Wellkept Education Hub
Own a private well? Learn to run it like a pro.
No city water department is watching your well. These guides teach you what to test, what to fix, and when — written for rural homeowners, homesteaders, and property managers.
Contamination & Testing
What's actually in your water, what the numbers mean, and how to fix a bad result.
Coliform Bacteria in Well Water: What a Positive Test Actually Means (and How to Fix It This Weekend)
A positive coliform test doesn't always mean sewage. Learn what total coliform vs. E. coli results mean, and the exact weekend fix — inspection, shock chlorination, and retesting.
Read the guide →How to Shock Chlorinate Your Well: Step-by-Step With Exact Bleach Amounts by Well Depth
The complete DIY shock chlorination guide: exact bleach amounts by well depth and casing diameter, a 10-step walkthrough, safety rules, and how to verify the water is safe again.
Read the guide →Nitrates in Well Water: Safe Levels, Who's Most at Risk, and the Only 2 Filters That Remove Them
Nitrates are invisible, tasteless, and dangerous to infants and pregnant women above 10 mg/L. Learn safe levels, why boiling makes it worse, and the only two treatments that work.
Read the guide →Arsenic in Well Water: The Tasteless, Odorless Contaminant Hiding in 1 in 10 Private Wells
Arsenic occurs naturally in bedrock and affects millions of private wells. Learn the 10 ppb limit, which regions are hotspots, and the treatments that actually remove it.
Read the guide →How Often Should You Test Well Water? The Complete Annual Testing Schedule (Free Printable)
The complete well water testing schedule: what to test every year, every 3 years, and after specific events — plus the triggers that mean test right now.
Read the guide →Hardware & Pump Maintenance
Pumps, pressure tanks, switches, filters, and UV — keep the system alive for less.
7 Signs Your Well Pump Is Failing (and What Each One Costs to Ignore)
Sputtering taps, short cycling, a spiking electric bill — the 7 warning signs of well pump failure, what each really means, and what ignoring it costs.
Read the guide →Well Pressure Tank Troubleshooting: Short Cycling, Waterlogging, and the 2-Minute Air Charge Check
Pump clicking on and off constantly? Your pressure tank is probably waterlogged. The 2-minute air charge check, the fix, and when the tank is truly dead.
Read the guide →How Often Should You Really Change a Whole House Sediment Filter? (Hint: Your Pressure Gauge Knows)
Forget the '3 months' rule of thumb. Your pressure gauges tell you exactly when to change a sediment filter — here's the 10–15 psi rule, plus how to pick the right micron rating.
Read the guide →How to Adjust Your Well Pressure Switch (40/60 vs 30/50, Explained Without an Electrician)
Boost weak water pressure safely: how a well pressure switch works, 30/50 vs 40/60, which nut to turn and how far, and the pressure-tank step everyone forgets.
Read the guide →Your UV Water Purifier Is Probably Lying to You: Why UV Bulbs Die at 12 Months Even If They Still Glow
A UV bulb that still glows can be barely disinfecting. Why UV lamps must be replaced every 12 months, what the quartz sleeve does, and the annual service that keeps water safe.
Read the guide →Everyday Water Quality & Aesthetics
Smells, stains, cloudiness, and hardness — diagnose the symptom, match the fix.
Why Your Well Water Smells Like Rotten Eggs (and the 3 Fixes, From $20 to $800)
That rotten egg smell in your well water is hydrogen sulfide. Learn the 5-minute test to find the source, and the exact fix for your situation — from $20.
Read the guide →Orange Stains in Your Toilet and Tub: How to Remove Iron From Well Water for Good
Orange-brown stains in toilets, tubs, and laundry mean iron in your well water. Learn the 3 types of iron, which filter fixes each, and how to remove existing stains.
Read the guide →The Homesteader's Guide to Water Softeners on Well Water: Sizing, Salt, and Skipping the Rental Trap
How to size a water softener for well water (the real formula), choose salt, avoid the rental trap, and handle the iron problem city-water guides ignore.
Read the guide →Blue-Green Stains on Your Fixtures? Your Well Water Is Eating Your Copper Pipes
Blue-green stains on sinks and tubs mean acidic well water is corroding your copper plumbing. How to confirm low pH, test for copper and lead, and fix it with a neutralizer.
Read the guide →Well Water Suddenly Cloudy or Full of Sediment? Here's What Changed Underground
Clear well water turned cloudy overnight? Decode what changed: air, sediment, or contamination. The glass test, the 6 causes, and when cloudiness means stop drinking.
Read the guide →Seasonal & Emergency Prep
Floods, freezes, outages, and dry spells — be ready before the tap sputters.
Flooded Wellhead? Do These 5 Things Before You Drink a Drop
If floodwater reached your wellhead, assume the water is contaminated. The 5-step recovery protocol: stop, inspect, disinfect, flush, and test before drinking.
Read the guide →How to Winterize Your Well and Pressure System Before the First Hard Freeze
Frozen well pipes can mean days without water and burst-line repairs. The complete fall winterization checklist: wellhead, pump house, pressure tank, and vacant-property draining.
Read the guide →No Power, No Water: The Well Owner's Guide to Surviving an Outage (and the Generator Math)
When the grid drops, your well stops. How much water your pressure tank really holds, the generator wattage math for well pumps, and the storage plan for outage week.
Read the guide →Is Your Well Running Dry? 6 Early Warning Signs Before the Tap Sputters
Wells rarely go dry overnight — they warn you for months. The 6 early signs of a dropping water level, how to measure it yourself, and your options before drilling.
Read the guide →Buying a House With a Well? The 12-Point Inspection Checklist Sellers Hope You Skip
A standard home inspection barely touches the well. The 12-point well inspection checklist for buyers: water testing, yield, equipment age, records, and the questions to ask.
Read the guide →Your well doesn't come with a service history.
Wellkept keeps your test results, treatments, and maintenance dates in one place — and reminds you before the next thing goes wrong.
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