On Mar 4, 5:34 pm, Nona wrote:
Hello,

We recently made some repairs to our well. The pump gave out and was
replaced and the 6.25" steel casing was sleeved with a 4" PVC pipe to
attempt to reduce the amount of sediment and iron in the water. We
were told by the health department that we would need to shock
chlorinate the well after the repairs to destroy any bacteria. Since
there were no bacteria present prior to the repairs, we didn't think
we needed to do this.

We just got our water test results back and, sure enough, there is
coliform bacteria present in the water now (although fortunately no E.
coli). We have been reading a lot about shock chlorination and the
instructions vary from site to site, with the chlorine to sit in the
system for anywhere from 12 to 48 hours. My first question is:

1) Is there any harm in leaving the chlorine in the system for 1 week
while we are on vacation and then flushing it when we return? Is 12
hours really long enough for this type of treatment?

The other question I have relates to water treatment systems. Based
on our recent water test, our water is as follows (values above
recommended limits are starred):

Harness: 220*
pH: 7.1
Iron: 0.26 mg/l (the PVC sleeving process cut this in half from a
prior reading of 0.47 mg/l)
Manganese: 0.26* mg/l
Sodium: 14 mg/l
Calcium: 74 mg/l
Chloride: 11 mg/l
Sulfate: 11 mg/l
Small amounts of lead, copper, zinc and toluene (far below the
hazardous limits)

The system I am thinking of using is the Puritec MC Series Complete
because I like the idea that it can soften water without the use of
salt and is pretty much maintenance free.http://www.puritec.com/store/moreinf...Product_ID=258

No contractors we have talked to have ever heard of these Puritec
systems and there is almost no data on how effective they are. My
other questions a

2) Is the Puritec MC Series Complete a reputable brand?

3) Does anyone have any suggestions for treatment systems based on the
above water test results?

Thank you!

The words "water softener" or "soften water" are conspicuously absent
from the Puritec web site because they do not offer a water softener.
The Puritec may "condition" the water in some aspects as a filter but
it will not soften the water.

To "soften" water is to remove calcium (among other things like iron)
from the water and that is commonly done by one of two methods.

One method is ion exchange as done by a water softener. A water
softener exchanges either sodium ions (if using NaCl) or potassium
ions (if using KCl as a SALT SUBSTITUTE) for calcium (and other) ions
in the hard water. That's it, no ifs, no ands, no buts, and no sales
double talk. Simple chemistry and physics. Softening water is not
black magic. It is physics and chemistry with a side of mechanics. No
matter how hard sales people try (and want) to they can not violate
the laws of physics or change the nature of chemical actions and
reactions.

The other is by a filter and/or membrane technology or distillation,
but no simple filter will remove calcium. You would need a reverse
osmosis unit large enough to service your entire house. You would not
want to pay for that big an RO nor pay for the service and routine
maintenance it would require and RO water would be very aggressive in
your plumbing and it would waste a lot of water.

NO magnet(ic) gizmo or electronic gizmo or "conditioner" will soften
water but people waste their money on them EVERYDAY.

Check out this URL for one story a href="http://www.nmsr.org/
magnetic.htm" http://www.nmsr.org/magnetic.htm /a and there are
many more on the net if you Google.

Pick the right softener (not a box store brand), size it properly for
your water conditions and usage and the SFR of your plumbing, and get
a competent install and you should go 15-20 years.