As many of you already know, the Federal Government lowered the ‘acceptable’ level of free-dissolved arsenic in drinking water served by public/municipal water systems from 50ppb to 10ppb.  But, did you know this decision had little to no effect or bearing on private well owners?

Why is that?  Simple:  No laws require that their owners test them for continued water quality once they get approved for use.  That means a well which passed muster for arsenic (and other contaminants) three years ago may now contain dangerous levels of contaminants and no one knows it.

What can a private well owner do?  They COULD send their water out for laboratory analysis, which could cost them a pretty penny OR they could pick up an easy-to-use, accurate field test kit for arsenic in water like this:

Arsenic Quick Home Water Quality Test Kit

The kit above has a detection range of 0.0, 0.005, 0.01, 0.02, 0.06, 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, >0.5, >0.5 ppm (mg/L) and you may also use this kit for determining the arsenic concentration of soil. With a total test time of just 12 minutes, this inexpensive (< $30 USD) home water test kit makes testing well water for arsenic with EPA/ETV Test Verified Performance accuracy as easy as it will ever get.

Also, for those of you interested in testing down to even lower levels, you ought to look at these other easy-to-use, field-ready home water test kits for arsenic.  Each shares the same reliability and accuracy as the above kit and uses the same proven chemistry.

• Arsenic Ultra-Low Quick II — 0.0, 0.3, 0.7, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, 3.0, 3.5, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 13, 20, <20 ppb (micrograms/L)
• Arsenic Quick II — <1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 13, 20, 25, 30, 40, >50, >80, >120, >160 ppb (micrograms/L)
• Arsenic Low-Range Quick — <0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 12, >20, >30, > 50 ppb (micrograms/L)

For those with more extensive testing needs, all the above kits (and more) come in larger sizes. Find more information on the full line of Arsenic Quick test kits. . . Here. When placing your order, please be sure to let them know where ya’ found their information, OK?

In reponse to recent emails, we will re-visit the topic of free chlorine versus combined chlorine and how they both relate to total chlorine:

(Free Chlorine) + (Combined Chlorine) = (Total Chlorine)

Free Chlorine: Typically your main sanitizing/disinfecting agent and sometimes referred to as ‘available chlorine’. In most cases people try to keep a free chlorine residual in their water to act as a buffer against biological contaminants. Chemically speaking this is the amount of hypochlorous acid and hypochlorite ion in solution. find free chlorine test strips

Combined Chlorine: The resulting compound when free chlorine molecules interact with biological contaminants containing Nitrogen which most people refer to as ‘chloramines’. You could also refer to combined chlorine as ‘used free chlorine’, but keep in mind that it still does have the abiity to act as a sanitizer/disinfectant… just not nearly as effectively.  find total chlorine test strips

Total Chlorine: The sum of all free, ‘available’, combined, and ‘used’ chlorine in solution.  find total chlorine test strips

In most places a well must get ‘approved for use’ by a certified laboratory before a home or business owner may begin drawing water from it. Also, in a lot of places, a property cannot change hands without a certified test proving that the well intended to provide the property with water does not contain coliform bacteria or other harmful things.

But, did you know that in many states, once a well recieves the official ‘OK’ from a certified lab, they do not have to get check again — possibly EVER? Most states do NOT require well owners to have their water tested once it passes an initial test and all responsibility for illness, death or disease caused by the consumption of water from that well falls on the shoulders of the well owner.

As a general rule, Health Officials and Water Quality Professionals ’suggest’ that well owners test their own well water (or have it tested) at least once a year.

Why do health officials and organizations suggest well water testing on a yearly basis?

The level of water in the aquifer where a well draws its water from changes frequently with large amounts of rainfall or extended periods of drought. As it changes it possibly picks up new contaminants that form when certain types of rock either get exposed to oxygen or, in some cases, water for the first time in a long time.

As an example, Free Dissolved Arsenic can enter an aquifer after igneous (volcanic) rock gets covered back up by water after exposure to oxygen during a previous period of drought. A well owner would not know of a potentially harmful arsenic level in their well water unless they tested for arsenic periodically.

