Hi bernergrrl, I don't generally use bleach as a disinfectant. I wouldn't use it on any kitchen counters, cutting boards, or utensils, because if it's not safe to ingest internally, it's not going near food and I don't really like the idea of using it near caterpillars. I usually use straight distilled white vinegar, food grade hydrogen peroxide, or vodqa as disinfectants. I spray the caterpillar containers down well with vinegar and let it air dry; and clean tools, etc. with vodqa on a cotton pad. I was watching a show on the History Channel about making Tequila, and thought it was interesting that when they clean out the Tequila bottles before bottling, they rinse them out with none other than, Tequila.

If you haven't bought a washer since 2002, you'll want to know that they've changed since then, and there are additional pitfalls to consider, besides the ones that soured your experience with the HE3t. One factor is water temperature: "Warm" and "hot" have been defined downward on some machines, and internal heaters have been programmed to be less effective. Another factor is water usage: Current machines may use less water than those made in 2002, and poor washing and rinsing performance has been attributed to this. With that out of the way... You want to hear if we're impressed with our washer. I'm impressed with my Miele W4840, which I've had for six months. It offers five wash temperatures (30C, 40C, 50C, 60C, 70C), and it uses the internal heater to boost incoming temperature if necessary (and also to maintain the temperature during the wash cycle, of course). Wash cycle times are generous compared to some brands, and there's an option to extend them further. Those factors add up to flexibility, and great cleaning ability. Rinsing seems fine, without using the extra rinse option, or configuring for extra rinses or higher water level. Miele has a reputation for solid construction, and my machine seems well-built. I have it installed on a sturdy wood floor above a basement, and the vibration isn't excessive. I would think the weight would contribute to stability, not detract from it, but of course most any FL washer will shake if not installed properly. The door is hinged on the right, so it's best installed on the right side. But it comes with longer hoses to reach plumbing hookups that are normally on the left. Re your mom's opinion of sanitary cycles: Think of it as a way to do a very-hot wash, to get stuff like towels very clean, not just a way to kill germs. It's useful, not a gimmick.

Our situation is exactly the same- foreclosure, sat for over 2 years, private well, with a new pump installed just prior to closing. We have a sulfur smell and high iron. We were told that sulfur smell could be remedied by getting rid of the iron. So... just last week we had 4 different contractors out to try to figure out what we should do. I know, that's a lot, but they all had different things to say. Only one suggested shocking the well before considering adding water treatment equipment. He described shocking as a slightly more involved process than what dave_mn did. After the chlorination he wanted to recirculate the water, and said the process would take 3-4 days total and we'd be unable to use the well during that time. He also stated that the risks included over-chlorination and possibly burning out the well pump if the well ran dry while he was shocking it. But our well casing is smaller than what is now standard, so I'm not sure if that was a factor. He was going to charge us $300. The other three guys recommended various combinations of water softeners, iron filters, and other equipment, ranging from $2200 - $3500. All said that shocking the well would only get rid of bacteria, not iron. All four of them agreed that shocking was more of a short-term fix to get things back to a more "natural" state since the well had been unused for so long. The consensus seemed that we should run our water for an extended length of time to run out all the old accumulations before we put too much weight in the water sample results. Keep us posted on what you decide. Thanks!

- 100 ppm (kills fecal coliform) to 200 ppm (kills iron and sulphur reducing bacteria) chlorine will not damage water softener resin. In fact, the instructions included with my PETWA softener give details on how to shock the softener itself, so no worries there. -you want chlorinated water at a concentration per the step by step instructions given above to touch every line and fixture in the house. Start by turning off your hot water tank and running the hot side of your bathtub fixture until you get an obvious smell of chlorine. Repeat for every hot side in the house. This will ensure that your hot water tank is treated as well. Repeat with every cold side including outside hydrants. The chlorinated water should sit in your well and plumbing for a minium of 8 hrs. You should avoid flushing toilets if on septic but if it's unavoidable, a few (FEW) flushes will not hurt anything. -Draining the chlorinated water is time consuming and involved. Start by attaching a garden hose to the drain on the hot water tank (making sure that gas/electric has been SHUT OFF) and leading that hose to your sump or ditch outside. Crack the drain valve wide open and let it run. If you have a laundry tub with a threaded end on the spout fixture, then attach a garden house leading to the great outdoors and open the hot water tap all the way. This will flush your hot water tank, softener and pressure tank and well. Run the water until there is no apparent smell of chlorine, you'll want to use test strips or a pool test kit to verify that the chlorine is gone, your nose will "die" pretty quick sniffing heavily chlorinated water. Once the hot water side of your system has no chlorine coming from the laundry tub tap, drain the cold water side using the same laundry tub tap. Once no chlorine registers on the cold water side, run all the main taps in the house, hot then cold until no chlorine is present. The small amount of water that you are dealing with that is left in your plumbing will not harm the septic tank. It is imperative that you follow the first steps to drain the lions share of the chlorinated water out of your plumbing system and to clear your well. You can do cold side first, while draining the well, it's up to you. Be patient, getting the chlorine out is an all day task. -Regarding your RO, remove the membrane, filters and discard, make sure that chlorinated water gets into the housing and tap. We recently did this to kill off sulphur reducing bacteria (harmless to us, but boy did they ever add a rotten egg smell to the water). It was easy, but time consuming