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9 Best Water Test Kits – (Reviews & Buying Guide 2021)

Water is always at risk of being contaminated with harmful bacteria. Whether you use it for laundry, drinking, bathing, or swimming, there is always the risk of coming in contact with contaminants. Therefore, water quality is a concern for many people.

Did you know that you can test the quality of the water you use? There are water testing kits that allow you to check whether your water is good or not. There are various types of kits as well, and they come at multiple prices to let people use healthier water.

In this article, you are going to learn more about water tests and how they work. We have also prepared some home water test kit reviews for you. It’s important to avoid dangerous water at all costs, so you don’t become sick. At the end of this post, you will be able to find the best water test kit for you.

Best Water Test Kits Comparison Chart

PRODUCTDETAILS
Quality Water Treatment Well Water Test Kit

Quality Water Treatment Well Water Test Kit

  • Price: $$$
  • Dimensions: N/A
  • Weight: N/A
  • Highlight: Test For Over 85 Contaminants
View On QWT
Pelican Rapid 16-point Water Test

Pelican Rapid 16-point Water Test

  • Price: $$$
  • Dimensions: N/A
  • Weight: N/A
  • Highlight: 16 Point Test
View On Pelican
HoneForest Water Quality Tester

HoneForest Water Quality Tester

  • Price: $
  • Dimensions: 6.3 x 1.1 x 0.6″
  • Weight: 1.6 ounces
  • Highlight: Premium quality titanium alloy probe, and reliable Automatic Temperature Compensation
View On Amazon
Hach 2745250 Total Hardness Test Strips

Hach 2745250 Total Hardness Test Strips

  • Price: $
  • Dimensions: N/A
  • Weight: 0.705 ounces
  • Highlight: Contains 50 Strips
View On Amazon
Drinking Water Test Kit

Drinking-Water Test Kit

  • Price: $$
  • Dimensions: 8.1 x 1.7 x 5″
  • Weight: 1.6 ounces
  • Highlight: 10 Tests in one
View On Amazon
Watersafe WS425W Well Water Test Kit

Watersafe WS425W Well Water Test Kit

  • Price: $$
  • Dimensions: 7.9 x 4.3 x 1.6″
  • Weight: 2.4 ounces
  • Highlight: Takes 10 minutes to get results 
View On Amazon

Best Water Test Kit Reviews – Top Picks

1. Quality Water Treatment Well Water Test Kit

Quality Water Treatment Well Water Test KitHere is a very practical offer from a veteran in the business – Quality Water Treatment. These guys have been testing and filtering water for 12 years, and they now bring us three choices when it comes to water testing.

Here we can take advantage of a lite water test kit, a basic one, or the standard package. Yes, the naming is funny because the standard kit is the complete package.

Now all three of the kits will test for 22 heavy metals and minerals that you don’t want in the water. Also, no matter which package you choose, you will be able to search for inorganic chemicals in your water along with TDS. The pH levels can also be checked, which is quite useful.

If you decide to spend a little more on these high-quality kits, you will be able to test for bacteria (basic and standard) and volatile organic chemicals and trihalomethanes (standard kit).

All kits come with proper instructions regarding how to use them, and they also have a 100% no-risk money-back guarantee.

2. Pelican Rapid 16-point Water Test

Pelican Rapid 16-point Water TestTake advantage of the free shipping that you get from Pelican for their 16-point water test kit. Do you know why it is called like that? Well, because it will test for 16 different contaminants and characteristics in your water. All of them are important and this is what makes this kit an essential addition to your household, especially if you are moving into a new neighborhood or city.

First of all, you will find out whether your water is hard or not because the kit checks for that. What’s also important is the fact that you will find out exactly the pH level of your water. Thanks to these two tests alone, you will know whether you need to soften or alkalinize your water.

Additionally, you can check for contaminants such as:

  • Fluoride
  • Sulfate
  • Lead
  • Chlorine
  • TDS

The Pelican 16-point test kit will essentially allow you to determine what exact water filter you have to get. Once you run your test, drop it at the testing location which will be pointed out in the little booklet with the kit. In about 3-5 days, you will get an email with the results. The fact that they email you the results instead of using regular mail is also a convenience.

3. HoneForest Water Quality Tester

HoneForest Water Quality TesterWould you like a water tester that could be used for all types of water? In that case, this model from HoneForest is the one for you. It’s usually used for water quality testing, as well as aquaculture, water treatment, water purification applications, pool & spa, and more.

