How to Test Water at Home with a Water Test Kit

The quality of the water we drink and use daily impacts our health. Towns across the country are reporting poor water quality that can affect the health of those who drink it. With the current U.S. administration working to roll back protections against PFAS linked with cancer in water systems, testing your own water is more important than ever.

Whether you’re concerned about contaminants or chemicals in your well water or the overall pH of your city water, at-home water testing kits give accurate results. Armed with that info, you can choose the best water filter for your needs.

Water testing kits come in a few varieties. You’ll find some testing kits combine methods, including both strips and powders—depending on which contaminant you’re screening for.

Most water quality test kits are intended for one-time use. You should also consider whether you plan to follow up an initial home test with testing that uses a professional lab. Because most test strips give a range of results rather than a specific number, the increased accuracy of color disk kits might be worth the cost.

Test strips like those in the Varify kit are the most common method of testing water quality because they’re affordable and easy to use. Although instructions may vary slightly from kit to kit, here's what typically happens:

1. Fill a test container with a water sample, dip a test strip in, swirl the container, and wait a few minutes with the test strip resting in the water sample.
2. Take the strip out of the water and compare the color changes on the test strip to the color chart included in the kit.

Test strips can indicate the type of contaminant and its ppm (parts per million, a.k.a. its level of concentration in your water). Test strips aren't as precise as other methods, but they give a range that can pinpoint concerns.

What your kit tests for is a critical measure of how useful the results will be to you. Different water sources are more likely to have certain kinds of contaminants. For instance, well water is frequently used in rural areas where runoff from nearby fields could affect levels of pesticides or fertilizer toxins in the drinking water.

Additionally, finding out more about the pH levels in your water (acidity versus alkalinity) and general hardness can be useful to counter quality issues like taste or smell.

Many homeowners enjoy having their own well water, but it can be susceptible to toxins in the watershed. A comprehensive water testing kit is worth the additional cost to ease concerns about contaminants.

While the EPA doesn’t endorse specific home water testing kits, it does provide guidelines for how often to test your drinking water and a list of risk factors that could lead to contamination. If you have city water, your municipality is typically required to provide testing results publicly each year to demonstrate the safety of your drinking water. For those with well water, the EPA has easy-to-use contaminant tables so you can check your results against acceptable standards for safe drinking water.

While testing strips are easy to use and read, getting accurate results is a little more than meets the eye. If you want to maximize the effectiveness of your water quality testing kit, follow these tips today:

Water quality testing tips

1. Read the directions.
2. Don’t open testing strips until you’re ready.
3. Wash your hands first.
4. Keep a timer nearby.
5. Use cold water.
6. Pour carefully.

It’s also worthwhile to plan on getting a second opinion, especially if your water testing kit turns up any glaringly high levels. You can start with a basic, inexpensive kit like the ones recommended below and then plan on following up with professional testing through a lab if the results are concerning.