Spring Grove well pumps can fail in the middle of winter, too

But, well maintenance can extend the life of your well pump

Even in the middle of winter, your Spring Grove
well pump can fail. Maintenance is the key to
avoiding this problem.

One good thing about winter is that, when the temperature falls in Spring Grove, you never have to worry about your well pump failing. When the ground is covered with snow, you never have to worry, either. Of course, there’s only one problem with these statements; they’re both patently false.

A well pump doesn’t care what the temperature is. The well pump in the ground outside your Spring Grove home doesn’t care if there’s no snow, an inch of snow or 2-feet of snow; if the pump will fail the weather won’t have an appreciable influence on the matter.

The problem with a well pump failing in winter is that a well technician has to work on your well, replacing the pump, when water exposed to the air will freeze. And, in the winter, if there is snow, particularly if there is 2-feet of snow, the well technician has to get through the snow to get to your well head.

Getting through 2-feet of snow to replace a well pump starts with knowing where to dig out the snow. Assuming you have a rough idea where the wellhead is will narrow the search. Otherwise, the well technician will have to dig holes in the general area until they find your well head.

Considering the difficulty finding a wellhead when the snow is deep, it might be worth it to take a couple measurements before the snow flies. Measure from two fixed positions relative to the wellhead. For instance, it might be 6’9” from a fence post on one side of the wellhead and 4’11” from the trunk of a tree in the other direction.

By using those measurements, a well technician can quickly triangulate and find the wellhead. That will help, should your well pump fail in the winter time. But, the well technician will still have to dig under the snow. And they’ll still need to deal with the cold. That’s just the way it is, if your well pump fails in the depths of a cold, cold, snowy winter.

Keep in mind that, when the well pump fails, you won’t have any water from your plumbing. One way to avoid having your well pump fail at an inopportune moment is to maintain your well. If you haven’t thought about it, you can even do that during the winter.

Well maintenance can help to extend the life of your well pump, and other parts of the well system. It’s a great way to avoid having your Spring Grove well pump fail in the middle winter.

It’s winter but you can still chlorinate your Spring Grove well

Yes, you can chlorinate your
Spring Grove well in winter.

Officially, another Spring Grove winter is only a couple weeks away. Unofficially, you may have concluded it’s already here. While it’s frigid outdoors, you’ve noticed that your home’s well water is smelling a little funny. Or, maybe you’ve notice that the color of the water is tinted slightly brown. Or, maybe you’ve just realized you haven’t had your well water chlorinated in a while. Now the question is whether you can chlorinate your well in winter?

You could buy some chlorine, bundle up, run a hose outside and chlorinate your well yourself. Expect to be uncomfortable. But, if you dress with layers, you won’t get too cold, well, unless your clothes get wet, which is a distinct possibility. About now, you may be reconsidering the idea. But, there’s another reason you might not want to chlorinate your own well.

When someone who is not a well technician chlorinates their well, they often do so improperly, which can have costly, long-term side effects. What happens is that, if the chlorination isn’t done properly, the chlorine can damage parts of your well system. You might not realize that the damage was done, at least, not until a well technician has to replace your well pump. The well technician will notice the problem and you’ll notice on the bill you receive when the work is done.

But, why not chlorinate your Spring Grove well in winter?

You can chlorinate your well in the winter. That’s not the issue. The question is whether you want to. You may not want to because, in the winter when the temperature is low, as you know, water freezes. Once the well is chlorinated, your well technician will flush the well. Along with waiting 24 hours to drink, bathe or do laundry with your well water, there’s a good chance the flushing will leave you with an ice-skating rink out in your yard. In general, it’s more of a mess working with water that freezes.

You can still chlorinate your well in winter, and qualified well technicians are used to working under these conditions. But, you may find more peace of mind knowing the well chlorination won’t cause all that frozen mess.

And, yes, you could put some skates on and use the frozen water in the yard for a skating rink. But, if you want to ice skate this winter, you’ll find better ice at an indoor ice-skating rink in the area, such as the Crystal Lake Ice House, which isn’t too far from Spring Grove.

Lightning is Mother Nature’s secret weapon against Barrington wells

This is what lightning can do to your car in Barrington.
In this case, the lightning also took out the well pump.

