Watersafe The Original Water Testing Kit for Drinking Water, Well and Tap Water, Sensitive Lead in Water Test, Bacteria, Hardness, pH, Nitrates, Easy Instructions, Lab-Accurate Results, 1 Kit

For 20-some-odd bucks, you can know if your well water is safe. We've wondered for a long time, and now have that peace of mind. We knew ahead of testing that we had good-tasting well water. We knew from the driller's report that we have lots of it. We knew that our pump sits in good water, down 240 feet through bedrock. We also knew that our water is hard. We have the calcium deposits to prove it, and as a result, we run a salt water softener with a microprocessor that is sophisticated enough to know how often it needs to soften the water. And we run an RO (reverse osmosis) filter under the kitchen sink that purifies our drinking (and cooking) water. But just how hard is our water? We didn't know that. We also didn't know that in terms of metal, chemical and bacterial contaminants, if our water was safe. We've been drinking it and our health is good. But still, that nagging question. What's really in the water? Now we know. This little test kit is a brilliant idea. You don't need to take a sample and send it off to a lab, paying whatever fees, and waiting weeks for results. You can do these series of tests at home, in less than an hour (except the bacterial one, which needs two days in a vial at room temp to see if the nasties are going to have a breeding party). It's pretty simple, really. You get a sample of water directly from your well (we have a tap near the wellhead, before the water is softened and filtered). I took a squeaky-clean glass jar and filled it. Most of the tests are in the form of chemically sensitive patches on strips of paper -- like litmus paper -- which are dipped in your well water, and react in the presence of heavy metals and other contaminants. (You could, of course, test your municipal tap-water as well -- it does tell you if there are unsafe levels of chlorine, which are not present in well water). And in fact, the litmus test is included -- one of the oldest ways to discover the Ph level of your water or if it is acidic, alkaline, or neutral. With this kit you can quickly reveal the presence of nitrates and nitrites (usually caused by animal waste). You will test for possibly dangerous heavy metals, including copper, lead, and iron. Iron, by the way, is present in a lot of wells -- observably as ugly orange stains in sinks and toilets. Our water did not display even a trace, which surprised us. The test for dangerous bacteria, as I mentioned, takes two days to "ripen." If the water remains purplish, you're in good shape (ours did). In fact, the good news is, our water was fine on all counts -- except "hardness." We have about 400 ppm (parts per million), which is relatively high. Of course, we already knew it was hard, and compensate for that with the salt softener. Having done all this, the question arises: what would we have done if we had found our well water was high in a contaminants? Move? But knowing is better than ignorance. The test is easy to to, at home, without the need to send away samples and wait for results. The price for peace of mind is cheap, and $10 less than one of our well equipment companies wanted for the exact same kit, same brand. Recommended.

I am a newbie to owning a private well. I began investigating water test kits as friends have suggested I get a whole house water softener. I loved the taste, smell, and feel of our water (soap rinses right off in the shower). But, I was getting some rust? looking rings in our toilets. So, decided I would test and see what was up and if I needed a softener. This home testing kit has 6 separate tests – either strips or vials – which test for bacteria, copper, iron, nitrates and nitrites, ph, hardness, chlorine, lead, and pesticides (atrazine and simazine). I figured these tests about covered my concerns. I also did a lot of research online – mainly government sites such as the CDC, environmental services, state departments of public health, and university websites. Some information was interesting – some just put me to sleep. My tests did show that I was at the 50 ppm in hardness. I found at a university site that 50 mg/l (which is same as ppm) was considered in the soft range – at least according to sanitary engineers. The water conditioning industry says that’s on the edge of being somewhat hard. Hmmm. I think I’ll stick with it being considered soft? I also discovered a few helpful hints – some of these are given in the fairly thorough instructions that came with the kit, others I took from other sites in my research. - Use cold water - For the lead test, it's best to do a “first draw sample” where you test your water sample when it’s been sitting in your pipes a long period of time - at least 6 hours. So, just take it first thing in the morning before flushing. - For the bacteria test, don’t use the sink faucet, use the bathroom or tub faucet. Let the water run water for 5 minutes before you take a sample. If you have to use sink faucet, clean first with chlorine and then run water the 5 minutes. Also, do not touch any part of inside of collection tube. Also, of note, this test kit is for ONE test. Some kits have multiple use, not this one. I do plan on frequently retesting as these values can change, so may look for kits that allow for multiple testing. Final opinion – I think this test is great for a preliminary test – instructions are thorough, and it’s easy to do. But if you have any real concerns about the safety of your drinking water, I would recommend getting a test done by your state departments (in South Carolina they have it through DHEC) – where I believe you’ll get a bit more accurate results. Of course, these fees may be a bit higher depending on the state you live in.

We have well water which we had tested by a local lab a year or two ago. I like to have the water tested regularly, mainly for bacteria, but the local lab charges $100 (if we want lead testing included, it's $200). I ordered this test kit thinking that I'd compare it to the results we got from the lab when we last had our water tested. If anything looked weird or came back abnormal, we'd pay the local lab to test the water. The tests that I've done so far have given results that are in line with what we were expecting. The local lab gives some directions that I followed when pulling my water samples. They include the following: 1) Use cold water only. 2) For the bacteria test: let your water run for 5 minutes before you take a sample. Don't take a sample from a swivel faucet (commonly found in kitchens). They told me that it's best to take the water sample from the bathroom faucet or tub. 3) For the lead test: Take your sample at a point where the water has been sitting in the pipes for at least 6 hours. They recommended first thing in the morning, before flushing the toilets, etc. The instructions included with the test kit were fine, but I would have appreciated something a bit more in depth, like those provided by our local lab. Still, this test is a fraction of what the local lab charges, and at least from what I can see, it appears to be fairly accurate.

This worked as expected.

Very comprehensive water testing kit. Easy to use and results are clearly displayed. I had a small issue with part of the testing kit which was completely resolved, very quickly and without any difficulty by the supplier. Regarding the bacteria testing vial, I’d recommend to measure the water into a 5ml spoon or container first and then pour into the testing vial as the vial fills up extremely fast from the tap and could overflow. Both the product and customer support deserve 5 stars! Would recommend.

A number of tests, most can be completed within 30mins but the bacteria test takes 48hours for results. The tests from my well water came back OK ! So I can only assume that this test kit, which is thorough, is accurate.

Seemed to have worked well. The only thing I noticed was that the pH strip changed from 6.5 to 8.5 a few minutes after I'd completed the test and set it aside, but both of those numbers were within acceptable limits. Still waiting on bacteria test as of this review, but we get that test done by the municipality and it showed a 0 when we did it a few weeks ago. The only issue we seem to have with our well water is Hardness (120ppm). Other than that everything was either zero or very very low.

Good, simple test.

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