Do-it-yourself well chlorination isn’t always the best idea – especially if you wait until winter

Chlorinating a well is a fairly straight-forward procedure. It helps, of course, if you know what you’re doing. In fact, it helps a lot.

There are many who don’t think that’s the case; they think they can get by chlorinating their own well without any difficulty. After all, what’s to it other than removing the well cap, removing the cap on the container of chlorine and pouring it into the well? Put the cap back on the well, and the seal up the chlorine container, if any chlorine remains, and – Tada – all done, right?

Not quite. You may get by that way for years. When friends come to visit, they’ll look at you in awe as you proudly proclaim, “I chlorinate my own well.” Some may be so impressed that they’ll ask you to come over and chlorinate their well, too.

The problem is that chlorinating a well isn’t quite that simple. If all you do is open the well and pour, you may later discover that you’ve created a costly headache that will come back to bite you.

The problem is that the pump and connectors don’t react real well to chlorine. If you need to replace a pump down the road sometime, your well technician is liable to look at you with a frown and say, “You chlorinated your own well, didn’t you?” That’s the moment when you’ll realize that there is more to chlorinating a well than open and pour.

Another question is when to chlorinate your well. Technically, you can chlorinate a well any time of the year. But, there are good times to chlorinate your well and there are not so good times. One not-so-good time is in the middle of winter. Why? Not only because it’s cold out and darn uncomfortable to play with water in that kind of weather, but also because, to do it properly, you’ll want to run your outside faucet after words to clear out any sediment the chlorine broke off the inside of the well.

If you’re planning to bill a skate pond in the backyard, that’s not a problem. On the other hand, maybe you’d rather not turn your yard into a skating rink.

It’s amazing how much sediment the chlorine can break loose in your well. If you don’t run it out the faucet outside, that sediment gets into your lines inside the house. You may suddenly find that you have clogged pipes.

Another reason to flush your well when chlorinating is if you have a septic system at your home. If not flushed, the chlorine could mount an attack on the bacteria in your septic tank. That bacteria is vital to breaking down waste.

Another problem, if you wait until winter to chlorinate your well is finding the well. That’s not, generally, a problem unless it’s covered by a foot or more of snow.

In any case, yes, you can chlorinate your own well and you can do it whenever you want. But, then again, you might just want to call in an expert.

Turn those frowns upside down by maintaining your McHenry Water Well and Pump

The kids are so excited. They’re getting their suits on while you setup the Slip’N Slide out in front of your McHenry home. Their eyes are sparkling with excitement as you go to turn on the water. You turn the faucet but nothing happens. You turn it back the other way and still nothing.

Not realizing there is a problem, the kids start in with, “Come on, Mom.” They’re ready to slide; they’re ready to get wet. Unfortunately, there isn’t much you can do about it today. Your well pump isn’t pumping and there’ll be no slipping and sliding for the kids today.

Well, you may call a well and pump professional who can make it to your house right away. With any luck, it’s just a loose wire. If that’s the case, maybe you can calm the kids with a snack while the well and pump repair technician gets the water flowing again. If not, or if it’s something more serious, such as a bad pump motor, it may take a while before the kids can start sliding through the water out front.

There is really only one solution. So, you pick up the phone and call the well repair expert and explain the problem while trying to convince a three-year-old to stop crying. That’s all you really can do once the well pump stops pumping. Of course, you could have avoided the problem altogether; you could have employed some timely well and pump maintenance.

The likelihood that you’ll find yourself without water someday is extremely low assuming you maintain the well and pump regularly. Fortunately, regular maintenance for a well and pump is annual maintenance.

All you need to do is call out your well and pump repair technician before you have a problem. Once a year, have them come out and check your well and pump. They’ll make sure the wiring is good, the tank bladder is good and properly charged and the well cap seals properly. They’ll check the motor to make sure it still has a good, long life left. They can even check the water quality.

If you follow that simple, annual procedure, you’ll probably never find the water has stopped flowing at your house. Then, whether you’re setting up the Slip’N Slide for the kids, filling a pot at the kitchen sink for cooking, taking a shower or even relaxing in a bath, when you ask your McHenry well for water, your pump will bring it to you on demand.

