as Giardia and how to and how often to service UV sterilizers.
Download Free Guide
I’ve put together a guide on UVs called The Practical Guide to Ultraviolet Sterilizers and you can get your free copy. It has a lot of good pictures, diagrams and checklists. It is very easy to follow and pretty useful.
Bacteria can be really a serious issue. Harmful bacteria can be present in many water supplies. Proper disinfection as we all know is very critical, especially if bacteria, viruses and parasites are present.
Many well and spring waters are susceptible to contamination by bacteria. Most properly built wells usually do not have bacteria or are not under the influence of surface water where bacteria live but it can happen. So, you want to do routine testing at least once a year for coliform bacteria. It is recommended for home water wells.
Both the EPA, CDC, World Health Organization and different organizations like the National Ground Water Associations, all recommend that you get your water tested every year for coliforms. Ultraviolet sterilizers can be a good alternative method of disinfection.
Chlorine, is the most common type of disinfection to use especially for spring water. It can have limitations and there is some associated health risks especially if the chlorine residuals are high and you’re showering in it and breathing in chlorine. So you will look for alternatives for that and particularly if you have a home system and you want to be sure your well is free of bacteria.

Note: This podcast transcript has been edited for clarity and length.

Welcome to the Clean Water Made Easy Podcast Q&A
Hello, welcome to the Clean Water Made Easy Podcast Q&A. My name is Gerry Bulfin. I hope you’re doing well. I’m a WQA-certified Master Water Specialist and Water Treatment Contractor here in Santa Cruz, CA. Every week on our main podcast, we discuss various well water treatment systems and common water problems, like how to eliminate that unpleasant sulfur smell often found in well water. I also have these quick Q&A episodes to cover folks' questions.
We receive a large number of phone calls, e-mails, and chats on our website every day, so I pick the most interesting one and answer it.
Today’s Question: Will a UV Sterilizer Remove Sulfur Smell?
Today, Sam contacted us through the chat on our website and asked:
“I have well water, and I have a sulfur smell. What’s the best product to eliminate this for the whole house? I was told the UV-sterilizer will work because it kills the bacteria that create the sulfur smell.”
That’s a great question, Sam. We’ve been asked this many times, and I can tell you clearly: UV sterilizers do not remove hydrogen sulfide or sulfur smell.
People often think the sulfur smell comes from bacteria, so killing the bacteria with UV will stop the odor. But it doesn’t work that way. The bacteria that cause hydrogen sulfide gas live in the well and the plumbing. They release gas that causes the smell. To stop the smell, you have to remove the gas itself.
Disinfecting the water is still a good idea. But UV isn’t the right tool for this. It’s very sensitive to water quality.
If your water is cloudy, has color, or contains sediment—which it often does if there’s a sulfur smell—UV won’t work well. You could use UV as a final step, after removing the odor and filtering the water. If your water is hard, you might also want to add a softener first. Then, as the last stage, UV can kill bacteria—but it won’t remove the sulfur smell.
Best Solutions for Removing Sulfur Odor from Well Water
So, we recommend the lowest-cost way to go for sulfur smell removal is a chlorinator. You chlorinate the water, and then you filter out the chlorine and odor with activated carbon. That is very reliable, and you get disinfected water, and the sulfur smell is gone.
But some people don’t want to mess with the chlorine, and if you don’t want to, you could use aeration, where the water is aerated and filtered with activated carbon.
There’s also ozone gas, which is the most expensive and hardest to deal with, but it does work really well once you get it set up. It’s great, but it’s quite a bit more expensive than chlorination or aeration.
Recommended Product: Air-Charger Sulfur Odor Filter System

If you’re dealing with a strong sulfur smell in your well water, one of the most effective whole-house solutions is our Air-Charger Sulfur Odor Filter. This system uses air injection and catalytic carbon to oxidize and filter out hydrogen sulfide, completely chemical-free.
It’s automatic, low maintenance, and removes that “rotten egg” smell from your water without chlorine or peroxide. Ideal for homes with up to 10 PPM hydrogen sulfide.
Have a Question About Your Water?
If you have questions about a sulfur smell in your well water—or any other water issue—just feel free to give us a call, visit our website, CleanWaterStore.com, chat with us online, or personally e-mail me at GerryBulfin@cleanwaterstore.com.
 

