Question about well and septic

[hinodis]

My son is buying a house out in the country and there is no city water or sewage. So he will have well water and septic. The house has a new water softener. What kind of maintainance will all this require? Is well water ok to drink? I don't know anything about this stuff. Is it expensive to maintain?

 

[horseshowmom]

We've been on well water for all of my life (up until the last few months when we connected to community water). Maintenance hasn't been an issue although you can have problems with it like anything else (I can remember ours being worked on a few times). If he has any question about whether the water is okay, he can take a sample to the county health department for testing. Our water has a lot of iron in it (making rust in the comodes an issue for cleaing). The plus is that you don't have a water bill anymore.

The main issue with our well was that when the electricity went off you could only flush the comode once. A generator will resolve that problem easily. It's also possible that he may get enough water for the comode anyway if he's close enough to the well.

 

[newbydisney]

It's hard to know for sure but consulting an expert would probably be best. There are easily run tests for the well that will tell you how much water it can produce/pump per minute and of course the quality and cleanliness of the water. Having said that ground water can become contaminated. We have had widespread problems here in Washington state in part due to dairies and horse farms. ( I have horses so don't yell at me everyone)

Usually your lender will require an inspection and possibly pumping of the septic. A local septic installation company will know of failures in the area, or if failures are even a problem where you are.

Again I would have everything inspected and not by a "home" inspector but by an expert in each field. The county health department is a good resource for information as well.

We have had numerous properties on well and septic and have had some issues with both. Nothing that could not be overcome with money tho.

 

[clh2]

We've had well water and septic for 17 years

We simply do not drink the water, we are considering a reverse osmosis water filter, but until then, we'll continue to drink bottled water.

Now - for the well: we had to have the motor replaced -a couple of years ago. The cost on this was ~$2500. The upside - we've not had a water bill in 17 years. The cost for any well repair is very dependant on how deep the well is. Pumps go out with no notice. So - it is something that just needs to be dealt when it happens.

Our septic system needs to be pumped about every 3 years (this is a state -regulated thing.) This costs about $200 every 3 years.

Now - the downside on the septic. We do not have, nor will we ever consider having a garbage disposal. NOPE - a septic would cost about $20,000 to replace. The cost to replace a septic is also a downside.

In our state - when a home is sold, there needs to be some testing on the well and the septic system. If there is anything "amiss" with either, the seller will not be able to sell the property unless it is fixed.

Hope this helps!

 

[hinodis]

Thanks. Very useful information. He was thinking of putting in a disposal and a dishwasher. I will make sure he does not put in a disposal. Is it ok to install a dishwasher?

 

[hinodis]

We've had well water and septic for 17 years

We simply do not drink the water, we are considering a reverse osmosis water filter, but until then, we'll continue to drink bottled water.

Now - for the well: we had to have the motor replaced -a couple of years ago. The cost on this was ~$2500. The upside - we've not had a water bill in 17 years. The cost for any well repair is very dependant on how deep the well is. Pumps go out with no notice. So - it is something that just needs to be dealt when it happens.

Our septic system needs to be pumped about every 3 years (this is a state -regulated thing.) This costs about $200 every 3 years.

Now - the downside on the septic. We do not have, nor will we ever consider having a garbage disposal. NOPE - a septic would cost about $20,000 to replace. The cost to replace a septic is also a downside.

In our state - when a home is sold, there needs to be some testing on the well and the septic system. If there is anything "amiss" with either, the seller will not be able to sell the property unless it is fixed.

Hope this helps!

What is the average life of a well pump?

 

[horseshowmom]

We've had well water and septic for 17 years

We simply do not drink the water, we are considering a reverse osmosis water filter, but until then, we'll continue to drink bottled water.

Now - for the well: we had to have the motor replaced -a couple of years ago. The cost on this was ~$2500. The upside - we've not had a water bill in 17 years. The cost for any well repair is very dependant on how deep the well is. Pumps go out with no notice. So - it is something that just needs to be dealt when it happens.

Our septic system needs to be pumped about every 3 years (this is a state -regulated thing.) This costs about $200 every 3 years.

Now - the downside on the septic. We do not have, nor will we ever consider having a garbage disposal. NOPE - a septic would cost about $20,000 to replace. The cost to replace a septic is also a downside.

In our state - when a home is sold, there needs to be some testing on the well and the septic system. If there is anything "amiss" with either, the seller will not be able to sell the property unless it is fixed.

Hope this helps!

I guess it just depends on where you live.

We replaced the pump and did some other work on ours a couple of years ago, and it cost about $700 with my husband and my dad doing the work.

Also, we just put in a brand new septic system last fall that was much more than required by the state and paid a little over $2500 (more than meets all requirements and regulations - we bought much more than required because we were consdering selling the house at the time).

 

[clh2]

Thanks. Very useful information. He was thinking of putting in a disposal and a dishwasher. I will make sure he does not put in a disposal. Is it ok to install a dishwasher?

No problems with a dishwasher - or I wouldn't be living in the country. I can live without the disposal with no problem.

Obviously - the decision to add a disposal is your son's. He should just do very careful research. While we've not looked at this in years...our thoughts have always been - a septic is designed to handle human waste, not food products.

 

[clh2]

What is the average life of a well pump?

Our pump was about 15 years old. We know other neighbors who had gone through 2 pumps (i.e. on their 3rd). Apparently, the first 2 were pretty undersized, and the pump

Others in our subdivision haven't had any issues yet.

 

[horseshowmom]

Thanks. Very useful information. He was thinking of putting in a disposal and a dishwasher. I will make sure he does not put in a disposal. Is it ok to install a dishwasher?

In our case, we have both a disposal and a dishwasher. We don't put potato peelings in the disposal, but everything else goes.

