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My new home that I am go to in July has a well. This is the first time that I have been off city water. Is there something different that I should do to treat it, or do I even have to treat it as there are no additive in it like the cities would put in there water?

I strongly get a FULL water test done by the local Gov body not by the LFS. Take at least 3 samples and get all tested if they come back with different results. I have seen it happen in my state. Complain and get them to retest it corectly.

It depends where the water actually comes from it could be 100s of miles away and who knows what the water has travelled through.

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Keith

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I have had the water tested. It was part of the purchase agreement. All the test was for was bacteria. The water will not be coming from far as the well is on my property in my back yard.
Should I still put additives in it? Such as Tap water conditioner.

Hi,
Well water testing is always a good idea. As you mentioned
as part of the sales contract, you would want your well
tested for "potability" to be sure it is free of bacteria.
But you would also want your well tested for its recovery
rate.. In other words, how many gallons per minute is it
rated at. Out here in Colorado, it must provide at least
15 gpm to be large enough for residential purposes. Any
less, and the state would make you drill a new one, or
provide proof of another source of water before providing
a Certificate of Occupancy for the home.

That being said, knowing the water is bacteria free is
not enough. You also need to know the how much of various
minerals are present in the water. Too much iron will
stain your clothes and your porcelain. Too much uranium
can be deadly, causing cancer. If the pH is off that will
affect your pipes as well as the internal parts of the
water pump.. When was the pump set, and serviced last?
How is it wired, and how long ago? Mine is a "horse and a
half" 220VAC with a 4 wire electrical system designed to
"ignore" nearby lighting strikes (I live at 10,000ft
elevation in a very remote area). Mine is set at 700 feet
in a 752 foot deep well, leaving 50 feet for sedimentation.
That's just some of the things you should know about your
water source.

Keith's comment about the water coming from, maybe,
hundreds of miles away refers to the source of the water.
At some point, anywhere from a few miles to hundreds,
even a thousand miles away, the rain falls or the snow
melts and the water settles through the ground down
into a porous rock system called an aquifer.
Its sort of an under ground river where the water flows
through the rock. Along that rock formation, called an
aquifer, wells are drilled down into that rock and water
is pumped out. The water will take on characteristics
of the various rock formations that it flows through and
around. Knowing the source of the water for the aquifer
and the rock it percolates through will tell you a lot
about the water at your well head.

Here is a site you might find interesting:
http://www.wellowner.org/

And, another:

http://www.nsf.org/consumer/drinking_water/dw_well.asp?program=WaterTre

Water conditioners, as we normally use for aquarium water
normally removes chlorine and chloramine. Many also have
additives that encourage slime (mucus) production in fish.
Some also change heavy metals to non-toxic forms to protect
the fish.

Home Water Treatment plants such as those produced by
companies such as Culligan systems, will condition
the water softening it so it won't corrode the pipes,
and removing heavy metals so it won't stain the fixtures,
and/or taste terrible.

http://www.culliganwater.com/

Our water passes through fractured granite, it has radon
contamination as well as a higher than allowed iron content.
We needed a "whole house" water treatment system.

Frank


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Thank you