Quick answers

How often should a water well be cleaned?

Test yearly, and clean when the evidence says to: a positive bacteria test, slime or odor returning, staining getting worse, or fading water pressure. Many wells in iron-bacteria country settle into a cleaning every year or two; a well with clean tests and no symptoms does not need cleaning on a calendar.

The yearly test is the anchor because the serious problems have no taste or smell. Add a test after any work on the pump or casing, after a flood, and after any sudden change in the water.

If your well does re-foul on a rhythm, a planned maintenance cleaning beats an emergency one: doses are smaller, the colony is younger, and you pick the weekend instead of the well picking it.

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