It’s a very reliable and easy to use model, making it a great tool to have in your household. After all, you need a product that you can trust. This model comes with 3 years of warranty, backlit and auto-lock function, and an auto-off in 2 minutes to save battery. The backlit LCD makes it easy to read the screen, and the product also includes a protective carrying case with a belt clip. Therefore, it’s very easy to carry, too.

4. Hach 2745250 Total Hardness Test Strips

Hach 2745250 Total Hardness Test StripsSometimes, you find it hard to trust cheap products, because you tend to associate a higher price with higher quality. However, this water test kit is one of those exceptions to this rule. For a very affordable price, this product brings you what you’ve been waiting for – an effective way to detect water hardness.

Usually, hardness in the water is caused by calcium and magnesium ions. Although there are other divalent and trivalent metals with similar effects, they are not in such a high concentration in potable waters to be a problem. Hardness in the water can increase the consumption of soap in laundries and causes scale in boilers. So, you need to get rid of it as soon as possible.

Hach made test strips that indicate if there’s hardness in the water in your household. Their color changes according to the hardness in the water, and the color chart on the item will tell you what each color means. Consequently, you can find out if there’s something you should do about your water.

5. Drinking-Water Test Kit

Drinking Water Test KitDo you need a test for multiple types of contaminants? Well, then you should know that this kit has 10 tests in one! Therefore, you can test the water for contaminants such as pH, copper, pesticide, iron, lead, bacteria, nitrites and nitrates, chlorine, hardness, and alkalinity. It’s better not to risk ingesting any of these, because they can be harmful to your health. So, this water test kit can prevent you from doing that.

You can get the results easily and quickly, without having to mail them to a laboratory first. This makes it easier for you to find out if your water is safe just in time, so you can take measures as early as possible.

Moreover, this water test kit comes with an instruction manual and color charts to make it easy to read. It is made in the USA, so if you are a US resident, you can get it easily.

6. Watersafe WS425W Well Water Test Kit

Watersafe WS425W Well Water Test KitAs water is probably the most ingested substance in the world, you need to be very careful because you don’t want to drink contaminated water by mistake. Therefore, you need to test it and make sure you can continue using it.

Watersafe created a product meant for this task. It’s designed in such a way to help you test the water for contaminants as easily as possible. It can detect a wide range of contaminants, including bacteria, chlorine, copper, iron, lead, pH, pesticides, and many others.

Moreover, this water test kit is very affordable and easy to use, and it’s an essential addition to homes that draw water from private wells. Some previous customers were happy as the water test had easy-to-read results and simple directions. At the same time, others declared that they got inaccurate results, or that the product they got was probably faulty.

7. Baldwin Meadows Drinking Water Test Kit

Baldwin Meadows Drinking Water Test KitThe last thing you want when you drink water is for it to be contaminated. Hardness, copper, chlorine, pH, alkalinity, lead, iron, nitrate & nitrite are all contaminants that could be in the water you drink.

Baldwin Meadows made a water test kit to help you find out whether the liquid is safe to drink or not. The features mention that it is reliable, easy to use and that you instantly get the results. It also comes with 100 test strips, so you can test your tap water and well too.

While some people were pleased with the overall use of the test, some had something else to say. For some people, it didn’t work, and it was not sensitive enough to determine if the lead levels exceed EPA standards. For some who tested different water sources, the results were the same, and not accurate enough.

8. Bang-for-the-Buck’ Essential Indicators City Water Test

Bang-for-the-Buck' Essential Indicators City Water TestA water tester that can detect over 170 contaminants – what more there is to want from such a product? This item is a professional one and uses EPA Methodology. Having experience of nearly 30 years in water testing, the manufacturers developed an efficient test that detects whether the water you drink is free of contaminants or not. The contaminants it can detect include heavy metals, volatile organic compounds, and inorganic chemicals. It also has a self-test for 8 pathogenic bacteria, including Total Coliform and E-Coli.

Basically, what you have to do is fill some bottles with tap water, send them to the lab along with the test kit, and you will get the results within 6 business days. Most clients are pleased with the way the product works. According to them, the test results were accurate, and the lab team was very professional.

9. Health Metric Drinking Water Test Kit

Health Metric Drinking Water Test KitHealth Metric manufactures the kit we will review for you now. The set includes seven tests in total for four different types of tests. There are two tests of everything except for the bacteria – there is one of that. The process of running the tests is very simple and straightforward, as well as the instructions provided. However, there is no information on the meaning of each result and what you should be aiming at.

