The Advantages of Dropping Chlorine Tabs Down a Well
Shock chlorination is the practice of dropping chlorine directly into a well to kill coliform bacteria and viruses in the water. The chlorine can be liquid bleach or solid chlorine in granule or tablet form. Chlorine tablets, as with other kinds of chlorine, have advantages and disadvantages based on their safety, ease of use and behavior when mixed with water. Does this Spark an idea?
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Safety
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No matter what form it's in, chlorine is a powerful and potentially dangerous chemical. That said, liquid bleach is more difficult to handle than solid chlorine tablets or granules. A liquid bleach spill can burn skin and cause environmental damage, while a solid chlorine spill can be picked up by a person wearing safety gloves and goggles. Tablets are easier to pick up than granules, of course, because of their larger size.
Dispersion in Well Water
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In a deep well, liquid chlorine sources tend to float near the surface of the water, leaving the lower areas untreated. Granules sink, but dissolve quickly in the water and still may not reach all the way to the bottom. Chlorine tablets will sink all the way to the bottom of the well and dissolve slowly. By placing chlorine tablets in a weighted burlap sack tied to a rope, they can be dissolved at any depth within the well.
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Disadvantages of Chlorine Tablets
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The main disadvantage of chlorine tablets is a side effect of their ability to reach the bottom of the well and dissolve slowly. Unlike other chlorine sources, chlorine tablets may linger for weeks or even months in the bottom of a well if you use too many. As long as the chlorine levels remain high in the well, you can't get good samples for bacterial analysis and may not be able to get approval for the well from your local governing body.
Combination Method
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The most effective approach to shock chlorination involves the use of both liquid and solid chlorine. Of the total amount of chlorine required to shock the well, half is delivered in liquid form to treat the upper zones of the well, and half is delivered in solid form to treat the bottom of the well. By placing chlorine tablets in a weighted burlap bag on a rope, undissolved tablet residue can be removed from the well when the disinfection period is complete.
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References
- Photo Credit old well image by photopapa from Fotolia.com
