There are a lot of homes in Whatcom County that rely on private wells as their primary source of drinking water. While Whatcom County boast some of the cleanest drinking water in country, it is important that you test your well for E. coli and coliform bacteria. Coliform bacteria will not likely cause illness, but it is a sign that there might be disease causing organisms within the drinking water system.
Whenever you purchase a home on a private well, you should test the water quality by performing an E. coli and coliform water test. If your test comes back positive for coliform bacteria, you should watch this video to learn how to correct the problem.
Coliform bacteria can be eliminated by “shocking the well.” To shock the well you will need a hose, some bleach, and a ratchet set. First, locate the well head and remove the cap with the ratchet. Next, pour bleach into the well. Now, run the hose into the well and turn the water on. Cycle the water between the hose and the well for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, go into the house and run all of the faucets and showers. This will run the diluted bleach solution throughout the house. Run the water through all of the facets for 1 hour.
The coliform bacteria should no longer be present. To retest the water quality, get a test kit from Avocet Lab in Bellingham and fill the bottle up to the line from the kitchen sink. Bring the bottle back to Avocet within 24 hours and wait for conformation. That is it. The process is actually pretty simple.
Ryan Martin, Windermere Real Estate/Whatcom, Inc.
Your Bellingham Real Estate Professional
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