Checking a Home's Water on a Viewing: Mains Connection and Well Water

On a house viewing, most people look at the walls, roof and floors. The water gets skipped because the tap turns on and something comes out. But cloudy water, a bad smell or weak pressure only really hits you once you live there every day.

This guide covers what you can check yourself in a single visit: the mains connection, the well, and a few simple tests. Treating peat water is covered separately in clean water for a home on peatland.

Find out where the water comes from

Homes in South Kalimantan may use one water source or several at once. Ask the seller directly:

• Is the house connected to the PDAM (the regional water utility, Perusahaan Daerah Air Minum)?
• Is there a bore well or a dug well? How deep is it?
• Is rainwater collected?
• Which source is used for bathing, washing, cooking and drinking?

The answers decide what you need to check. A house that relies only on a shallow well on peatland has different problems from a house on the mains whose supply comes in shifts.

Checking the mains connection

An existing PDAM connection is a plus, but it still needs checking.

• The meter. Look at the water meter and make sure it turns when a tap is open. A meter that doesn’t move, or one with a seal on it, can mean the supply has been cut.
• Whose name. Older connections are often still in the previous owner’s name, sometimes the owner before that. Note the customer number.
• Arrears. Ask for receipts for the last few months. Ask whether any bills are unpaid, and agree who settles them before handover.
• Supply hours. Ask whether water flows all day or only at certain hours. Ask the neighbours as well, because their answer is sometimes different.
• Pressure. Open the tap at the furthest and highest point, such as an upstairs bathroom, then open the kitchen tap at the same time. If the upstairs flow drops straight away, the house needs a storage tank and a pump.

If the house is not connected, don’t assume a new connection is a given. Ask the local PDAM office whether the pipe network already reaches the street in front, what a connection costs and how long it takes. Ask them how to move the account into your name after buying too, since the requirements can differ from one area to the next.

Checking well water

Well water in South Kalimantan depends heavily on location. On the peat and swampland around Banjarmasin and Barito Kuala, shallow water is often brown like tea, acidic and high in iron. Where the ground is higher, the water may be clear but still deserves a check.

Ask the seller:

• How deep is the well, when was it made and who drilled it?
• Has it ever run dry or changed in a long dry spell?
• Has it ever tasted brackish or salty?
• Is there a filter already, and when was it last serviced?

Then look at where the well is. A well too close to the septic tank can get contaminated, especially where the water table is high. Ask where the septic tank is and estimate the distance. There is more on this in checking bathrooms and septic tanks.

Simple tests you can do yourself

These tests don’t replace a laboratory, but they’re enough to filter out houses whose water is clearly a problem.

• Clear glass test. Let the tap run for a few minutes so the water that sat in the pipes clears out. Fill a clear glass and hold it to the light. Note any cloudiness or a yellow or brown tint.
• White bucket test. Fill a white bucket and leave it until the end of the visit. Yellow to orange sediment at the bottom usually points to iron.
• Smell test. Smell the water from the tap and from the bucket. Note any metallic, earthy or rotten smell.
• Soap test. Work a little soap into the water. If it barely lathers and leaves a scum, the water may be hard, meaning high in minerals.
• Fill time test. Time how long a bucket of a known size takes to fill from the main tap. Repeat at another tap. You can compare the results with other houses you see.

Some buyers bring a TDS meter or pH strips. A TDS meter measures dissolved solids, and pH strips show whether the water is acidic. Both are cheap and handy for comparison, but neither detects bacteria.

Evidence you can see in the house

Problem water leaves traces. Check:

• The water tub (bak mandi), toilet and bathroom floor. Stubborn yellow to brown stains mean problem water has been used for a long time.
• White clothes, buckets and the water dispenser.
• Shower heads and tap aerators. White scale or orange deposits are easy to spot here.
• The storage tank. See whether it is covered and clean, and whether there is sediment at the bottom.
• The pump and pipes. Look for rust, seepage, and a pump that keeps switching on and off.

The state of the pipes and drains is covered in checking a home’s water lines and drainage.

Seasons change the water

Water that is fine in the rainy season can change in the dry season. Shallow wells can drop, and in some areas near large rivers or the coast the water can turn brackish as river flow weakens. Mains supply can be disrupted too.

If you view in the rainy season, ask the neighbours what their water was like in the last dry spell. If you view in the dry season, you’re probably seeing the toughest conditions. More on seasonal differences is in viewing property in the wet and dry seasons.

When a lab test is worth it

A lab test makes sense when:

• The house relies on a well as its main source.
• The simple tests showed colour, smell or sediment.
• Young children or elderly people will live there.
• You plan to install a filter system and need numbers to choose the media.

Ask a regional health laboratory or an accredited water laboratory. The local health office can usually point you to one. Ask the seller’s permission to take a sample, and follow the lab’s instructions on bottles and sampling.

Put it into the price

Water problems rarely kill a purchase, but they almost always add cost. A bigger tank, a new pump, filters, a new mains connection or a deeper bore well all have a price. Get quotes from a plumber or filter installer before you make an offer, then use those numbers in the negotiation.

In short

Ask where the water comes from, check the PDAM meter and arrears, do the glass and bucket tests, look at the bathroom stains and ask the neighbours about the dry season. If anything looks off, test at a lab before you pay. A wider checklist for used houses is in our used house inspection checklist.

If you’d like company on a viewing or are looking for a home in South Kalimantan, the Vorneo Property team can help, and the listings we’re marketing are on our property page.