Does shocking a well kill iron bacteria?
A shock treatment can knock iron bacteria back, and the chemistry decides how far. Chlorine mostly burns the surface of the biofilm the colony lives in, which is why bleach-shocked wells so often re-foul within months. Chlorine dioxide penetrates and strips biofilm, per its manufacturer's published data, and that reaches the colony instead of its skin.
Either way, expect an established infestation to take effort: a heavy colony can consume a full dose, which is what a residual test at the end of the treatment catches, and a second round finishes what the first one opened up.
Iron bacteria arrive with the groundwater, so no treatment is forever; the win is stretching clean months into clean years with the right chemistry and a residual-verified dose.
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