Note: This podcast transcript has been edited for clarity and length.
Introduction: Blue Stains After a Water Softener?
Hi, my name is Gerry Bulfin. I’m a WQA-certified master Water Specialist and water contractor here in Santa Cruz, California, Northern California. I go deeper into various well water treatment systems and problems each week on our main podcast, but I’m trying to do more of these quick Q&A episodes. We get so many questions daily, and people email, call, and chat with us through our website, so there are always great questions.
This week, John contacted us and said, “We recently had a water softener installed, and now we’re having a problem with blue stains. The company that installed the softener tested our water, and it is not acidic. They said it was not their fault and that they could not help. Have you ever heard of this happening?”
What Causes Blue Stains in Homes With Copper Pipes?
Well, John, yes, we have done it quite a few times. Let me talk about where the blue stains come from. You probably already know this, but blue staining inside, like the blue stains you see on your fixtures, bathtub, or laundry, is a result of copper corrosion. So your house, no doubt, has copper pipes. If you see blue stains, something is corroding the copper pipe. Most of our customers who have problems with blue stains have acidic well water.
So that’s a good reason to check the water and make sure it’s not acidic. If the water is acidic, usually, we find that corrosive water that is acidic is not that hard. Therefore, it’s aggressive water, and you have a problem with copper corrosion, and you get blue stains. The answer is to fix the acidity using our calcite neutralizer, fresh marble, or calcium carbonate.
When It’s Not the Water: Plumbing Problems That Cause Corrosion
You had a water softener installed because your water is hard, and the installer confirmed it’s not acidic. So why the blue stains? In many cases, the issue comes down to plumbing.
Often, the ends of copper pipes aren’t properly deburred before installation. This leaves jagged edges that become corrosion sites. In some cases, too much acid flux is used during soldering, which can also lead to internal corrosion—especially if not cleaned off properly.
The only real fix is to find the affected section of copper pipe, remove it, and have it replaced—ideally by a plumber who carefully deburrs and installs it correctly. If it’s a short section, you might be able to switch to stainless steel flex lines instead.
Here in the Bay Area, we’ve seen widespread issues with copper corrosion due to poor plumbing practices combined with naturally corrosive water. Local agencies have even issued alerts urging better installation practices to avoid this kind of problem.
Is the Softener Itself Causing the Staining?
Another myth that folks often think about is softeners. They think they remove the calcium carbonate and hardness, so now the softener makes the water aggressive or corrosive. In fact, that’s not true. If you have hard water and a neutral pH, meaning it’s not acidic, softening the water is not going to make the water aggressive or corrosive. That’s my experience of what we know.
Protect Your Pipes: Calcite Acid Neutralizer

If your water softener has stopped blue-green staining but copper corrosion persists, it could be a sign of acidic water. Our Calcite Acid Neutralizer gently raises pH using natural calcium carbonate, protecting plumbing from corrosion and blue stains without harsh chemicals or complex maintenance.

Note: This podcast transcript has been edited for clarity and length.
Hey! Welcome to the Clean Water Made Easy podcast Q&A, episode 2.
My name is Gerry Bulfin. I’m a WQA-Certified Master Water Specialist and Water Treatment Contractor here in Santa Cruz, California. Each week, we pick one of the many questions we get and answer it here.
Today’s Question
This one is from David:
“Can I use a softener to remove iron? I know I have an iron problem because we get stains on our fixtures and tub. Right now, I have nothing, but my father said he will buy us a water softener. I don’t really think we have hard water, but he says that it will take our iron out, too. What do you think? I was thinking about getting a whole-house water filter from Home Depot, but I don’t like the idea of having to change the filter.”
Initial Answer
Good question, David. Your father might be right—it could work—but it depends on a few factors.
Test Your Water First


* You’ll want to know how much iron is in your water.
* Use a DIY test kit or send it to a lab.
* Softening works better with low levels of iron (below 1 part per million). Above that, staining is common, and softeners struggle.
* Also test the pH. If the pH is high (7.5–8 or more), iron is more likely to oxidize into rust, and the softener won’t work as well.

Clear vs. Rusty Water

* Fill a white 5-gallon bucket from your well.
* If the water is crystal clear, a softener may work better.
* If it’s rusty or discolored, you’ll likely have more trouble.
* Odor and Hardness
* If there’s odor, softeners foul quickly.
* If your water isn’t hard, you may not want a softener just for iron because you’ll still need to deal with salt.

How Softeners Work with Iron

* Softeners remove calcium, magnesium, and iron using resin beads. They substitute sodium for it.
* But if you have too much iron—especially ferric iron—it can clog and foul the resin.
* Sometimes water even comes out worse.
* You can clean resin with rust-removing salt or chemicals, but it’s more work and expense.

When a Softener Might Work

* Neutral or slightly acidic pH (around 7).
* Low iron levels.
* When you also want soft water for hardness removal.

Better Option: Iron Filters


* Most of the time, a backwashing iron filter is the way to go.
* Iron filters use media that trap iron and then automatically backwash once or twice a week.
* No salt, no chemicals, less hassle.

What About Cartridge Filters?

* Whole-house cartridge filters from places like Home Depot aren’t great for dissolved iron.
* Iron passes right through.
* Cartridges can also grow bacteria and cause pressure loss.
* They’re more of a hassle long-term.

