Owning a water treatment system in Washington is less about one big decision and more about a steady yearly routine. Local water reports describe the tap water in Washington, in Franklin County, Missouri, as extremely hard, and homes there draw on a mix of river water and groundwater. Private wells in the Missouri River-bottom area often run harder and carry far more iron than public supply, so the routine matters even more for those homes. The checks below are meant to be done by you, the homeowner, with a notebook and a few basic supplies.
Keep a simple written log
Before anything else, start one page or notebook for the system. Write down the date of each check, what you looked at, any readings from test strips or kits, the salt level in a softener, the date filters were changed, and any service visits. A log turns memory into a record. When something changes next year, you will know whether it is new or has been building up slowly.
Test the water once a year
Testing is the starting point for the whole routine. If you are on public water in Washington, the supplier's annual report is a good place to begin, since it lists what the utility tests for, including hardness, iron, and radium. Read it when it arrives and compare it with last year's report. If you are on a private well, the situation is different. Wells are unregulated, which means nobody tests them but you. Plan to test for hardness, iron, nitrate, and bacteria, and consider testing for hydrogen sulfide if you notice a rotten egg smell. Naturally occurring radium is more common in deeper bedrock wells in this part of the state, so a lab test is the only way to know what is in yours.
Check the softener every few months
A softener needs a closer look than most parts of the house. Open the brine tank and look at the salt. Break up any hard crust on top, and look for a salt bridge, which is a hard layer that stops salt from dissolving into the water. Look for mushy salt at the bottom, which can form when salt sits in water too long. Confirm the hardness setting on the control head still matches your latest test. If the number of people in the house or your water use has changed, the setting may need adjusting too.
Look after iron and sediment equipment
If your Washington home has an iron filter, a sediment filter, or other pre-treatment, check the pressure gauges and the backwash schedule. Iron can stain fixtures, and iron bacteria can leave a slimy film in toilet tanks and on well equipment. Those signs are a prompt to check settings and filter media, not a reason to guess. Clean screens and pre-filter housings according to the manufacturer's directions, and replace cartridges on the schedule printed on the packaging or in the equipment manual.
Reverse osmosis filters and storage tanks
Under-sink reverse osmosis units use pre-filters that wear out sooner than the membrane. Write each change date on the filter housing with a marker. Replace each stage on time, even if the water still looks fine, because filters are rated to hold back material for a set period of use. Check the storage tank pressure in spring and fall, and inspect hoses and fittings for drips. Keep spare filters on hand so a change does not get pushed back.
A seasonal schedule you can follow
- Early spring: test the well or review the tap report, then check the softener salt and brine tank.
- Late spring: replace pre-filters and review the iron filter backwash.
- Summer: watch for changes in taste, color, or smell during heavy use or dry spells.
- Early fall: after any heavy rain or ground disturbance, retest a private well for bacteria.
- Late fall: check the reverse osmosis storage tank, inspect hoses, and confirm softener control settings.
- Winter: watch exposed pipes and the water heater, and note any change in water pressure.
After a flood or big storm
Flooding and heavy runoff are reasons to test a private well right away, not to wait for the next scheduled check. Coliform and E. coli are bacteria that a lab test can detect, and nitrate can move into wells from farm land and septic systems. Hold off on drinking untested well water until results are back. Disinfecting a well is a job for someone who knows how that well is built, and it should be followed by a retest.
What a well-kept year looks like
A well-kept system has a complete log, test results on file, and water that tastes, looks, and smells the way it did when you started. If something has drifted, the log shows you when the change began. Keep the routine short enough that you will actually do it. A quick check every few months is more useful than a long review that never happens, and it is far easier to catch a small change in Washington than a large one.