Water Testing Kits Are A Must These Days

[agringo4u]

In this day of water pollution and every other kind of pollution you can think of, every family should test their water periodically to stay on the safe side. The kits don't cost that much and they can sure come in handy, especially in an emergency situation. For anyone interested, here is an excellent article on the subject.
http://www.emergencywaterpurification.com/water-testing-kits.shtml

[Andersw]

Is there any place one can take their water to be tested? Does the public water company offer testing or are the water testing kits that you can buy as good as what the professionals use to test with? Also, can one access the water testing of the public water online for most cities and towns? Or can they request the test results from the water department?

[Catalpa]

I could say better if I knew where you are, but here's some generalities based on my experience in Michigan:

The state runs a lab and will test water samples sent by anyone; the cost is usually fairly reasonable but turnaround is a little slow. There are private labs available but you have to check the state website list to see if they are certified; they can be less pricey but often have quicker turnaround. If you want to sample just the bacteriological safeness, you can often get a sample tested at a local water treatment plant but call ahead to see if they offer the service to the public.

Most local health departments will have the test kits for free; you have to have a specific container for the water for whatever test you want to run. You take the kits home, follow the directions for sampling, and then mail the samples to the state lab, along with the lab fee. In a week or so you'll have your results.

For instance, here in MI you can get a unit 30 and a unit 32; this will test bacti and partial chem and is a good baseline water quality test. Lab test fees are 16.00 and 18.00, and mailing is around 5.00.

If you are on city water, you can access the city water sample results through the city, or your state's Type I water reports online. If you have specific concerns about your city water, call the water plant and ask to be put on the sample list. they have to do a certain amount of sampling per month and sometimes will alter the sample location if requested.

Personally, I would NEVER trust the testing done by someone like Culligan who wants to sell water treatment. I would also be very leery of over the counter kits, especially those based on titration. There's just too many variables to trust that when it's fairly chap and easy to have it done right.

Do you have a specific concern on your water quality?