Can Well Owners Test Their Own Well Water Accurately and Easily?

Absolutely! Innovations in test strip technology from companies like Industrial Test Systems, Inc. have made at-home well water testing as simple as dipping a strip in a sample of the well water, removing it, waiting a few seconds for colors to develop, and then comparing the color(s) of the test pad(s)/area(s) on a provided color chart.

A great example of such a simple, do-it-yourself, at-home well water test kit goes by the name of Well Water Check Home Test Kit and it contains (2) tests for Iron, (2) tests for Total Hardness, (2) tests for pH, and (2) tests for Nitrogen/Nitrite as Nitrogen. (see below)

Well Water Check Home Test Kit

For those who want to dig a little deeper into the quality of their well water, the WaterWorks^TM 9-Way Test Kit quickly and accurately reports results for pH, Total Alkalinity, Nitrate/Nitrite as Nitrogen, Total Hardness, Free Chlorine, Total Chlorine, Iron, and Copper. (see below)

WaterWorks^TM 9-Way Home Well Water Test Kit

Still looking to test a few more parameters? The COMPLETE Water Test Kit offers well owners the ability to quickly and accurately test for Bacteria, Nitrates, Nitrites, Hydrogen Sulfide, Total Hardness, Total Alkalinity, Total Chlorine, Free Chlorine, Chloride, Copper, Sulfate, Iron, and pH. COMPLETE Water Test Kit gives its users rapid, comprehensive water test results at an affordable cost — MSRP of around $25 USD. (see below)

COMPLETE Home Well Water Test Kit

And finally, for the well water testing fanatic who wants to test their own well water as thoroughly as possible without having to buy electronic meters and/or send their well water out for certified laboratory analysis, you have the recently released Water Quality Test Kit. It may have a simple name, but it packs a powerful well water testing punch: 2) tests for Iron, (2) tests for Copper, (2) tests for Chloride, (2) tests for Nitrate/Nitrite as Nitrogen, (2) tests for Total Chlorine, (2) tests for Total Hardness, (2) tests for Free Chlorine, (2) tests for Sulfate, (2) tests for pH, (2) tests for Total Alkalinity, (2) tests for Hydrogen Sulfide, (1) Pesticide in Water test, (1) Lead in Water test, and (1) 48 Hour Presence/Absence test for Coliform Bacteria. If you’re looking for a do-it-all, do-it-yourself home water test that won’t break the bank, you should definitely take a long look at the aptly named Water Quality Test Kit — MSRP of around $40 USD.

Home Well Water Quality Test Kit

So there you have it, folks. . . Several fast, accurate and easy ways to test the quality of your water that won’t break the bank or require you to break out your old high school Chemistry books or borrow one of your children’s Chemistry books.

As usual, we suggest you visit the United States Environmental Protection Agency Safe Drinking Water for a detailed list of acceptable contaminant levels in potable water. We have also taken the liberty of posting/linking both the Primary Drinking Water Standards and Secondary Drinking Water Standards on this site.

Although municipalities typically keep tight watch over the quality of water they pump out to consumers, sometimes other factors between the water plant and your faucet may affect the end product they drink, bathe in, and cook with.

End users (consumers) of water supplied by the city may want to periodically check the quality of the water they get from their water company.

Testing the water water quality at your home, office, school or other place of interest does NOT have to cost a fortune, though, as some water service professionals would have you believe.  While nothing takes the place of certified laboratory testing, simple, do-it-yourself home water quality test kits offer fast results at a fraction of the cost and can alert consumers to the fact that they may want to consider having their water examined by a certified laboratory.

