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Robert Metheney
07-17-2011, 07:30 PM
I am fairly new to the home inspection business. I have have had requests for water testing in the past and referred the client to county water testing. How to I go about testing water myself. what is the procedure and what lab.I would appreciate any help.

John Kogel
07-18-2011, 07:24 AM
What is the procedure and what lab? I would appreciate any help.You live in Mineral Springs and you're asking us? :D

Call the labs in your locale. They love testing water samples. Usually, they will provide a sterile jar and tell you how to take samples.

Scott Patterson
07-18-2011, 07:54 AM
I am fairly new to the home inspection business. I have have had requests for water testing in the past and referred the client to county water testing. How to I go about testing water myself. what is the procedure and what lab.I would appreciate any help.

It is not difficult or hard to pull a water sample. As with anything you have to follow specific procedures(protocols), As John said, find a local lab and they will tell you how and what needs to be done.

Also, you might need to check and see if you have to be licensed in your state to do a water sample or inspect a well. Many states regulate this type of activity.

FIA Ranch
07-18-2011, 12:06 PM
There are a myraid of 'water tests'. In Colorado, the state Health Department is the most common lab used, and cheapest. You can get fancy test labs to do the same thing for twice the cost.

If you want to support that need by clients, call the State, see where the closest Health Department branch is and talk to them about their process, most common tests, all tests available, test "packages", etc.

There are some gotcha's such as, some tests are time-bound, and the sample has to be delivered to the lab within a predetermined time frame from the time it is taken.

The other issue your clients need to understand is turn-around time for test results. It can take many days, into weeks. Some tests take that long to perform, and there is always the obvious backlog in the lab.

But, from a process standpoint, there is basically no cost to you, other than sample taking and delivery time, and you provide a complete service to your customer. It is an easy, and extremely valuable, service add-on for customers with private wells.

Robert Metheney
07-18-2011, 04:11 PM
Thanks for the help everyone! There are two labs within 25miles of here I'll call them tommorow.

Michael Avis
07-18-2011, 07:53 PM
Have just researched this for one of my clients. You should have some idea what you are looking for and the labs in your area may be able to help. The lab I use tests for literally dozens of substances: ecoli, pesticides, radon, hydrocarbons, dioxin, pcb's and on and on.

The local neighborhood might offer some clues as well. If it's an industrial area or an agricultural area these might lead you in a certain direction. If it's a plain jane residential neighborhood that may lead you in a different direction.

My understanding is that county or state offices assess for biological pathogens and pH but you can easily confirm this. Good Luck.

ps Water Testing can get expensive.