My wife and I just built a house in the Orlando, FL area. We have a
well (that we never had before) and the water has a rotten-egg smell.

We had an independant water guy come out and he said for a chlorinator,
tank, charchole filter, water softner, and under-sink reverse-osmosis
filter we'd need to pay $3,500. Does this seem right?

Thanks

"tryz" wrote:

My wife and I just built a house in the Orlando, FL area. We have a
well (that we never had before) and the water has a rotten-egg smell.

We had an independant water guy come out and he said for a chlorinator,
tank, charchole filter, water softner, and under-sink reverse-osmosis
filter we'd need to pay $3,500. Does this seem right?

You need to know what the problem is before you solve it. It sounds like your
"water guy" suggested everything he sells.

Chlorinators are used when the water has high bacteria. They shouldn't be needed
for a new well that was installed properly.

The rotten egg odor is hydrogen sulfide and would be cleared up by a charcoal
filter. You could buy a whole house one of these for less than $100 at Home
Depot or Lowes.

When your well was installed, you should have received a well report that will
show both of the above and more. If not ask your builder or the county for a
copy.

Water softners take care of high mineral (calcium or magnesium) content.
Hardness test are free or very low cost and will tell you if you need a
softener. Installed should be less than $1000 for a decent mid grade unit. Don't
get sucked up into getting magic magnets, super kinetic boxes or anything other
than a standard resin tank softner.

Reverse osmosis systems at the kitchen sink take care of all of the above
problems for small quantities of water. Keep in mind that they remove *all*
minerals which is not a good thing as far as taste is concerned. Look at the
contents of AquaFina or any other bottled water...

tryz wrote:
My wife and I just built a house in the Orlando, FL area. We have a
well (that we never had before) and the water has a rotten-egg smell.

We had an independant water guy come out and he said for a chlorinator,
tank, charchole filter, water softner, and under-sink reverse-osmosis
filter we'd need to pay $3,500. Does this seem right?

Thanks

That's quite high for a local dealer and way high compared to an
internet dealer.

There are a number of types of equipment to remove H2S, but most will
not disinfect the water if there is bacteria in the water. Bacteria
like IRB/SRB or MRB can cause your odor and can not be identified with
a Coliform bacteria test.

I don't like using a solution feeder and retention tank for H2S due to
the ongoing baby sitting they require but they do oxidize and
disinfect. I use an erosion pellet chlorinator and special mixing tank
that is much smaller than a normal retention tank. The chlorinator and
mixing tank has no moving parts. Then I use a special carbon in a
backwashed filter. That removes H2S iron, manganese and any odor or
taste in the water.

I see no reason for the RO. I suggest you wait until after you
experience the water after getting rid of the odor, hardness and any
iron and/or bacteria etc..

Disposable cartridge type "whole house" filters are not the right
choice for your problem. H2S is very common in well water, especially
in FL, so there is nothing wrong with your well.

Gary
Quality Water Associates

Be sure and check out all your options. I don't have well water but
the water here in FL is very hard and has lots of calcium and other
minerals that causes water spots and shortens the life of appliances
that use water.

We have a water softener that we bought at Home Depot. I don't know
what the initial cost of installing one of these is because there was
already one here when we bought the house. We replaced it recently and
my husband was able to do that himself. The water softener cost a
little under one thousand. It won't solve the rotten egg smell problem
,caused I've been told, by sulfur. Our neighbors with wells for lawn
irrigation also get rust problems .... it's in the water, too, It
causes rusty looking spots on the concrete sidewalks.

We have been mostly buying drinking water since moving to FL. Softened
water is fine for showers and laundry.

In article .com,
says...

Be sure and check out all your options. I don't have well water but
the water here in FL is very hard and has lots of calcium and other
minerals that causes water spots and shortens the life of appliances
that use water.

We have a water softener that we bought at Home Depot. I don't know
what the initial cost of installing one of these is because there was
already one here when we bought the house. We replaced it recently and
my husband was able to do that himself. The water softener cost a
little under one thousand. It won't solve the rotten egg smell problem
,caused I've been told, by sulfur. Our neighbors with wells for lawn
irrigation also get rust problems .... it's in the water, too, It
causes rusty looking spots on the concrete sidewalks.

We have been mostly buying drinking water since moving to FL. Softened
water is fine for showers and laundry.