Disconnect the hose outside or your frost-free sillcock can freeze

After a couple weeks with the temperature on the low side of freezing, it’s nice to have a warm day in the weather forecast. If, however, you’ve left a hose attached to your sillcock, the faucet on the outside of your house or business, a warm day could bring an unpleasant surprise.

A portion of the water pipe extending to the faucet is generally to close to the wall to enjoy the full benefits of the heat inside. This means that any water in the pipe can freeze. When water freezes in a pipe, there is a risk it will split the pipe open. You won’t notice when the water is frozen but, on that warm day when things thaw, the water will begin pouring out of the hole in the pipe.

It’s surprising how much water can pour out of a small hole in a pipe. If the leak is far enough inside the wall you may not notice the leak right away. You’ll probably hear water running but won’t track down the culprit until you see water collecting in the basement. The water can also damage the wall and insulation.

Thankfully, new sillcocks, which are called ‘frost-free sillcocks,’ have a rod running back from the outside faucet to a valve so the water is held back from the section closest to the outside wall. This can save homeowners and business owners from worrying about frozen pipes running to outside faucets. But, it’s not a guaranteed solution.

If you leave the hose attached to the faucet outside, water can remain in the section of pipe beyond the sillcock valve. If it freezes the pipe can still burst. In this case, you won’t notice the leak right away on a warm day after a freeze. Instead, you’ll notice the problem the next time you turn the faucet on.

You may notice that you have lower water pressure on the far end of the hose. Or, you may notice water collecting in the basement again.

Whether the leak is from an old-style sillcock or a new frost-free sillcock, the potential damage is significant, particularly if you have a finished basement.

Years ago, before frost-free sillcocks, homeowners would shut the water off to a pipe running to an outside faucet and drain the line. Today, with frost-free sillcocks, that’s not necessary. However, it’s important to remove the hose from the faucet outside so the sillcock can drain.

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.

Quality well technicians will brave arctic cold to get your water flowing

You can hear the wind howling and the frost is creeping across your window. The backyard looks like an arctic landscape as the snow swirls and blows. It’s cold outside and it’s good to be indoors. Your plan is to just wrap yourself in a comforter and settle down with a cup of cocoa and a good book.

In the kitchen, you take the teapot off the stove and carry it to the sink. You hold it under the faucet as you glance out the kitchen window and remind yourself how fortunate you are for central heat. Then, you lift the lever and … nothing. You try again. This time you hear a bang and a wheeze and some rusty powder puffs out of the faucet.

You look under the sink in the hope something simple and easy to fix is responsible for the unexpected disruption in the on-demand flow of water. But, under the sink, everything looks fine. In other words, it looks the same way it does any other time you look under the sink.

You think to yourself, “I’d better try the bathroom sink” but you receive the same response from the faucet there. Even the bathtub and utility tubs are coughing dry powder instead dispensing water.

You call a friend who knows a little about maintaining a home. After a couple of unsuccessful suggestions, your friend recommends that you call in an expert. You have well water so you need to call in a well technician.

Hopefully, you’ll call a well company like McHenry Water Well & Pump. You need someone who knows wells and well pumps inside and out. You need someone who can fix your well on a good day but is also willing to come out and fix your well when it’s 10-below zero and the wind is making it feel like 50 below.

On a day such as this, when that well technician arrives, you watch from the warmth indoors as the well technician leans against the blowing wind and fights his or her way out to your well. Maybe, it’s a simple wiring issue and your water is quickly flowing again. Then again, it could be the well pump or the well tank, or both.

In this scenario, the work is a bit more involved. That well technician will be out there fighting the elements for a couple of hours so you can have fresh, clean water indoors while you huddle in the heat.

Ask yourself, what would you say if you called a well maintenance or repair company and they said, “I’m sorry, it’s too cold out today. Why don’t you call back when it’s a little warmer?”

A quality well repair and maintenance technician knows there are hot days when they repair and maintain wells and there are cold days – sometimes, very, very cold days. It comes with the territory. Of course, for folks like those at McHenry Water Well & Pump, it warms their hearts when they see the smile on your face knowing your water is fresh, clean and running again.

For more information about McHenry Water Well & Pump, call 815-403-3333 or visit: www.mchenrywellandpump.com.

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.