Ways to Clean a Plugged Well Screen

• Well screens are used in wells to support the walls of the well and keep it from collapsing in on itself. They also allow water in the well to flow freely from the top to the bottom, acting as an initial filter for large pieces of debris, mud or stones which may be sucked up into the actual water supply. When these well screens become plugged or clogged, there are a number of different ways to clean them.

Using Chemicals

• Chemicals can be used to break up clogs and plugged parts of the well screen. First the well should be emptied of water, disabling the well's activity for a period. Workers should then be lowered into the well to brush or spray chemicals onto the screen at high pressure, effectively removing whatever is clogging or plugging the screen. However, spraying any type of chemicals into a well can be hazardous to the environment, so take precautions when cleaning a well screen by this method to keep the chemicals from seeping into the sides or floor of the well. Properly clean the well out with fresh water shortly after cleaning the screen.

High Pressure Hoses

• Another way to clean out the well screen is to simply use high pressure water hoses, employing the intense force of water to break up whatever is clogging or plugging the screen and washing it away. This will take a bit more labor from those who are responsible for cleaning the well screen, and it may be impossible to clean the screen entirely through this method. However, this is a much more environmentally-friendly way to clean out a part of a well rather then using chemicals, especially if the water in the well is used for drinking or watering crops.

Clean by Hand

• The more expensive and time consuming way to clean the clogs or plugs from these well screens is to have workers go section by section over the screen by hand. They can use a variety of cleaning tools, like brushes, hoses and scrapers to remove every bit of debris which may be clogging these well screens. However, labor is often the most costly part of many large jobs, and this will most likely be the case if you decide to clean your well screens by this method.