DIY water test kits

[John Dirks Jr]

I have a friend who wants to test their well water. They don't want to hire a company that sells treatment equipment. They would like to try a DIY test.

Are there any reliable test kits out there? Which ones are they?

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[Scott Patterson]

I have a friend who wants to test their well water. They don't want to hire a company that sells treatment equipment. They would like to try a DIY test.

Are there any reliable test kits out there? Which ones are they?

Your friend would do best if he/she went to a local laboratory. They will provide you with the proper collection bottle for what you are wanting to test for. Mail order water test just do not work well as the sample needs to be kept cool and the test needs to be run in most cases within 24 hours of collection.

[Jeff Gainey]

I agree with Scott. A local Lab will give them the bottle and sterilization procedure necessary to get a clean sample. They usually tell you to run the water for how long etc. Bacteria samples need to start testing within 30 hours and kept cool until turned in.

[Tony Mount]

John, here in Oklahoma you can get a test kit for free at the DEQ, Department of Environmental Quality. You are to remove any aerator or screens and clean the test area with alcohol and should not use a swivel faucet. Run water for 1 minute and fill the cup passed the fill line and send it back to DEQ within 72 hours. The test is $30 here and a retest may be necessary if it fails.

[Caoimhín P. Connell]

Good morning, John –

Depends on what they want to “test.� Depending on what they are trying to find out, there may or may not be kits available. For example, I worked in a water lab for many years where I ran an whole slew of MCAWW protocol analyses that are not available in kits such as total alpha and gamma on water.

But, as a home-brewer, I loved my little Taylor water test kits (which by the way are of sufficiently high quality, I still use them all the time in my current job as an Industrial Hygienist - in fact, I used a Taylor water test kit on three different projects last week).

In my area, the water distributors, which are usually either government or GOCOs will provide their customers a free water quality report, and frequently, perform custom analysis for free. I recently had a case where there was a problem with ancanth amoeba in the water and the lab didn't charge for the analysis.

So, it boils down to which “tests� your friend wants. No pun intended.

Cheers!
CaoimhÃ*n P. Connell
Forensic Industrial Hygienist
Forensic Applications Consulting Technologies, Inc. - Home

(The opinions expressed here are exclusively my personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect my professional opinion, opinion of my employer, agency, peers, or professional affiliates. The above post is for information only and does not reflect professional advice and is not intended to supercede the professional advice of others.)

AMDG