Lightning is a potential game changer when it comes to your Barrington well pump. Let’s suppose you’re one of those people who is fastidious about maintaining your well pump and well system; in other words, you have a well technician check the pump, adjust the pressure in the well tank, look over the wiring and components and then chlorinate the well annually.

You know the importance of maintenance and how, in the long run, it will extend the life of your well pump and well system and save you far more than you’ll spend on maintenance. That includes avoiding the emergency rate of having a well technician come out in the middle of the night because your well system isn’t proving water to your home. But, that doesn’t absolutely guarantee you won’t have trouble with your Barrington well.

The unfortunate reality is that Mother Nature is the potential wild card in terms of maintaining your well system.

The damage to this Barrington well pump isn't as visibly
apparent. But, the lightning did destroy this well pump, too.

A well system if fairly impervious from most of the weapons at Mother Nature’s disposal. A well pump head can withstand winds from the most powerful hurricane. Fortunately, hurricanes are not common in Barrington. But, we do have tornadoes in the area and well pumps will do well with those winds, too, though items caught up in the wind could damage a wellhead.

Floods won’t necessarily damage the wellhead. However, floodwater could get past the well cap and contaminate the well water. This will require testing, chlorinating and treating the water. But there is one arrow in Mother Nature’s quiver that can do substantial damage to a well pump if it hits the wellhead – lightning.

Lightning can fry the electronics in the wellhead and running down to the pump. It can burn out the pump or damage the well liner.

Here's another view of the car that was burned up after
it was hit by lightning.

Lightning is powerful. It can reach 100 million volts of electricity with about 30,000 amps. It can reach temperatures of 54,000 degrees. THAT’S SIX TIMES HOTTER THAN THE SUN!!!

Obviously, designing a well pump that is impervious to lightning is quite a trick. And, when lightning strikes, there’s no guarantee that the damage inflicted will be confined to the well pump. Other items in the area can also suffer. The lightning can damage trees, start cars or homes on fire.

This is all rather disturbing to contemplate. Fortunately, these lightning strikes are rare. They happen but they don’t happen often.

How much water does your Barrington well provide?

How much water does your Barrington well provide?
You might be surprised.

A 55-gallon drum stands 33-and-a-half-inches tall and has an inside diameter of 22-and-a-half inches. In a day, the average family in America uses enough water to nearly fill six of these containers. That’s a lot of water. It means that the well out behind your Barrington home has a big job to do every day.

How much water is that really? The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency states that the average American family uses 300 gallons of water every day. Where your Barrington family compares to that average has a lot to do with how many people are in your family. The average family in the U.S. is 2.54 people. You may have three or four, or even more, in your family.

If your family does use 300 gallons of water each day that works out to …

• 2,100 gallons per week
• 109,500 gallons per year
• Nearly 1,991 55-gallon barrels of water per year.

Have you ever really thought of how much you expect from your well system? That’s a lot of work. And, how has your well done?

If you’re like most people, your well quietly and consistently delivers all the water you demand, and for all of your purposes. Here is a pie chart of how most of us use our water:

With that big of a job, it’s really incredible that well systems perform so incredibly and reliably. Of course, it also makes sense that you can’t expect your well to keep your Barrington home provided with water without the risk that your well system would break down. It also makes sense, therefore, that annual maintenance of your well system is a very, very good idea. Maintenance will help you keep the water flowing while also keeping the cost of operation at a minimum.

Are insects doing the backstroke in your North Barrington well water?

Do you want to think about insects swimming in
your North Barrington well water? Probably not.

Would you enjoy a glass of water knowing that, a short time before you drank it, an earwig was doing the backstroke in your glass? Of course not. This is why the well out behind your North Barrington home has a cap on top.

The cap on top of your well is designed to keep bugs out, as well as contaminated standing water on the surface of the ground. The well cap is sealed to ensure bugs and standing water don’t get in. The seal can even, potentially, keep water out if there is flooding.

Just as you wouldn’t want a bug swimming in the glass of water you drink, you wouldn’t go out back and scoop up a glass of water from your North Barrington yard for a drink. It’s filthy. Who knows what’s in it, starting with the potential for bacteria and insects.

Obviously, the well cap and its seal are important components of your well system. This is why, when you have your well inspected, the well technician doesn’t just check the electronics, the charge in the well tank, and the operation of the well pump. They also check the quality of the water in your well. And, they check the well cap and its seal.

