Caren Writes:

When we moved into our house 8 years ago, we had a whole house system put in by Culligan. I have a large oval tank in my basement by well pump, a smaller container that I add liquid shock to (ratio of 1gal of shock-5gal of water) next to that and then upstairs under my kitchen sink a small tank similar to the large one in the basement. I have well water, drink a lot of water and we had sulfur (rotten egg smell). I have had nothing but issues with this system, it was expensive to put in and every few months I have new and expensive fixes that Culigan has to come in and deal with. I have contacted several local water solution companies but everyone gives me a different solution, different answer and they are a lot of money. I need a system but I am a single mom who has to be careful with my money so I want to make the right, smart choice. I want to have safe drinking water and no egg smell when I use the water, plea help me make the right choice!!!

Hi Caren

I operate small community centers which have similar flow rates to a house, also on a well system. Two of them also have rotten egg smells which come from hydrogen sulphide which are products of sulphur reducing bacteria in your well and/or aquifer.

They hydrogen sulphide is annoying and there are two ways to deal with it practically:

1. Oxidize it with chlorine or hydrogen peroxide OR
2. Adsorb it with activated carbon filtration

The real issue is to ensure that you eliminate any potential pathogens from your well water, because pathogens (virus’s, bacteria and protozoa parasites) will make you sick quickly and of course, self replicate in your system which make them especially dangerous.

What you need to do to protect yourself from pathogens is again, two things:

1. Get rid of the ‘chunks’ in the water. Dirt, sediment, small particles.
These ‘chunks’ are aesthetically displeasing, but also they can shield pathogens from disinfection. This step requires filtration.

2. Any remaining organisms, if they are there, need to be killed or
deactivated. This requires disinfection, which is either chemical like chlorine, or physical like U.V. light.

I personally like a good U.V. light system because a good U.V. system can internally monitor itself to make sure there is enough of a germicidal dose going into the water by ensuring a maximum flow rate, monitoring the clarity of the water, and monitoring the strength of the lamps. Those
three factors combine to form what ‘dosage’ you are getting and with U.V., there are no chemical residuals.

I use a system called U.V. Pure for U.V. For filtration, I use a company called Kinetico. Kinetico has available self cleaning filters and they also can incorporate activated carbon to remove the sulphur smell.

I recommend you contact Kinetico and arrange for someone to visit your house. Show them this email if you like, if you don’t really know what to ask for. Kinetico also distributes U.V. Pure so they can put together a system for you. The Kinetico guy can also determine what if any
contaminants are in your well, but likely you’ll be ok as the system I described above is usually good for 99% of home wells as long as they are properly constructed.

Kinetico’s website: http://www.kinetico.com/

They have a locate tool right at the top of the website, enter your zip code to find the closest dealer.

If you do get a U.V. system, ensure you get a power regulator. I believe these come with all new U.V. Pure systems but it is essential to protect the ballast. Do this and you will have smooth operation for the life of the unit.

I hope that helps, please let me know how you make out.

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