Water testing
Know what comes out of the tap.
City panels check lead, copper, nitrate, hardness, pH and disinfection by-products. Most well panels add arsenic and bacteria.
Why people test
The usual reasons.
An older home
Pipes and fixtures from before the mid-1980s can carry lead and copper into the water.
You are on a well
No one tests a private well for you. Nitrates, arsenic and bacteria are the things worth knowing.
A change in taste or color
Metallic, cloudy, staining the sink. A test tells you whether it is a nuisance or a problem.
The panels
What we look for.
City water panels start with lead, copper and the other plumbing metals, nitrate, hardness, pH and what disinfection leaves behind; Standard and Extended add arsenic and the rest of the regulated metals. Well panels cover the metals and the chemistry, and from Well Water Basic up they add total coliform and E. coli, the checks a city supply runs for you. PFAS, pharmaceuticals and microplastics each have their own tests.
- Microplastics
- PFAS
- Lead
- Copper
- Arsenic
- Nitrate
- Hardness and pH
- Disinfection by-products
- Bacteria (well panels)
- Volatile organics
- Pharmaceuticals and wastewater markers
- Hormones and personal-care residues
How sampling works
What you do at home.
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Fill the bottles
First thing in the morning, from the tap you drink from. The kit tells you which bottle first.
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Label and pack
Cap tight, label with the time, back into the box.
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Ship the same day
Some samples, like the bacteria bottle in well kits, have a clock on them. The prepaid label is ready to go.
Your report
What it tells you.
A water report lists every analyte, including the ones we did not find, so you can see the whole picture. Then it says what the numbers mean for your tap and what to change, if anything.