Final Notes on Softener Use

* If your water is very acidic (pH 6.5 or lower), don’t use a softener.
* Removing hardness in already acidic water can make it even more corrosive.

Closing
Hope that helps, David.
If anyone else has questions, visit our blog at cleanwaterstore.com/blog. On the right side, click the blue button to send us a voicemail from your phone or computer. Or just call us at 888-600-5426 or email info@cleanwaterstore.com.
Thanks for listening!

In this episode, I talk about how to set up a well water chlorination system and a lot more…
I’m Gerry Bulfin, a water treatment contractor and WQA certified Master Water Specialist.
Today I talk about home well water chlorination system and how, why, and when you should use one in your well water system. I go over questions you should ask before using a chlorinator and then explain how to safely chlorinate your water.
What you will hear in this episode:
1. Deciding on whether to use a well water chlorination system when your water is high in iron, manganese, sulphur odor or especially if you have a combination of those
2. What system to use in treating coliform bacteria in water
3. How to set up a chlorinator system
4. When and how to use UV sterilizers
5. What is a good alternative to chlorination
6. UV rays need to penetrate the water to disinfect it. What to do to make the water fit for UV sterilization
7. Hydrogen Peroxide compared with chlorine in disinfecting residential well waters.
8. Why chlorination is most effective against bacteria
9. What to do after chlorination to completely remove the chlorine from disinfected water
10. When does chlorine become ineffective in disinfecting the water?
11. What is the right amount of chlorine to inject and at what rate?
12. Should you get a solid pellet chlorinator or a liquid chlorinator?
13. What to do when your well is 400 feet deep but your pump is only 300 feet.
14. How to figure out how much chlorine to add to the water or estimating the chlorine demand in the water.
15. The ideal should be that the chlorine residual should be very tiny or none.
16. When chlorine is added to the water, it not only reacts with bacteria but also with other impurities such as hydrosulphite, soluble metals, iron and manganese particles, organic matter, and micro-organisms.
17. Adding chlorine to counteract the oxides iron, manganese, hydrosulphite
18. The more you use the water in the house in order to maintain a constant pressure, you get more or less flow.
If you find the information here helpful, please share it with your friends:
1. It’s really important to have a general mineral analysis of your water because you want to know what the pH of your water is and what treatment to apply.
2. The idea is with the standard chlorine system, you want to inject it into a flow rate that you know is flowing with the same amount.
3. Try to stop the bacteria at the source not at its current location.
Resources:
The Complete Guide Home Chlorination Systems For Well Water
Just text CHLORINE to 44222

Hello. Thanks for tuning in again into the Clean Water Made Easy Podcast. Gerry Bulfin here, I’m a water treatment contractor and WQA Certified Master Water Specialist. I hope you’re having a good day and everything’s going great in your neck of the woods. In this series, you can learn useful, easy to follow tips and information all about well water, well water treatment systems, and how to improve the quality of your well water.
In today’s episode, I’m going to talk about home well water chlorination systems, why you might want to use a chlorinator, how chlorinators compare with other types of systems such as UV, Ozone, and Hydrogen Peroxide as well as different types of chlorinators and questions to ask yourselves when setting one up. We are going to talk about solid chlorine pellet feeders vs. liquid bleach feeders and how to install it so you’re not drinking or bathing in water with chlorine in it.
Free Download
I have a free resource guide of, actually, a little book that goes really well with this today’s podcast called The Complete Guide Home Chlorination Systems For Well Water. This is an easy to follow guide, it’s one of our more popular guides and it has pictures, diagrams, charts,

On today’s episode of Clean Water, I walk you through how to identify well water problems by doing a physical inspection of your pipes, fixtures, and appliances.  There are some well water problems that you can identify yourself without any special tools or equipment.
Though it is a fairly easy process, there are some aspects of water inspection that people may not automatically know about. Hopefully, the information in today’s episode, Clean Water Made Easy Podcast Episode 4, helps you maintain clean and healthy well water.
Free Well Water Physical Inspection How To Guide
Well Water Problems Topics Discussed:

* Secrets of your toilet flush tanks
* Visual inspection of your water and pipes
* Signs that you have problems with your well water system
* Checking your water heater
* Remembering to check your dishwasher

