When you have concerns about the quality of your water, there are three ways you can test it: with a DIY results-at-home kit, with a DIY send-away water testing kit, and by calling a professional water testing service. Home water testing is a popular DIY project because the supplies are readily available and the advertising makes it seem easy.
The advantage of using a DIY water testing kit is convenience. You can order the kit online and no one needs to come to your home. On the other hand, the risk of making a water sampling error is high. Before you decide which route you’re going to take, let’s look at some common pitfalls of the DIY approach.
The decisions you make based on the test results are important, so you want to be certain that they are correct. In the end, how much confidence will you have that the results are accurate and your water is safe?
Common DIY Water Testing Missteps
When homeowners test their water themselves, even with a high-quality kit, they are frequently unaware of potential mistakes. If the samples are tainted, the test results will be too. Here are a few of the most common ways that can happen.
Water Draw
Depending on the test, sometimes you need to take a first draw sample and sometimes you need to let the water run for 10 or 15 minutes in order to get an accurate result.
For example, if you have copper plumbing and acidic water (low pH), you need to take a first draw sample from a sink that hasn’t been used recently. With low pH and copper plumbing, the water pools in the lower levels of the plumbing system, allowing the pH to degrade the inside of the copper plumbing line. If you draw a sample from a faucet that gets heavy use, you won’t get an accurate measurement of the copper in your system.
In contrast, well water should run for 10 minutes or longer before it’s sampled. This clears out the lines so that the test is done on water that is actually in your well at that moment.
Water Sample Size
Most of the time, the sample container in a DIY testing kit is too small to hold enough water to test properly. A fresh sample of water is needed for each test and is discarded afterward. Once you’re out of water, it’s too late to discover you should have drawn more. Therefore, having enough water to correctly and accurately test each constituent is critical.
Water Sample Contamination
Water samples can be inadvertently contaminated in a number of ways. The two most common are when the vial comes in contact with your hands or with kitchen sink fixtures.
The aerator of your kitchen faucet is a common culprit because it often contains bacteria from food. If the container accidentally touches it, the bacteria can get into the sample and trigger an incorrect result. Your drinking water doesn’t have any bacteria, but the sink does and you get a false positive.
Consequently, you waste time and energy planning to fix a problem that doesn’t exist. Ultraviolet light (UV) systems can cost up to $3,000. The alternative is chlorinating your well. You can save yourself the anxiety of having to needlessly consider these options by hiring an expert at the start.
Water Collection Conditions
In order to run certain tests, water samples must be collected under very specific conditions. For instance, chlorine is a gas and will evaporate from tap water. If you don’t cap the container immediately, most of the chlorine will be gone by the time you run the test or mail it to the testing company.
While only well water needs to be tested for bacteria, even that is more complicated than it sounds. Bacteria testing is a very exacting process. The laboratory test needs to be done within 24 hours and the sample must be kept cold. If the temperature of the water rises too much, the test results won’t be accurate.
Selecting a Reputable Water Treatment Company
Homeowners often prefer DIY kits because they don’t want someone in their home and they don’t want to be pressured into buying anything. Unfortunately, it’s well known that some water treatment companies engage in deceptive tactics to sell their products and services. They give you incomplete information and allow you to assume the worst.
An all-too-frequent example of this occurs with well water testing. Some well water contains bacteria and when it does, it commonly tests positive for coliform, which is an unharmful indicator bacteria. When present, it means you have some other type of bacteria in your water.
If you test positive for coliform, the next step is to test for e coli. If your well water tests positive for e coli, then the best remedy is to chlorinate your well and then test the water again after the chlorine has been ‘run off’. Typically, at this point, most homeowners choose to have an Ultraviolet light system installed just in case bacteria reemerges at some point. This provides the homeowner with peace of mind.
Advantages of professional water testing services
There are many unknowns, and many ways to bungle home water tests when you do it yourself. When that happens, you have less money in your wallet and you still don’t have trustworthy information on which to base your decisions.
When one of our professionals comes out to your home it doesn’t cost anything, you get accurate results immediately, and you can have confidence in the process. Your water will be tested for the most common water problems: copper, chlorine, total dissolved solids (TDS), nitrates, hardness, and pH level. If there is an issue, you’ll be given fact-based information about water systems and water treatment, and knowledgeable advice on how to remedy your specific problem.
The importance of professional water testing can be seen in the requirements for real estate transactions in Maryland. Before you buy, sell, or refinance a house, the bank requires a water test that has been performed by a certified water sampler who is licensed through the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE).
What is the most reliable way to test water?
The most reliable way to test your water quality is to let a professional do it. As popular as DIY testing is, there are times when you shouldn’t tackle a problem without professional help.
Because your family’s health is important to your peace of mind, you want accurate information about the quality of your bathing, cooking, and drinking water. With a home water test, there is so much room for operator error that you can’t be certain you’ve done everything exactly right. If you’re spending money for a kit to test your water — and are potentially going to be spending a lot more money to treat it — you want to make sure there’s an actual problem and to know precisely what it is.
Call us today and have your water tested by our experts.
