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My well is old and the well pump installer detected a lot of silt/clay in the bottom...

My well is old and the well pump installer detected a lot of silt/clay in the bottom which he says is plugging my well pump. Can I clean my well?

There are a couple of things that can be done to help this:

  1. Air lifting. The pump installer, or well driller, installs a one inch (or larger) pipe to the bottom of the well. A large air compressor then applies full air volume and pressure to the bottom of the well. This forces the water and silt to boil over the top of the well casing discharging the water/silt mixture. This process is repeated for several hours at different levels in the well casing, or until the water discharged shows improved clarity.

  2. Bailing. A special bailing tool is dropped into the well by a well-drilling or pump-installation rig. The tool then fills with the silt/clay mixture, once filled the tool is pulled out and emptied. This process is repeated until the discharge water shows improved clarity.

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