When I first moved to Florida, we lived in an apartment. We also had an
aquarium. Testing the water showed it to be extremely hard. It was also
very cloudy. I never could clear that up and switched to bottled water
for the aquarium. We continued to use a Brita water filter for our
drinking water as it was a lot cheaper than bottled water. A co-worker
lived less than a quarter mile away and had hard, but clear tap water
and he had no trouble with it in his aquarium. I couldn't figure why
things were so different between our two locations. As it turns out,
there was a canal between us and his subdivision was served by a
different water source than we were. When we bought a house several
miles to the south, we were on the opposite side of the canal from the
apartment and I was able to switch to tap water for the aquarium.

My point is simply that you and your neighbor can very easily have
different water problems.

Bob

Thanks Gary (and everyone else).

I've noticed your posts around and you always seem quite knowledgable.
I head to your site.

Do you think that installing a pellet chlorinator & water softner is
something a mere mortal can do? I'm fairly handy and wouldn't mind
saving a grand.

Thanks.

Gary Slusser wrote:
tryz wrote:
My wife and I just built a house in the Orlando, FL area. We have a
well (that we never had before) and the water has a rotten-egg smell.

We had an independant water guy come out and he said for a chlorinator,
tank, charchole filter, water softner, and under-sink reverse-osmosis
filter we'd need to pay $3,500. Does this seem right?

Thanks

That's quite high for a local dealer and way high compared to an
internet dealer.

There are a number of types of equipment to remove H2S, but most will
not disinfect the water if there is bacteria in the water. Bacteria
like IRB/SRB or MRB can cause your odor and can not be identified with
a Coliform bacteria test.

I don't like using a solution feeder and retention tank for H2S due to
the ongoing baby sitting they require but they do oxidize and
disinfect. I use an erosion pellet chlorinator and special mixing tank
that is much smaller than a normal retention tank. The chlorinator and
mixing tank has no moving parts. Then I use a special carbon in a
backwashed filter. That removes H2S iron, manganese and any odor or
taste in the water.

I see no reason for the RO. I suggest you wait until after you
experience the water after getting rid of the odor, hardness and any
iron and/or bacteria etc..

Disposable cartridge type "whole house" filters are not the right
choice for your problem. H2S is very common in well water, especially
in FL, so there is nothing wrong with your well.

Gary
Quality Water Associates

tryz wrote:
Thanks Gary (and everyone else).

I've noticed your posts around and you always seem quite knowledgable.
I head to your site.

Do you think that installing a pellet chlorinator & water softner is
something a mere mortal can do? I'm fairly handy and wouldn't mind
saving a grand.

Thanks.

Absolutely. About 90-95% of all my sales are to DIY customers that
install the equipment themselves. I've sold many of the pellet
chlorinator systems (13 this year alone) and so far, all were installed
by the homeowner. It's regular/normal water line plumbing with 5-10' of
total tubing. With both a softener and chlorinator system, you'll save
more than a grand....

Gary
Quality Water Associates

How do you choose a water filter? What does the filter actually reduce
or remove? And finally what does it cost? These answers are found by
doing a little research or home work will call it. Doing such will save
you a lot of money and provide you with pure "healthy" drinking
water. The bottom line is you must get a Data Performance Sheet by the
NSF national sanitation foundation to compare filters. These "proof
of performance" sheets show exactly what the filter does and for how
many gallons. If you can't get one from the manufacturer or from who
ever is trying to sell you one, simply say no thanks!

NSF International, The Public Health and Safety Company™, a
not-for-profit, non-governmental organization, is the world leader in
standards development, product certification, education, and
risk-management for public health and safety. For more than 59 years,
NSF has been committed to public health, safety, and protection of the
environment. While focusing on food, water, indoor air, and the
environment, NSF develops national standards, provides learning
opportunities through its Center for Public Health Education, and
provides third-party conformity assessment services while representing
the interests of all stakeholders. The primary stakeholder groups
include industry, the regulatory community, and the public at large.

Do your home work! Make a good choice for your drinking water needs.
Visit NSF below:
http://www.nsf.org/consumer/drinking...ogram=WaterTre

The Importance of Certification
In the last decade, interest in home water treatment products has grown
tremendously. Unfortunately, it isn't always easy for consumers to know
whether or not a particular product will actually be as safe and
effective as the manufacturer claims at reducing various contaminants
from your water supply.
NSF has a long history of developing and running independent product
testing programs. In fact, we are the leading independent tester of
home water treatment products on the market today. With our
state-of-the-art laboratories and highly skilled staff, we have the
knowledge and expertise to effectively evaluate water treatment
products, including:
Adsorption filters (i.e. carbon, charcoal, KDF, ceramic)
Reverse osmosis systems
Water softeners
Distillation systems
Ultraviolet disinfection products.
As an added assurance for consumers, NSF requires that all products
meet annual re-certification requirements. Unannounced plant
inspections and periodic retesting of all certified products are
required of all NSF-listed companies. This unique requirement allows us
to ensure that the products we certify continue to meet all stated
requirements year after year.