Examples of Home Water Test Kits

4 in 1 City Water Check

4 in 1 City Water Check The 4-in-1 City Water Check home water test kit gives fast, accurate water test results for four major parameters often looked at in city (or municipally) treated drinking water: pH, Total Alkalinity, Total Chlorine, and Total Hardness. The test takes less than 30 seconds to perform and requires no technical training. more information

WaterWorksTM 5-Way

WaterWorksTM 5-Way The WaterWorksTM 5-Way home water test kit gives fas, accurate and reliable results for Free Chlorine, Total Chlorine, pH, Total Alkalinity, and Total Hardness – all on the same strip. Test time takes less than 30 seconds and makes use of a single dip-and-read procedure so no technical training is required to perform the test. Packageed in bottles of 50 or as individually foil-wrapped test strips, the WaterWorksTM 5-Way home water test kit makes test your city/municipal water both simple and affordable. more information

WaterWorksTM 9-Way

WaterWorksTM 9-Way The WaterWorksTM 9-Way Test Kit quickly and accurately reports results for pH, Total Alkalinity, Nitrate/Nitrite as Nitrogen, Total Hardness, Free Chlorine, Total Chlorine, Iron, and Copper. All tests come packaged individually to reduce risk of strip contamination. Short test times, easy-to-follow instructions and clear color charts make this highly sensitive and extremely cost-effective home water test kit a must-have for homeowners interested in the quality of their water more information

COMPLETE Water Test Kit

COMPLETE Water Test Kit The COMPLETE Water Test Kit offers homeowners the ability to quickly and accurately test for Bacteria, Nitrates, Nitrites, Hydrogen Sulfide, Total Hardness, Total Alkalinity, Total Chlorine, Free Chlorine, Chloride, Copper, Sulfate, Iron, and pH. COMPLETE Water Test Kit gives its users rapid, comprehensive water test results at an affordable cost — MSRP of around $25 USD. more information

Water Quality Test Kit

Water Quality Test Kit With a name as simple and easy to understand as Water Quality Test Kit, you know getting accurate water test results won’t take long. This comprehensive, yet affordable, home water test kit contains the following tests: (2) tests for Iron, (2) tests for Copper, (2) tests for Chloride, (2) tests for Nitrate/Nitrite as Nitrogen, (2) tests for Total Chlorine, (2) tests for Total Hardness, (2) tests for Free Chlorine, (2) tests for Sulfate, (2) tests for pH, (2) tests for Total Alkalinity, (2) tests for Hydrogen Sulfide, (1) Pesticide in Water test, (1) Lead in Water test, and (1) 48 Hour Presence/Absence test for Coliform Bacteria. If you’re looking for a do-it-all, do-it-yourself home water test that won’t break the bank, you should definitely take a long look at the perfectly named Water Quality Test Kit — MSRP of around $40 USD. more information

For a more advanced water test kit which uses instrumentation (i.e. a meter, colorimeter, etc.), please take a look at the eXact EZ meter. Its simple operation, water resistant construction and versatility make it a great tool to have in the field when accuracy, reliability and fast test results matter.

UPDATE: A new meter called the “eXact Micro 7+” came out at the beginning of 2009 and boasts the abilty to test for more than 25 different water quality parameters — which include Total Alkalinity, Bromine, Calcium Hardness, Free Chlorine, Total Chlorine, Copper, Ozone, Permanganate, pH, Ammonia, Chloride/Salt, Chlorine Dioxide, Chromium Hexavalent, Cyanuric Acid, Iodine, Iron, Low Range Total Hardness, Manganese, Nitrate, Nitrite, Acid pH, Alkali pH, Potassium, Sulfate, Sulfide, and Turbidity. Click here for additional information on this new, highly practical water quality testing meter called the eXact Micro 7+.

Everyone knows that water has the potential to carry a great number of things that can make us sick.  Water makes its way around the world picking up bacteria, man-made chemicals and other nasty things. . . but did you know that it also picks up and transfers metals that can cause birth defects, premature birth of babies, life-threatening conditions in adults, and other problems?

What metals could do all that?  Scientists debate that question quite often, but the point of the matter is that you don’t want ANY of the metals, debated or otherwise, in your water.

Sources of Metal Contamination in Drinking Water:

Metals find their way into your water supply in a number of ways.  While the water may have left its source (well, city reservoir, etc.) w/o metals in it, the instant it touched ANY metal it automatically picked up some ions — especially if you have an alkaline or acidic water condition.

