Iron bacteria feed on dissolved iron and form reddish slime in toilet tanks and on well equipment. They aren't a known health risk, but they cut yield, clog pumps and screens, and cause odors. Because they live in a slime layer, a single dose of chlorine rarely clears them for good.
24/7 · Weatherford & Parker County
Well Rehabilitation and Cleaning in Parker County
When a well slowly loses yield, grows slime or starts smelling, the cause is often buildup in and around the well, not the aquifer. Cleaning and disinfection can bring it back.
(817) 382-3840 · Open 24 hours, 7 days a week
Call if you see
- Yield dropping over months or years
- Slime or orange buildup in the toilet tank
- Positive bacteria test that returns after chlorination
- Musty, swampy or rotten-egg odor
- Sand or sediment in the water
Last updated
Water Well Drilling Weatherford performs well rehabilitation for Parker County wells that have slowly gone wrong. The yield drops a little each year, the toilet tank grows orange slime, or a bacteria test keeps coming back positive after the owner pours bleach down the casing. These are buildup problems in and around the well, and most can be fixed without drilling a new one.
What builds up in Trinity wells
Trinity aquifer water is often high in iron and hard with calcium and magnesium. Over years, iron bacteria form a slime layer on the casing, pump and screen, and mineral scale narrows the openings water flows through. The result: less water gets to the pump, the pump works harder, and the slime shelters bacteria from the occasional chlorine dose. Deeper wells with hydrogen sulfide add sulfur bacteria, and a swampy or rotten-egg smell, to the mix.
Cleaning comes before chlorine
Chlorine alone rarely clears a well with heavy buildup. It kills the surface layer and the problem comes back. Real rehabilitation pulls the pump and breaks the buildup loose, by brushing the casing and surging or jetting the screen zone, then disinfects the whole system. Texas A&M AgriLife’s shock chlorination guidance also covers the plumbing. Water heaters, softeners and pressure tanks get disinfected, while carbon filters and reverse osmosis units are bypassed during treatment.
After treatment
Once the chlorine has flushed out, a bacteria sample goes to the lab, and we measure the well’s yield against the starting number. If the problem was bacteria getting in from above, we also fix the entry point: a cracked cap, a missing seal, or a pitless adapter below grade. See water well service for the wellhead side.
When rehabilitation isn’t the answer
If the water level has dropped below the pump, the casing has failed, or the screen has collapsed, cleaning won’t restore the well. At that point the options are deepening, a storage system, or a new well. We’ll tell you which one the readings support.
What's included on every well rehabilitation call
- History and symptoms reviewed, with yield and water level measured
- Pump pulled and inspected for scale, slime and sand wear
- Casing and screen condition checked where accessible
- Mechanical cleaning or surging to loosen buildup
- Shock chlorination of the well and household plumbing
- Filters bypassed during treatment and restored after
- Well flushed until the chlorine is gone
- Bacteria retest and before-and-after yield comparison
Related resources for well rehabilitation
Well Rehabilitation: three ways it gets done
| Item | Bleach down the casing | Chemical dose only | Full rehabilitation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reaches the problem | Top of the water column only | Some of the well | Circulated through the whole well and plumbing |
| Buildup | Untouched | Softened | Mechanically removed from casing and screen |
| Equipment | Filters and softener exposed to heavy chlorine | Often not bypassed | Filters bypassed, then sanitized and restored |
| Proof | Smell goes away for a while | None | Lab bacteria result and measured yield |
How well rehabilitation works, start to finish
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Diagnose
Yield, water level, odor and lab results tell us whether the problem is bacteria, scale, sand or a failing screen.
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Clean
With the pump pulled, the well is brushed, surged or jetted to break up buildup on the casing and screen.
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Disinfect
The well and plumbing are shock chlorinated, with filters bypassed, and the solution is left to work before flushing.
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Verify
After flushing, a bacteria sample goes to the lab, and yield is re-measured against the starting number.
Need well rehabilitation in Weatherford or Parker County?
A person answers 24/7 and prices the job before work starts.
Well Rehabilitation questions
What is iron bacteria and is it harmful?
How often should a well be shock chlorinated?
After any work that opens the well, after flooding over the wellhead, and whenever a bacteria test comes back positive. Texas A&M AgriLife recommends not drinking the water until a follow-up test confirms it's clear.
Can a well that has lost yield be restored?
Often, if the loss comes from buildup on the screen or in the formation right around the well. If the water level itself has dropped, cleaning won't help. Then the options are setting the pump deeper, deepening the well or adding storage.
Why is there sand in my well water?
Common causes are a pump set too close to the bottom, a failed or corroded screen, or a pump that draws the well down hard. Sand wears impellers quickly, so it's worth fixing early. Sometimes resetting the pump fixes it; sometimes the well needs redevelopment or a liner.
Do you answer after hours and on weekends?
Yes. The phone is answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. After-hours work is priced before we roll, and if the fix can safely wait until morning we will tell you so.
Sources
Related well services
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Water Well Service & Repair
Flow tests, well caps, wiring, casing and chlorination for existing wells, plus one number to call when anything on the system acts up.
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Well Water Testing
Bacteria, nitrate, iron, hardness, sulfide and methane screening for Parker County wells, with the sample drawn and handled the way the lab requires.
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Well Deepening
When the water level drops below the pump, we compare deepening the existing hole against drilling a new one.
Request well rehabilitation
Tell us what the well is doing and where it is. Not urgent? We'll call back first thing.
Faster by phone, any hour: (817) 382-3840