Note: NSF has tested & certified over 4000 different filters. It's
important to understand we have 400 plus manufacturers of water filters
alone world wide. Having said this "why" would you purchase a water
filter that is NOT tested & certified by NSF. It all comes down to
this: Talk is cheap and facts are hard to find in the drinking water
filtration industry! NSF is were you will get the facts.

Ultimately it comes down to this: What does the filter do & how much
does it cost?

NSF Data performance sheets is were to find "what it does".
Price: For a $1.00 a week you can have pure healthy drinking water. If
you are spending "more" it's costing you too much.

Sincerely,
Chris

wrote:


Note: NSF has tested & certified over 4000 different filters. It's
important to understand we have 400 plus manufacturers of water filters
alone world wide. Having said this "why" would you purchase a water
filter that is NOT tested & certified by NSF. It all comes down to
this: Talk is cheap and facts are hard to find in the drinking water
filtration industry! NSF is were you will get the facts.

Ultimately it comes down to this: What does the filter do & how much
does it cost?

NSF Data performance sheets is were to find "what it does".
Price: For a $1.00 a week you can have pure healthy drinking water. If
you are spending "more" it's costing you too much.

Sincerely,
Chris

Spoken like a true salesman.... The truth is that salesmen using the
certification of their product are marketing. They don't tell you that
NSF sells the certification service, or that the vast majority of
manufacturers of the actual product won't pay the high price for
certification; company using the product pays for the certification.
The manufacturer has all kinds of government standards the product must
meet, most are NSF standards like NSF 61, so ANY CERTIFICATION IS
MARKETING FLUFF done by sales people selling that particular product.

Gary
Quality Water Associates

The Fact is NSF is for the consumer. Since 1944, NSF International, an
independent, not-for-profit organization, has been committed to making
the world a safer place for consumers. Explore the consumer website to
learn more about NSF, our programs and services, and the many ways we
help consumers Live safer® every day.
http://www.nsf.org/Certified/DWTU/

NSF walks a fine line as there are over 500 manufacturers of water
filters, that do not like each other! NSF has to tell the truth or they
would be sued for loss of business and misrepresentaion to the
consumers.

You mention the Government has some role in all of this. Well they do.
The EPA does not set protocol for driniking water systems. In fact
(they) refer consumers to the NSF.

wrote:
The Fact is NSF is for the consumer. Since 1944, NSF International, an
independent, not-for-profit organization, has been committed to making
the world a safer place for consumers. Explore the consumer website to
learn more about NSF, our programs and services, and the many ways we
help consumers Live safer® every day.
http://www.nsf.org/Certified/DWTU/

NSF walks a fine line as there are over 500 manufacturers of water
filters, that do not like each other! NSF has to tell the truth or they
would be sued for loss of business and misrepresentaion to the
consumers.

You mention the Government has some role in all of this. Well they do.
The EPA does not set protocol for driniking water systems. In fact
(they) refer consumers to the NSF.

This has little to nothing to do with living safer. In this instance
the NSF is selling a service, like any other company. It is aimed at
consumers but ultimately at getting more water filter companies to buy
the NSF certification process whether there is a need for it or not.

The fact is that most people don't know that 99% of all 'filters' are
not "certified" due to the high prices the NSF charges for
certification BUT, those non-certified filters use the same components
as the certified 'filter'. And usually work just as well, kinda like
generic drugs.

NSF certification is a bit like the BBB, or Consumer Reports. People
rely on their 'service' without knowing that the vast majority of
companies and products are never included.

Gary
Quality Water Associates

Gary Slusser wrote:

The fact is that most people don't know that 99% of all 'filters' are
not "certified" due to the high prices the NSF charges for
certification BUT, those non-certified filters use the same components
as the certified 'filter'. And usually work just as well, kinda like
generic drugs.

NSF certification is a bit like the BBB, or Consumer Reports. People
rely on their 'service' without knowing that the vast majority of
companies and products are never included.

Gary
Quality Water Associates

"And usually work just as well, kinda like generic drugs".

Generic drugs undergo stringent certification and must adhere to rigid
parameters before being certified for sale to the public ... unlike
"plain wrapper" filters made by who knows who in who knows where that
may or may not do what the sellers would have you believe they do.

Seems like you still do get what you pay for and a dollar's worth for a
dollar is still the best deal around.