Even if you think your house has all (new) PVC fittings and piping, keep in mind that your water provider does not use PVC piping to run the water from itself to your doorstep.  Oh, and those metal fittings called ‘faucets’ and the screens inside them contain metal as well. (reference)

So as you can see, consumers ought to consider doing a general test for metal ions their drinking water.  Critters such as aluminum, lead, cadmium and so forth can pop up from a number of sources and according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency and Health Professionals worldwide, people need to limit the amounts of metals they ingest.

Simple Test for Metals in Water:

Just a few short years ago consumers had to rely upon the ‘wisdom’ and ‘training’ of water system consultants (salesmen!) to tell them if they had metals in their drinking water. . . or they could shell out some serious dough and send their water off to a local lab for a complete and thorough analysis — which would tell them more information than they needed, yet probably wouldn’t tell them anything they could use to decide if they had problems with their water.

Thankfully those days have come to an end.  Consumers now have the option of testing their own drinking water for metals at a cost they can afford, and with an amount of ease they can tolerate.  A simple dip-n-read test strip for metals in water that detects levels as low as 10 ppb (typically RO water is at this level or lower) and as high as 1,000 ppb (1 ppm) is readily available from a number of vendors.

While SenSafe(TM) Water Metals Check will not tell you what metals you have, it does let you know that you may have a reason to have your water looked at by a water industry professional.

Testing for Specific Metals in Drinking Water

For those wishing to test for specific metals in their drinking water, please use the links below to locate information about ion-specific metals in water test kits:

• Arsenic in Water
• Chromium in Water 
• Copper in Water
• Iron in Water
• Lead in Water
• Manganese in Water
• Mercury in Water

Some people think fresh, clean fruits and vegetables grow on trees and that water purity has no effect on its quality. OK, so we exaggerated a bit, but you’ll get over it.

In areas where water does not freely fall from the sky at produce growers’ commands, long lines of pipe and hose run deep into the hearts of crop fields so that all the plants may drink… water.

For the most part, all fruits and vegetables sprout up from, and spend most of their life in and around dirt, mud, dust and soil — until they get picked and thrown in bins for ‘processing’. At that point they get washed off with… water mixed with various sanitizers/disinfectants such as ozone, chlorine, chlorine dioxide and quaternary ammonia.

Then, once the produce reaches a packing house, and before the fruits and vegetables get chopped, sliced, diced, cubed, quartered and/or canned, they get thoroughly washed with… water containing sanitizers/disinfectants and then rinsed one more time with pure… water so that they have no traces of the potentially harmful (if ingested) sanitizers/disinfectants left on them.

So there you have it, folks. Water plays an integral part of the produce lifecycle. Therefore, do you not think it important to monitor the quality of the water used to clean, rinse and process your produce?

So What Parameters Typically Get Tested?

Total Hardness — Very important for any farming or agricultural activity where water gets distributed via some sort of irrigation/watering system. High hardness levels can lead to deposits forming in the nozzles and over time the nozzles may become completely clogged. Find total hardness test strips

pH — Some folks question the importance of monitoring pH but ask people who grow grapes used for the production of wine and you’ll discover that variances in pH affect the taste of a grape dramatically… and that changes the taste and drinkability of the wine. Find pH test strips

Sanitizers/Disinfectants — At the washing stage produce handlers test their water to make sure it contains enough sanitizers/disinfectants. Then, at the rinsing stage, they test their water again to make certain the produce does not have any sanitizer/disinfectant residual on it. The presence of leftover chemical cleaning agents on the produce would lead to premature spoiling. Find chlorine test strips, ozone test strips, chlorine dioxide test strips and peroxide test strips.

Stay tuned for upcoming blog postings on water quality testing and the food processing industry! You won’t want to miss ‘em — especially if you like MEAT!

RALEIGH, NC – A day care worker was arrested Wednesday night and accused of leaving a 1-year-old in bleach.

Shannon Rae Duncan Carter, 27, of 4220 Hunnicutt Drive was charged by Raleigh police with a misdemeanor count of child abuse.

Carter was working at the Beacon Christian School at 3933 New Bern Ave. on April 20 when she was changing a 1-year-old girl, said Jim Sughrue, spokesman for the Raleigh Police Department.

