…and came upon my Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) tester…
In the process of testing I stuck it in a cup of the well water that comes out of my tap, and…
Hoooly crap, that’s so much higher than the first time I ever tested it. I thought at first the discrepancy might be an error since I have a new tester a Generous reader sent me two years ago – but I published the reading I got right after receiving that tester, and it read more-or-less consistent with the first test.
That’s a substantial rise in TDS in two years. Doesn’t matter that much since I don’t drink the well water, but it’s something to watch. And wonder about.
Could there be a seasonal fluctuation in TDS relating to monsoon vs dry season?
The aquifer dissolves calcium and other stuff as it flows, in so doing the aquifer is actually enlarging the flow channels. More exposed surface and more channels leads to more TDS.
Don’t be surprised if it increases over time.
Counter intuitively, if there are more than normal rains or snows, the count can diminish for a time when flow suddenly increases.
Out of curiosity, how often is the big tank cleaned out? I suspect answer is never, likely has a lot of deposits on the floor. Also wonder how the cattle don’t get sick from the super hard water.
Lake MI water that we get keeps constant TDS due to sheer volume. Just spent 2 days cleaning and de-scaling our furnace humidifier, all coated in white gunk. My fault, ignored it for a few years 😉
We use carbon multi layer filters on the fridge feed just because, but our city water is considered “safe” for now.