Many municipalities add some form of chlorine to disinfect the drinking water they distribute. The USEPA has ruled that municipalities may not distribute water containing greater than 4.0 ppm (parts per million) free or total chlorine. For information on the difference between free and total chlorine please visit this page on our site.

For those looking to find fast, easy ways to test free chlorine levels, total chlorine levels, and/or both, the following test strip kits will come in handy!

As you make your list and check it twice this Holiday Season, please give some thought to the idea of stuffing the stockings with simple at-home water test kits. They don’t cost a whole lot and they might prove a lot more useful in the long run than ANOTHER pair of ugly socks or some inane gift that you can grab off the end cap of your local convenience store.

Drinking water test kits can save lives. Ugly socks typically cannot do that. They may keep feet warm, though, on those long cold nights.

How much do you know about the abandoned properties a quarter mile in each direction of your well? Better yet, how much do you know about all of the properties under which your water flows before you pull it out your well and drink it?

Residents in one town recently, and quite accidentally, discovered that a property in their community may have leached harmful contaminants into their drinking water… and they would never have found out if someone had not put in a request to re-zone the property for a new use.

East Norwalk resident Rick Giordano on Monday delivered to City Hall a petition requesting groundwater testing for the area surrounding the former Norden Systems, Inc. property.

The petition delivery comes days before the city’s Zoning Commission is scheduled to vote on a major housing plan the eastern part of the site.

“The problems with polluted drinking wells and soil contamination came to light during the process of rezoning … (The property) was found to have been the source of chemical pollution,” said Giordano during a news conference at City Hall on Monday. “I’ve delivered a petition with almost 300 names from Norwalk and from Westport, requesting that water test and soil vapor tests be performed for the residents living within a quarter mile of NordenPark.” ( source )

So even if you have taken proper precautions such as not installing your well within 100 feet of a septic system, you cannot always know for sure that your well water contains no harmful contaminants.

Only regular water tests performed by a certified well water testing organization combined with spot checks using at-home drinking water test kits offers the kind of protection that may be required to make sure no unwanted bacteria or other contaminants have entered your private drinking well.