Transcript of Well Water Problems Episode:
You’re listening to Clean Water Made Easy Podcast episode number 4.
Hello thanks again for tuning in to the Clean Water Made Easy Podcast. Hope your day is going good. My name is Gerry Bulfin. I’m a water treatment contractor and WQA-certified Master Water Specialist here in Northern California. And in this podcast series I give actionable tips and information all about well water treatment and well water problems.  
In today’s podcast we’ll cover how to do a physical inspection of your home well water system. This is a great way to identify and find out clues about what’s going on with your well water quality. There’s some very simple things you can do. It is very enlightening. We’ll talk about how to do a physical inspection of your pipes and fixtures, how to do a toilet tank check, very interesting, and all about your water heater, how to inspect your water heater, and what to look for in your dishwasher.
I made a resource guide to go along with this. I’m trying to make a resource guide for every podcast, I think it might be more interesting so when people come and listen to it they have something they can physically look at and also gives you a guide that you can keep. This one I’m offering for free, all you have to do is text the word “watercheck” all one word, watercheck, to 44222. And also go to the clean water store website, cleanwaterstore.com/podcast and this is episode 4 so just look for episode 4 and you’ll find the resource guide in there, all about how to do a physical inspection of your system.
Physical Inspection: How-To
To do a physical inspection of your pipe and fixtures could be as simple as getting a 5 gallon bucket and opening up a hose bib outside and physically seeing what the water looks like. If you have well water and you’re trying to figure out what’s going on, that’s the first place I’d start. Get a white, clean 5 gallon bucket and fill it with water. It should be crystal clear.
If it’s clear but if you know you have iron staining and it turns to rust later that tells you something right there. It's coming out of the ground clear, but it's turning to rust as it gets exposed to the air. You can also check odors this way–fill up a nice clean bucket and see if there’s, should have no odor to it obviously.
If you have to inspect your pipes because you’re getting pipe corrosion, then you can take apart a section of the pipe and we’ve certainly done that and doing assays of  trying to determine where corrosion is happening in plumbing. You have to cut out a section of the pipe and of course you have to reinstall section so that could be tricky involved plumbing, but you can also just do a physical inspection of the outside of the pipes.
Your pipes shouldn’t have green corrosion byproducts on the outside,

How Water Wells Work
Welcome to the Clean Water Made Easy Podcast, Episode One: How Water Wells Work. My name is Gerry Bulfin, WQA Master Water Specialist and Water Treatment Contractor in  Santa Cruz, California.
Thanks for listening! During this inaugural episode of “Clean Water”, I will cover the basics of how water wells work, including environmental considerations and sanitation. Proper installation and maintenance of your well is important and hopefully this podcast will help guide those looking to safely use well water on a daily basis.
I have worked as a well water treatment specialist for twenty-five years. Though I generally work in Northern California and am a certified installer there, I have also worked all over the world. I have left behind many satisfied customers. Through this work, I have gleaned a lot of important information regarding clean water and hope to pass on this information to my listeners.
Topics Covered Include:

Groundwater explained
Drilled wells explained
Possible well contaminants
Considerations for areas near hydro-fracking
Dealing with cracks and loose fittings
The first step of proper well management
Sanitizing your well


My name is Gerry Bulfin. I’m a water treatment contractor and WQA certified Master Water Specialist.
I’m owner and founder of cleanwaterstore.com and I would like to welcome you to the podcast. Hey thanks for listening.
You’re in the right place if you want to learn more about well water, well water treatment systems, and how to improve the quality of your well water. If you’re experiencing stains, sediment, scale build-up, corrosion or odor in your water, or if you’d had your water tested and it came back with a positive for coliform bacteria, this podcast series is for you. Or maybe your water tastes and smells great but you just want to find out more about wells and water quality.
Each episode in this series is broken down into an area or topic. You can listen to each one individually or you can jump around and listen to the ones that pertain most to your application. This series is primarily about well water treatment but also touch on rainwater and spring water as well.
Download FREE Well Water Guide
In this episode, we’re going to cover the basics of how water wells work. It will also go over how to disinfect and sanitize your well. Also I have a free gift for you, a well water cheat sheet and resource guide that I can send you. I created this guide as a companion to today’s podcast to make it easy to follow along with and it has an exploded view of how a typical well works.
It also has a flow rate calculator guide so you can easily estimate what your well water flow rate is. And a step-by-step guide on how to sanitize your well. If you’d like to get your free copy, just text the word “wellwater” all one word, wellwater, to 44222 or go to cleanwaterstore.com/podcast and you get it there, we’ll get it going to you.
The Host/Resource Person
Okay a little bit about myself. I started in well water back in 1989 and I’ve owned several companies in the water business and I’m the founder and CEO of cleanwaterstore.com where we sell custom water treatment systems. I have a California state contractor’s license for water treatment and I’m certified by the Water Quality Association as a Master Water Specialist as well as a certified installer.
I also trained and worked for many years as a state-licensed water treatment plant operator and distribution operator. And we operate numerous small community water systems around Northern California. I also wrote a book on well water treatment, it’s called the Definitive Guide to Well Water Treatment. And I guess I just really love well water and talking all about well water and well water qu...