It might be tricky to understand the results if you do not have prior knowledge. It takes a few minutes to run three of the tests. Only the strip for the fourth test needs to stay in the water for some more time. As for performance, the strips are designed to detect the presence of specific components in the water.

Although it will let you know when the water contains +2 valence metals, it will not tell you what harmful elements are there precisely. You will need to go to a professional laboratory to identify the contaminants. Nonetheless, the kit still saves you money because you do not need to visit an expert to know whether there is something wrong with your water. Make sure that you provide at least 1.5 tablespoons of water for the tests.

Breaking Water Test Kits Down

Water Test Kits – How They Do the Magic

home water test kit reviews

If this is new to you, you probably don’t know how water test kits work. Modern chemistry has made it possible for people to detect the chemicals present in the water, even those that are in low concentrations.
Now, you may think that in order to test your water, you have to spend tons of money on professional teams that will come to your home with fancy equipment. Thankfully, that’s not the case, because water test kits are out for sale, and you can check the water in your household yourself. Not only can you do this quickly and easily, but it is also very affordable.

Basically, what these water test kits do is check whether there are contaminants in your water or not. Such contaminants could be iron, bacteria, pesticides, chlorine, nitrate & nitrite, lead, alkalinity, hardness, pH, and many others. Water test kits come in various forms. They are different in the way they work, and each one has a certain level of accuracy. The price doesn’t always indicate the value, so it doesn’t mean that if a product is more expensive, it must be better than a cheaper option.

The types of home water test kits are:

Color Disk Kits

These tests are available for a wide range of chemical tests. The way they work is by adding a powder packet or a few drops of water to a sample in a reusable plastic tube. Afterward, you have to place the tube in a small plastic viewing box.

The viewing box has a plastic disk that has a certain color gradient on it, and you have to rotate the color disk in order to find the part that matches the color of the sample. Once you do this, you have to read the concentration of the chemical from that disk. Usually, color disks are done in multiple steps, and sometimes even have wait times. Considering they are more complicated, they may be pricier, but they’re also more accurate.

Test Strips

Test strips represent a very affordable method if you want to quickly test your water but may not be as accurate compared to other methods. Basically, they are small, single-use strips that change their color according to the contaminant in the water. In other words, they have the ability to indicate the concentration that a specific chemical has.

It usually depends on the particular tests, but users have to “activate” the plastic strip and to do that, they have to dip it into the water sample and swish it around. Other tests require holding the strip in steam or water. You have to wait a short time, and then you can compare the test strips to the color chart featured on the test kit. By doing that, you will be able to read the concentration of the chemical.

Hand-Held Digital Instruments

Out of the three types of water test kits, this is the most accurate one. Portable and lightweight digital meters, photometers, and colorimeters are also available for water testing. However, they also tend to be more expensive than their counterparts.

Hand-held digital instruments require calibration and batteries. Still, if you want accurate test results, you can’t go wrong with this type of test.

Check out our comparison to find out more about the difference between hard and soft water.

Comprehensive Buying Guide on Water Test Kits

best water test kitIt’s important to know what type of product you’re dealing with before you purchase it, which we’ve prepared this buying guide.
When you’re looking for test kits that help you determine the quality of the water in your home, there are two options you could go for. You have tests that give you instant results or tests you have to send to a laboratory in order to find out more about your water’s quality. They are both great at providing information about the water in a household.
We have presented both types of water test kits in the previous reviews, so here are some examples for each category:

Instant Results – Watersafe Well Water Test Kit

Relying on well water for your family or livestock means you need a kit that ensures whether the water source is free of contaminants or not. The Watersafe product gives you instant results at home and helps you test for many contaminants, such as iron, copper lead, bacteria, and many other toxins.

This water test kit is pretty easy to use and has strips that provide ranges for each tested contaminant. However, some buyers declared that considering the results are only provided within a range, it is not as specific as laboratory testing is. Still, if you need a good reference whether you can continue using your water or you must take measures, it is useful.

Laboratory Results – Essential Indicators Water Test

This mail-in test kit must be sent to a laboratory in order to find out the results. You will have to take a water sample, then send it to a laboratory where specialists can see if it’s free of contaminants or not. The company will send you the results, as well as treatment suggestions in case the water is contaminated. You usually receive them within 6 days.

