You have a really bad Iron reducing bacteria problem in your well water. The iron in your water is the food source that the bacteria thrives on. This slime has undoubtedly coated all of the water pipes in your house. While iron reducing bacteria by itself will not harm you, the slime and sludge that lines your pipes is a perfect breeding ground for many other nasty, and possible unhealthy, things to grow. You can purchase a BART test and verify that you have iron reducing bacteria for yourself.

The solution is a whole house water filtration and disinfectant system. Depending on the amount of iron that you have in your water, you may need a dedicated iron removal filter. That takes care of the iron but not the bacteria. To kill the bacteria you will need a chlorine injection systems that adds a small amount of chlorine to your water. The chlorine needs contact time with the water to kill everything so you will need a decent size holding tank that the chlorinated water sits in. Lastly, you need a carbon filter to remove the chlorine (and other things) from your water.

You will also need to shock chlorinate the pipes in your house to get rid of the built up sludge in your pipes.

It isn’t cheap but the result is pure, crystal clear water and no more slimy bacteria. Installation is a weekend project if you’re a DIYer.