Most wellheads extend up from the ground a sufficient distance so that standing water, and flood water, are unlikely to rise to that level. However, if you’ve allowed debris to pile up around the wellhead, insects may find it more tempting to test your well cap’s seal. It’s a good idea to keep the area around your well head, and well cap, clear.

If you do have an infestation of insects in your well, a well technician will have to flush the pressure tank and hot water tank. They’ll have to remove insect parts and eggs from filters, faucet aerators, showerheads and anywhere else where the bugs have had access. Then, they’ll have to disinfect the well and water system. With an infestation or bacteria, they may have to do this more than once. Until they’re done, however, you could be drinking water with insects and bacteria.

The best way to ensure that bugs and bacteria aren’t making a home in the well water you drink, bath in and use around the house is to have your North Barrington well system inspected and chlorinated annually. With the winter approaching, this is a good time now.

Wonder Lake well maintenance saves you money and spares you inconvenience

Wonder Lake well maintenance can save you money
and a pain in the neck later.

Is there a problem with the well at your Wonder Lake home or office? You turn or lift a handle or knob and nothing happens? In other words, no water comes out of the faucet as expected. Or, maybe you’ve noticed that the water pressure is weak.

These are indications of a problem with your well. You may also notice that the pump keeps cycling (turning off and on).

What could cause these problems with your well?

• Your well pump may have failed. However, complete failure of the pump would mean no water at all.
• You could have a leak somewhere. This would most likely exhibit itself through lower water pressure and, possibly, cycling of the pump.
• Your well tank could have the wrong pressure or a torn bladder. This will, very likely, result in a cycling well pump. The water pressure may also suffer.
• Your well pressure switch may be failing. This could cause any of these symptoms. 

Whatever the problem with your well system, it’s frustrating when you lift a faucet and the well doesn’t respond in the appropriate manner. You expect that well outside your Wonder Lake home or office to deliver.

The reality is that a well that supplies water to a home or office is a mechanical system. As with anything mechanical, it can break down. Fortunately, well systems are remarkably durable. But, parts of a well system do break, and repairs can be costly.

With wear and tear, it’s even inevitable that parts of a well system will fail. For instance, a well pump will not last forever. But, well pumps have lasted 20 and even 30 years. Keep in mind that, if your Wonder Lake well system as a tank with a torn bladder, or a faulty pressure switch, and is cycling, if not repaired soon, the pump will burn out and long before it might have otherwise.

When the water stops or the pressure falls, it’s inconvenient. And, expensive. With well maintenance, however, your Wonder Lake well will last longer and save you money in the long run.

How important is water? How important is your Lake Barrington well?

How much water do you use in your Lake Barrington home? It's probably more than you think. Clearly, water is important.

If the lights in your home went out, you’d call an electrician, just as you’d call a well technician if your well ceased to flow. But, the lights are either on or off. You could have bacteria in your water but it would still flow. Clearly, your water is important, just as your Lake Barrington well is important.

Think of all the things you do with the water your well brings into your home

You use water to:

• Cook
• Do laundry
• Wash dishes
• Clean the house and floors
• Clean windows
• Water the lawn, plants, and flowers
• Give pets something to drink
• Give pet fish something to swim in
• Wash the car
• Take a bath or shower
• Brush your teeth
• And, of course, to drink

Drinking water is a very good idea. The U.S. Center for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) recommends that you should drink eight 8-ounce glasses of water every day. This is because it’s healthy to stay hydrated. Consider that 60 percent of the human body is water. Naturally, you’ll want to replenish the water in your body.

Drinking water helps to flush toxins out of your body. It helps you to beat the heat and helps with digestion. In fact, drinking water can help you lose weight. If you drink a glass of water before you eat, your stomach will feel fuller before you start to eat and you probably won’t eat as much.

Water can help protect your joints, ward off headaches and fatigue. It can help you to stay energized and alert while improving your mood.

Considering all the uses and benefits of water, not only is it important to ensure that the water continues to flow in your Lake Barrington home, it’s equally essential that the water is safe and pure. This means that you shouldn’t wait until the water stops before you call a well technician out to look at your well; you should call a well technician well in advance of a problem. They can check the well to make sure the water keeps flowing while making sure the water is healthy and good for your use.