This kit tests for eight different types of bacteria, adding to the amount of useful information you are getting from this kit. The directions on it are easy to follow, and the results are said to be very accurate.

Important Things to Consider before Getting a Home Water Test Kit

  • Contaminants

    There are some tests that can detect a wide variety of contaminants, while others only detect about two types. The latter ones are less expensive, as you might expect. However, most of the time, the ones that detect multiple types of bacteria are more useful. After all, you don’t know what you’re dealing with, so you need an accurate way to determine what type of bacteria is affecting your water and your wellbeing.

  • Water Source

    Before you decide to purchase such a kit, you need to think about the water source you’re using – is it a public water supply, a well, or is it from your faucet or pool? Usually, water test kits are formulated for various sources of water, and they can detect the most common contaminants found in them.

  • Testing Procedure

    As you already know, there are more types of tests. Some are more accurate than others, but a little more expensive. If you have enough time, you should consider a test that requires you to send it to a laboratory, as that option is more accurate. If not, you should purchase a test kit that gives you immediate results, so you don’t have to wait for the testing facility results.

What Do Water Kits Test For?

Water test kits have one goal – to detect the contaminants in your water, so you can take the proper measures to ensure your safety. Water test kits detect many contaminants, such as iron, lead, nitrate, nitrite, alkalinity, pesticides, hardness, bacteria, and many others. Home water test kits could detect these and not only in different water sources, allowing you to live a healthy life with safe and contaminant-free water.

In case you are interested, you can check our blog posts on acidic water facts, how to make alkaline water, and maybe even pick a top-notch water ionizer for yourself.

Water Test Kits and the Benefits They Come With

When you purchase an item, you need to be aware of the benefits it comes with, so you can decide if the investment is worth it or not.

  1.  The Comfort of Your Home

    What is great about home water test kits is that you can use them at home, and you don’t need to hire an expert to complete such a test. All you have to do is fill up some recipients with water and use the test kit you purchased. In various ways, the tests will show you if the water you use is safe or not. Thus, they help you take measures in case the water is bad.

  2. No Contamination

    Drinking water that is contaminated by chemicals could have a serious impact on you and your health. If the test is negative, then you know you have to take some safety measures to stop the contamination and start drinking clean water again.

  3. Fix Devices

    Sometimes, in order to get rid of the contamination, you have to install devices that help the case. For example, instead of getting a conventional showerhead, you could purchase a specialized one with disinfectant properties. Even though you will have to spend some money from the wallet, t least you will know that you and your family are safe.

  4. Detect Various Contaminants

    Even though you don’t need a professional’s help to test your water supply, you can still find out the exact contaminant/s in your water. Home water test kits may be different than lab tests, but they still do their job properly. Therefore, not only that you will find out whether your water is contaminated or not, but you will also know exactly what the contaminants are.

FAQs

  1. How often do I need water testing?
    It depends. In the USA, wells are usually required to be tested after they are constructed. Afterward, the owner of the property is responsible for water testing. A recommendation from EPA would be to test the water once a year, so you find every microorganism that lives in there. Every two to three years, you could test it for elemental contaminants and harmful chemicals.
    If there is flooding, an earthquake, and any other land disturbance, or there are problems with well water in your area, you should test your water as soon as possible.
  2. How do I determine if my water is contaminated?
    Depending on the water test kit you use, you will be able to find out by either sending it to a laboratory or by using the quick results water tests. The latter comes in various types as well, as there are water test strips, color test strips, or hand-held digital instruments.
  3. Should I really test my water?
    Yes, because it’s the only way to find out if there are contaminants in your water or not. You should consider testing it because ingesting contaminated water could lead to serious health problems.

Also, check out the most advanced filtered water bottle reviews!

Read on to learn how to make your own water filter.

Wrap Up

Water testing kits are a great investment when you want to detect contaminants in the water in your household. Not only that they offer you a variety of options when it comes to the way they operate, but they are also able to detect many types of waterborne contaminants. Moreover, some home water test kits are very cheap, so you don’t need to spend a fortune for your safety.

However, before buying any type of product, you need to be well-informed. You need to know the types of products out there, their features, the main factors to consider, etc. And this is exactly what this article does for you – it will help you make a decision.

Hopefully, the home water test kit reviews allowed you to see the variety of products on the market and what they can do for you. As a result, you will be able to find the best water test kit for your home. Water Filter Mag!

Read our informative blog posts on subjects like how often should you change the water filter in the refrigerator, too!

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