 

[Sadie22]

He should have the water quality tested and require the seller to fix any problems. He should ask when the septic tank was last pumped or when any maintenance was done and what was done. The water treatment system will probably require monthly maintenance and he needs to make sure he has full information about that.

 

[hinodis]

He should have the water quality tested and require the seller to fix any problems. He should ask when the septic tank was last pumped or when any maintenance was done and what was done. The water treatment system will probably require monthly maintenance and he needs to make sure he has full information about that.

The seller is going to have the septic cleaned and inspected. I am worried because he is only 22 years old. He has a good job, but $2500 is alot of money for a young person just starting out.

 

[wlake]

We replaced our well pump when it was about 8 years old -- we had to pull it from the well anyway to hydrofract (spelling?) the well, and it was showing its age, so we decided to replace it then while it was just the cost of the pump and no additional labor. Sorry, but I can't remember how much it was.

The septic we have pumped every couple of years. When it was just the two of us, we got away with every 5 years, but once the boys came along, we started doing it more frequently. We have a dishwasher and a garbage disposal, and we've never had any problems. DH and I argue about what's safe to put in the disposal, but we argued about that back when we lived with city sewer!

Your son can easily get the well water tested, but he should be careful who tests it -- companies who sell water treatment systems might not always be the most honest testers! Our pediatrician also had us send our water to the state university lab to be tested for naturally occurring fluoride. Ours is way above the level that's safe for children to drink, so the boys don't drink or brush their teeth with the water and we don't cook with it. I didn't drink it when I was pregnant (at least with son #2!) or nursing, although both DH and I drink it now.

Our water softener requires a type of salt pellet (bought by the large bag at places like Home Depot) dumped in it every so often. DH is in charge of that -- maybe once or twice a year? Also, we learned the hard way to reset the clock on it when the power goes out so it cycles during the night when it needs to. Otherwise we have trouble if we're running the washer or dishwasher when it goes.

Hope all of that helps!

 

[mrodgers]

Well water completely depends on the well.

I live on a dead end road with 11 houses and a farm. All of the neighbors around me except for right next to me has horrible water. They just built a new house across the road and drilled a new well. The water was orange. It literally was the color of this icon -->

In contrast, right across the road where I am, both my immediate neighbor to the left of me and us are on a different water table from the rest of the road. I have no filter, no softener, nothing. My water pumps directly into the pressure tank and directly to my faucets and I drink it right out of the tap for the past 11 years we've lived here.

We do test the water regularly for bacteria. But we have no iron or any other heavy minerals in the water and it tastes fantastic.

Drinking water at my mother's, even after it's gone through a Brita water pitcher, tastes like swimming pool water. Chlorinated city water, YUCK! Disgusting tasting.

 

[angwill]

We have had well and septic for over 15 years. We did have to replace the pump once and a pipe to the septic broke and we had to fix that. They both cost around $700 with DH doing most of the work on the pipe to the septic system. We have not had to replace the septic system and pumping we do about every 4 years (depends on the size of the family or any regulations in the state) It costs us about $175 to pump ours.

I like that I have no water bill but hate all the iron in the water and will only use it to make coffee and drink water from the store. One bad thing is if he ever has children he will have to look into having them use floride when they brush since it won't be in their water they drink like city water has.

Maybe he can put what he would spend on a water bill in a savings account each month to pay for anything that needs to be fixed.

 

[Karlzmom]

In our case, we have both a disposal and a dishwasher. We don't put potato peelings in the disposal, but everything else goes.

Same here...no problems in nearly 10 years....[Knocking loudly on wood, so no need for the septic sprites to decide this is a personal challenge.....]

 

[dislal]

I have had a well and septic all my life and I don't ever want to live anywhere else. We drink our water right from the tap(best tasting water you will ever find). We have lived in this house for 17 years and we have NEVER had the septic pumped out DH and I honestly don't know where the Septic tank is When we had it refinanced a few years ago and the man from the bank came out and asked where the septic tank was I just pointed in the yard and said over there and he said oh OK. But with that all being said we have 6 acres and no neighbors(we are surrounded by hundreds of acres of farmland) and we live on a hill so I guess that could all be part of our good luck.

So I would tell your DS to go for it, but save a little money along the way and ask the previous owners EXACTLY where the septic tank is!!
we have never had to replace anything or do any work to it yet.


ETA: We also have a dishwasher, washing machine and a garbage disposal and three bathrooms!

 

[CarlisleMom]

In our case, we have both a disposal and a dishwasher. We don't put potato peelings in the disposal, but everything else goes.

Septic system was new to us 7 years ago. I did lots of research.

We have both dishwasher and disposal. The disposal is only used for what does not scrape off into the trash can.

When I clean my carpets OR use a bucket to clean anything (including hand washables), I pour the water directly outside. Some cleaners (like bleach) kill the bacteria that a septic tank needs. We also use Rid-X (not as often as we should , but trying to get better).

Read bottles on anything that can down a drain. While most things are, Not everything is septic safe!

 

[angwill]

Septic system was new to us 7 years ago. I did lots of research.

We have both dishwasher and disposal. The disposal is only used for what does not scrape off into the trash can.

When I clean my carpets OR use a bucket to clean anything (including hand washables), I pour the water directly outside. Some cleaners (like bleach) kill the bacteria that a septic tank needs. We also use Rid-X (not as often as we should , but trying to get better).

Read bottles on anything that can down a drain. While most things are, Not everything is septic safe!

My brother is a plumber and said they do not suggest any Rid-X type products be used ever. He claims it lessens the life of the septic system. I have never used those products and never had a problem.

 

[dislal]

My brother is a plumber and said they do not suggest any Rid-X type products be used ever. He claims it lessens the life of the septic system. I have never used those products and never had a problem.

Same here and I've also been told to only use liquid laundry detergent not powdered!