The changing table had a bleach mixture on it, and the infant’s clothes became damp with the bleach, Sughrue said.

Police think Carter left the clothes on the child. The baby’s parents noticed that the color had seeped out of the clothes and the bleach caused a minor irritation on the baby’s arm. Carter declined to comment when reached Thursday evening.

Source: Story obtained from North Carolina Licensed Child Care Association web site on April 16, 2008

Why Did We Post This?

This tragic event should NEVER have happened. If workers at that facililty had followed the guidelines set forth by the North Carolina. . .

“As of January 1, 2006, all daycare centers in the State of North Carolina must have the ability to test the chlorine content in both their sanitizing and disinfecting solutions. Previously the law stated that they had to test only the chlorine concentration in their sanitizing solutions.” — simplyfrogg.com/water-quality

That child would not have gotten injured in the way it did if the workers had properly monitored chlorine levels in their cleaning solution(s) with a simple, inexpensive and easy-to-use test like the Chlorine Check Ultra High II test strip.

Approved by the NCLCCA for use in child care facilities in North Carolina, the Chlorine Check Ultra High II test strip quickly and accurately tells users the amount of chlorine in parts per million (ppm) their cleaning solutions contain in just over 1 minute.

Aside from helping to protect children and child care workers from accidental exposure to dangerous levels of chlorine in wash/cleaning solutions, the Chlorine Check Ultra High II test strip makes things more convenient by having the ability to check chlorine concentrations in both sanitizing AND disinfecting solutions.

For more information on purchasing this product, visit the FilterWater.Com Web Site. . . and don’t forget to tell’em The Water Testing Blog sent ya’!

A reagent (chemical) known affectionately as DPD has reigned supreme as the ‘best’ way to test for the presence of free or total chlorine in water for quite a while now. What most folks don’t know is that someone has FINALLY found a way to make using DPD cost-effective and convenient.

DPD ReagentStrips: Looks like a test strip, but functions like a totally convenient way to precisely administer measured amounts of DPD into a 10 mL water sample. All the reagents, buffers and indicators come neatly impregnated on the pads at the end of an ergonomic PVC strip. Simply swish the pads around in your sample for 20 seconds, remove the strip, throw it away, and read your sample in your preferred colorimeter. DPD ReagentStrips fall under the guidelines of EPA Compliance and may be used in place of all other DPD methods. . . and they don’t require MSDS.

Also, at approximately $0.08 per test (USD), the DPD ReagentStrips make staying in strict compliance with EPA guidelines for chlorine detection quite affordable.

Previously, DPD came in one of three forms: powder pillow, tablet or liquid. Each has its benefits. . . and each has its downfalls.

Powder Pillow: The most popular form of DPD. Precise amounts of the reagent come in single-dose foil ‘pouches’ that the user tears open and pours into their sample. Sounds like a great idea, yes, but try using these things in a ‘wet’ or windy environment. Anyone who works in the field will know what that means. MSDS required.

Liquid DPD: Cheap as can be, but with that inexpensive price comes an incredibly short shelf-life compared to other DPD delivery systems. MSDS required.

DPD Tablets: Very inexpensive, very stable. Great way to deliver exact amounts of DPD into samples, except for one small problem: DPD tablets do not dissolve smoothly or easily in cold or hard water. In either type of water, DPD tablets typically leave undissolved solids floating in the sample and in colorimeters, these can lead to erroneous readings.

Fast Dissolving DPD Tablets: Same as above, but they can leave other materials in the sample: Elements of the binding agent which held the tablets together prior to immersion in the sample.

So as you can see, older methods of DPD delivery have met their match. For more information and even to receive free samples of the DPD ReagentStrips, check out the Industrial Test Systems, Inc. web site. This is one free and total chlorine testing innovation you don’t want to miss out on!

UPDATE: For certain free chlorine testing applications, states now have the ability to approve the use of EPA Approved SenSafe(tm) Free Chlorine Check test strips. Please consult with your State and/or Local Health Departments to see if your State has approved their use. Benefits include faster test times and no monochloramine interference.