Happy Holidays from McHenry Water Well & Pump

The holidays are a time of year when we take stock of our situations and give thanks for our good fortune. Though the world is an imperfect place, certainly, there is much to be thankful for.

At McHenry Water Well & Pump, we are thankful for the wonderful homeowners and business owners we’ve had the opportunity to serve in 2013. In many cases, friendships have developed from what started as a service call to inspect, maintain or repair someone’s well, pump and water system.

These friendships stand on the bedrock of mutual trust and appreciation. At McHenry Water Well & Pump, we consider ourselves fortunate for the opportunity to earn that trust. It’s not an opportunity we take lightly.

We also appreciate the warmth we feel in our hearts when the look of concern that greeted us at the door upon our arrival for a service call is replaced with a look of relief and thanks when the job is finished.

As we lookout for the interests of our clients, we strive to inform homeowners and business owners about the savings and convenience they can expect with timely well maintenance. In educating clients about maintaining their wells, we help to ensure that they have access to fresh, clean water the year round.

There is more money in repairs. The cost, for instance, of replacing a well pump is significant as compared to maintenance that would have extended the pump’s life. But, as we enjoy looking at ourselves in the mirror each morning with a clean conscience, we’d rather earn an honest dollar helping homeowners and business owners extend the life of their wells than waiting for their well systems to breakdown.

It’s this higher code of standards from which friendships develop. Besides, word gets around when a business has shady business practices. A business such as that doesn’t last long. Our goal is to make friends of clients for years to come.

To our friends, clients and everyone else in the Northern Illinois region and beyond, at McHenry Water Well & Pump, we wish you the happiest of holidays and a wonderful New Year.

This message is brought to you by McHenry Water Well & Pump. For more information about McHenry Water Well & Pump, call 815-403-3333 or visit: www.mchenrywellandpump.com.

Keep your well pump humming with care: but if you need a new pump

You barely hear it. Maybe it’s just a slight vibration in the pipes but you know it’s working because, when you turn on a faucet, the water comes out. Behind that reliable flow of water is a pump that carriers the water from your well and into the house or office.

Lift the handle in the kitchen and nothing happens and you’ll suddenly recognize the importance of that pump. If the water doesn’t flow soon, you may have to choose another place to stay or work for a while. Indoor water is more than a convenience; it’s a necessity.

Properly maintained, a well pump should last 15 years or more. In fact, with regular maintenance, well pumps have been known to last 30 years and more. Without that maintenance, your water pump can burn out in a fairly short period of time.

Your well system is a finely tuned mechanism. The electronics, the pressure tank and the well pump all have to work in unison, day in and day out, to ensure the water supply is available upon demand. Annual maintenance is all it really takes. You don’t have to have it checked every other month or twice a year – just once a year. That annual maintenance is generally enough to keep your well working like a well-oiled machine, and that includes your well pump.

It doesn’t hurt, of course, if you’ve had a better quality well pump installed. Discount well pumps, such as the ones sold at the big box stores, may save you a little money up front. But, in the long run, you may pay much, much more. In fact, even among professionals who install well pumps, there are differences in the quality of the well pumps they install.

STA-RITE is a commonly installed pump. It’s not a bad pump. STA-RITE well pumps are made with good-quality craftsmanship and decent materials, though many of their casings are made of a composite material.

Grundfos, however, really makes the Cadillac of well pumps. Their craftsmanship is exceptional and, from the casing to the parts inside, Grundfos uses stainless steel for its well pump parts. Each part is expertly machined to the tightest tolerances. Additionally, Grundfos well pumps are competitively priced.

Without proper maintenance, any well pump will experience a shorter lifespan. With proper maintenance, including checking the charge in the pressure tank to avoid short cycling, a superior well pump has the best chance of lasting 30 years or more.

A little maintenance will take your pressure tank a long way

If you have a well, there’s a pressure tank in your basement or crawl space that’s essential in providing the fresh water you drink and use to wash. But, if you’re like many people here in Northern Illinois, you seldom give that pressure tank a passing thought. If something goes wrong with your pressure tank, however, it could quickly come to the forefront of your attention.

If you walk past the pressure tank, also known as a water tank or a storage tank, often enough without ensuring that it is serviced regularly, eventually you will have a problem. The water tank requires annual maintenance. If the storage tank isn’t serviced annually, not only is the pressure tank at risk but your water pump is at risk, as well.

Inside the water tank is a rubber bladder. A certain amount of air pressure is required in the tank to make sure the pump doesn’t start to short cycle.  That would force the pump to start and stop repeatedly and will burn out the pump prematurely. In the meantime, without adequate air pressure inside, the water tank bladder is stretched in ways it’s not designed to stretch. Often it tears. If that happens, the storage tank is ruined.

Properly maintained, a storage tank can last 25 years or more, though they’re generally warranted for five years. Without proper maintenance, if the air charge in the tank drops significantly, the water tank bladder can stretch and rupture and will likely take the pump with it.

It sometimes seems that pressure tanks that aren’t serviced regularly last just longer than their five-year warranty. At McHenry Water Well & Pump, we install Well-X-Trol brand pressure tanks. Well-X-Trol tanks come with a seven-year warranty. The longer warranty is an indication of the superior quality of a Well-X-Trol tank.

Well-X-Trol water tanks are made with heavier gauge metal that has better constructed seams. They also have heavier bladders that are more durable and more securely attached. But, the goal isn’t that your pressure tank will last for only five years or seven; the goal is for your storage tank to last 25 years or more. With regular maintenance, there is a good chance that it will.

Well chlorination is vital – call in an expert to do the job right

If your home or office has well water, you probably know well maintenance is critical. That includes periodic chlorination of the well.

Well chlorination is vital because the well can become contaminated with bacteria and pathogens. Well chlorination is the answer though, if it’s done wrong, it can also cause problems.

You can choose between liquid, granular or tablet chlorine. However, there is another choice, a new product called Sterilene. Though not as widely available, it mixes easily with water, has no shelf life concerns, there is no premixing required to control PH, it is non-oxidative, creates no corrosive fumes during use, is NSF 60 certified and is 200 times as effective as other forms of chlorine. It’s also competitively priced.

The next question is whether you’ll chlorinate the well yourself or call in an expert, such as the experts with McHenry Water Well & Pump. You may want to give this question serious thought. If not done properly, you could clog the intake on your well pump and damage the pit-less adapter. It’s even possible to damage your plumbing. A qualified well technician will chlorinate your well safely, properly and without causing any costly problems.

Proper well chlorination, done on a timely basis, is the best way to ensure that you have steady access to pure, clean and safe water. And, properly done, it will provide you with a well that operates at optimal condition for the long haul. Well chlorination is relatively inexpensive. It’s also imperative to avoiding unnecessary repair bills.