A visitor from Australia recently asked, "Do you have a kit that will test levels of glyphosate?"

Hello, and thank you for your inquiry. If memory serves us correctly, glyphosate typically makes its way into the soil and water by way of commercially available herbicides like Roundup.  For those interested in learning more about glyphosate and its potentially harmful effects, please refer to the EPA's Glyphosate Fact Sheet.

As for whether or not we carry a simple test kit for glyphosate, regrettably, the pesticide/herbicide testing product we carry (WaterSafe Pesticides in Water Test Kit) tests only for atrazine and simazine.

A quick search online, however, turned up the following company that claims to have a test for glyphosate: www.abraxiskits.com/products/pesticides/.  We called Abraxis and found out that the testing procedures they offer require users to possess analytical testing skills and when asked if testing could take place in the field, they said, "Yes", but that one would need to set up a kind of miniature laboratory in the field.

We have often heard and seen people commenting on videos of areas affected by floods and criticizing the apparent lack of effort shown by flood victims trapped on roofs of buildings and cars to get to safety.

Please allow us to take a brief departure from our usual topics about water quality and drinking water to remind people of the dangers lurking in flood waters.

"Why don't people just SWIM to safety?  The water does not look THAT deep..."

• Flood waters contain an innumerable amount of biological hazards that if ingested, could easily render a person very sick and possibly dead in a matter of days.
• Flood waters contain an enormous amount of physical debris that could cut a person very badly.  Highly contaminated flood waters would then have easy access into a person's body through the open wound(s) and infection would quickly follow.
• Murky flood waters contain things like downed power lines, clothes lines, etc. that could easily snare or entangle a foot... and leave a person trapped in rising flood waters.
• Murky flood waters cover all sorts of ground features that may drastically affect the currents of flood water and highly unpredictable, sometimes violent flood water currents can drag a person under the water -- much like a rip current/tide at the beach.
• Flood waters conduct electricity just like 'regular' water and in times of disaster, the local power grid may flicker on and off sending unpredictable surges of power through downed power lines under the surface of murky flood waters.

We can think of a whole lot more reasons NOT to try and swim through flood waters, but we also think most of you get the point by now.  Flood waters contain an insane amount of contaminants, debris and dangers not always visible to the naked eye... so stay out of them if you can!

'Wade' asked, "What form(s) of iron do your tests detect (i.e., the test kits that include "iron" as one of the items tested for)?"

All of the combination test kits that include iron as a test parameter (COMPLETE, WaterWorks Well Water, SenSafe Water Quality Test Kit, WaterSafe Well Water, and WaterSafe City Water) detect iron in the form of Fe+2.

If you want to test for Total Iron (Fe+2 & Fe +3), then you would need to use the WaterWorks Visual Iron Test.

Iron in Drinking Water... a Health Hazard?

While iron in drinking water does not pose a serious enough threat to human health to get included in the EPA’s Primary Drinking Water Standards list, iron in drinking water can create a host of problems for people in the form of unwanted staining, unpleasant tasting water, discolored water, and clog forming iron deposits.

Can I use a water softener to remove iron?

Despite what some folks may tell you (while trying to sell you a water softener), you should notattempt to use a water softener as a line of defense against iron in water. The iron will clog the softener and cause the unit to need much more frequent regeneration, backwashing and service visits — all of which wind up costing YOU more money.

For more information on why you should not use a water softener as a filter for iron we suggest taking a look at an article called Can I Use My Water Softener as an Iron Filter?… and then definitely do not try to use your water softener as an iron filter.

We recently received a question from 'Barbara' who asked, "I need to test for organophosphates, organochlorides, herbicides and pyrethroids. I'm not sure if these are in water or the air or both."

WaterSafe manufactures a basic home water test kit for Atrazine and Simazine, but for the most part the compounds Barbara asked about require laboratory analysis and cannot get tested for at home using basic test kits.

Companies like National Testing Laboratories offer mail-in water testing services that may detect those sorts of compounds, though, or you can contact your local health department and they may know of a local water lab with those testing capabilities.

The process of periodically “flushing” fire hydrants serves as preventative maintenance to protect the integrity of water systems and helps them continuously deliver high quality water to customers.  A downside to hydrant flushing involves the possibility of temporary discoloration of water in the immediate area where hydrants get flushed.

What discolors the water when hydrants get flushed?

Discoloration usually contains harmless precipitates (solids) which had previously settled in low volume areas of a water system.  Flushing the hydrants drastically increases flow through those areas and causes them to become suspended in the water.  As a general rule they do not affect the safety of the water and if your water does become discolored as a result of hydrant flushing, simply run all water faucets inside your home until the water clears.

If for some reason the water does not clear in a reasonable period of time, then definitely contact your water company or Department of Public Works.

Do the public need to prepare for hydrant flushing?

As at any other time of the year, do not park within 36 or so inches of a hydrant and make sure to clear out any objects in the vicinity of hydrants.  Whether for flushing or in time of emergency, nothing ought to obstruct the fire department's access to water hydrants.

An email from 'Stephanie' earlier this week asked, "I want to test chlorine in my home drinking and tap water. Can you steer me to best strips for this? I've been told that Total Chlorine strips are what I need. Would the Sensafe strips be a good choice? Any others you would recommend?"

Thank you for the inquiry,Stephanie, and your question has more than one answer:

• If your municipal (i.e. city, tap, or public) water system uses free chlorine as the primary sanitizer, then you would want to use either the SenSafe Free Chlorine Test Strip (detects only free chlorine) or the WaterWorks 2 Free & Total Chlorine Test Strip (detects free chlorine and total chlorine).
  
