Hopefully everyone has recovered from any issues caused by last week's hurricane! It certainly has been refreshing to have more rain again, but we could do without the winds knocking down branches and power outages preventing us from watching the Gator game!

Despite the glamorous moniker of Gainesville Pump, our service area reaches considerably beyond the limits of Gainesville. We serve from Gainesville to Alachua, High Springs, Fort White, Newberry, Archer Bronson Williston, Trenton, Hawthorne, Melrose, Keystone, Brooker, Lacrosse, Waldo and Micanopy - plus all the areas in-between!

Once folks learn about what a water softener is, and what it does, the ones who are experiencing the various issues it addresses know almost immediately that it's a missing component of their well pump system. There are some very simple indications that your system has hard water, and the only definitive solution is a water softener. Without adding a softener to your system it will be impossible to remove the mineral deposits in your water causing widespread scale buildup.

Gainesville Pump owner, Steve Briel, shared an interesting story with us about the shocking affects of iron water on hair. On the day of his wedding his betrothed was preparing for the day's events, and went to the hair salon to have her hair styled for the ceremony. As the stylist began applying treatment she shrieked with dismay when she saw the bride-to-be's dark hair turn bright green! Naturally, panic ensued, and the stylist was at a loss for what action to take, as the reaction wasn't something that ever had happened before with dark hair and those particular treatment products.

Here at Gainesville Pump we frequently write posts discussing the impact of iron on well pump equipment. It's not that it's an obsession (okay, maybe it is), rather it's due to the fact that it is the most common issue faced by well pump owners in Gainesville and the surrounding areas of Northeast Florida.

When hooked up to your existing well water system, water softeners remove minerals like calcium and magnesium by "replacing" those ions with different ions - in this case, sodium.

Does this look familiar? Are you seeing 'dirty' water, or are your clothes not coming as clean as they used to? If so, it's time to do something about it. You'll be surprised that it might not be as expensive or intensive as you may think.

When our guys show up to diagnose your well system there are a lot of nuanced steps to our approach depending upon the symptoms. When a customer finds themself with a mixed bag of issues, from reduced water pressure to increased back pressure on the pump to orange stains and slimy sinks there's one quick, sure-fire way to determine if you've got an iron problem. 

This spectacular cable was pulled from a system that was struck by lightning last night, Sunday June 12th. The exploded wire comes from 80 feet below the surface!. The heat and power of the strike melted the copper into tiny balls as it disintegrated everything around it. Keep in mind that the melting point of copper is 1,984°F- and all of this happened deep, deep under ground.

The guys see all kinds of crazy things inside of folks' wells. Recently, they were able to snap a picture of something they talk about a lot- ANTS in the electronics! When certain bugs, like ants, decide to make a home inside your well pump, the results can be disastrous. 

We encourage our patrons to have us inspect and test their water system once a year.  This usually reveals any abnormalities in the systems performance, which can be rectified, before becoming an emergency.  The well location outside makes it easily neglected. 

First, if you are considering the purchase of a home that has a well, you should have a pre-purchase inspection performed. This will inform you as to the water equipment’s state of repair and performance deficiencies, if any. This information can be exceedingly important as you prepare to negotiate a final proposal.