  The advantage of the latter is that it allows you to subtract the free chlorine value from the total chlorine value to get the chloramine concentration in your water.
  
• If your municipal (i.e. city, tap, or public) water system uses chloramines as the primary sanitizer, then you would want to use the SenSafe Total Chlorine Test Strip (detects only total chlorine) product.

Note: The USEPA set the maximum allowable amount of chlorine in a public water system at 4mg/L (4 ppm).

Why do some municipalities prefer to use chloramines over free chlorine?

In a free chlorine water system the free chlorine molecules vigorously attack biological contaminants and become entangled with them as a result... and become chloramines.  During that process compounds known as disinfection byproducts (DBP's) also get created and science has shown that exposure to DBP's results in an increased risk of certain types of cancer.

Because of the elevated cancer risk associated with exposure to DBP's, the USEPA has set limits on the amount allowed in publicly distributed water.

Can homeowners test for disinfection byproducts?

At this time no simple, at-home test kit exists but homeowners can use local water lab services or the mail-in water testing services offered by companies like National Testing Laboratories.

It gets no simpler than this: You can save 10% on your next Water Test Kit Store order using discount code WATERWEDNESDAY10

Many of us take for granted that access to clean water will continue forever but in reality events that alter water quality around the world happen much, much more often than they should -- and many happen right in our own backyards!

 *** Some folks say, "My water looks and smells just fine..."

Always a good start, but many truly unwanted drinking water contaminants lack odor, lack color, and lack discernible taste at concentrations capable of causing health problems.

 *** Other folks say, "We never had any problems in the past..."

A long track record of having safe, clean drinking water certainly deserves praise and a hearty 'Thank You', but it does not mean changes in water quality cannot occur now or in the future.  Most places where a chemical spill takes place probably never had water quality issues before the spill -- and due to the sneaky nature of some individuals and companies, not all chemical spills get reported in a timely manner... or AT ALL in some cases.

 *** We have heard folks say, "Why should we worry about water quality? The Government does that stuff..."

Although the government seems to enjoy getting its paws into many aspects of our lives whenever it has a chance, if you have a private well no government agency will come out to test your well water.  Ever.  Responsibility for the quality of water coming from a private water well falls squarely on the shoulders of the well owner.

 *** Folks have said to us, "We don't need to worry because we have city water..."

More than likely, hundreds of miles of piping exist between the water treatment plant and your house.  Foreign matter has the opportunity to enter the waterways at any point along the path and the older the water infrastructure, the greater the possibility of that happening.  Plus some older water systems used components containing lead which can leach into the water supply over time.

 *** And in closing, WE say, "It's your water, your health, and ultimately... your LIFE!"

The other day we received a question from an Amazon.Com customer who asked, "After 24 hours at 35 deg C the solution stayed yellow but became turbid rather than completely clear. Is this still a negative test?"

We contacted the manufacturer of the Coliform Bacteria Test and learned the following: As long as the water sample did not turn blue and none of the suspended particles exhibited any blue specks or blue color, then the sample can be considered negative for coliform bacteria.

Our Two Cents on Ambiguous Test Results in General...

While statistically the results of a semi-ambiguous water test indicating the absence of coliform bacteria (as in the case above) more than likely mean the water is considered safe, we suggest retesting and taking greater care during the sampling procedure... just to err on the safe side.

Then, if results still seem a little on the odd side, we suggest contacting a local water testing laboratory and having them conduct the test.  If no labs in your area perform such services, then companies like National Testing Laboratories who offer mail-in testing services can usually assist.

Recently we heard from a gentleman who asked, "Hello I need a recommendation on what test kit I would need to use for my situation. I have a load of Manure from Rabbits that I want to use in the garden. The manure is mixed with sawdust which I am suspicious of possibly being CCA I could carefully pick out enough os the dust for testing. I need to know if a wood test kit or soil test kit is best for me? Please include any item numbers and info that will help with my issue. Thank You"

When it comes to interest in arsenic testing, all that speculation about arsenic in wine has really turned things up a notch!

Good morning, and thank you for your inquiry.

All of the Arsenic Quick Test Kits share the same basic chemistry. In the case of soil versus wood, the main difference would lie in the testing procedure.

If you believe you can effectively separate out the sawdust (which does NOT sound like fun...), then we would suggest using the wood testing procedure.

Keep in mind that Arsenic Quick Test Kits did not get designed with your unique situation in mind so we really cannot tell you definitively whether or not Arsenic Quick will work for you, but, we lean more toward thinking it should work based on experiences other users of the product have had when testing non-water samples similar in nature to wood and soil.

We wish you luck in your testing adventures and sincerely hope you where gloves when handling the manure!  Yuck!

We'd like to wish Mike, the guy who started Water Testing Blog & Water Test Kit Store, a happy 43rd birthday and in honor of his getting OLDER today, save 15% on all water testing products in either of the stores by using discount code MIKE43.

And so, to recap the day's announcements thus far...

• Water Testing Blog & Water Test Kit Store owner Mike turns for today.  He's not upset about it, but he's not jumping for joy, either.  Can people his age even jump?  ;)
  
• YOU get to save 15% on all products by using discount code MIKE43 at www.WaterTestKitStore.com & Shop.WaterTestingBlog.Com because....
  
  Mike got older today!

Happy Birthday, Mike!  We hope you don't fire us when you read this posting! No, seriously.  Please don't fire us!  :)