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The Water Test Kit Store: Latest News on Friday, September 7th 2018 under: Uncategorized
Earlier this week 'Justy' asked, "Our water got tested by a guy trying to sell us a water filtration system for our home and he did a bunch of tests. One test showed we had way too much chlorine he said and is that true? The number he read was like 2 or 3 parts per something. We didn't end up buying from him because he seemed shady but is our water really dangerous like he said?"
Thank you for the inquiry, Justy, and also for helping illustrate an important point: Water filter salespeople have one objective and that is to sell you a water filter. The testing they perform in a person's home has no other purpose than to visually 'show' a potential customer that their water has problems. We suggest having water tested by an independent party not looking to sell water filters when a person considers whether or not they should invest in a water filter.
Getting back to the question at hand and the actual reason for this article, the United States Environmental Protection Agency has determined that water distributed by a public water system may not contain more than 4 parts per million (ppm) chlorine. That means if a water treatment facility realizes the water it produces contains greater than 4 ppm total chlorine the facility must immediately take steps to reduce the total chlorine level until it gets back at or below 4 ppm.
Can Homeowners Test for Chlorine?
Absolutely, and easily too! Products like the SenSafe Free Chlorine Water Check (MPN 481026) make testing for free chlorine a quick and painless process while the SenSafe Total Chlorine (MPN 480010) water testing product makes testing for total chlorine a quick and painless process.
Additionally, both meet EPA guidelines for water quality monitoring and neither test involved the use of powders, tablets or require counting drops of reagents.
What About Traditional DPD Tablets?
Many municipalities and some pool water testing kits use DPD Test Tablets for chlorine testing. Test methods employing the use of DPD involve dissolving the DPD tablet in a pre-measured volume of water (usually 10 mL) and comparing the color of the resulting sample color to a color chart or placing the sample into a meter for analysis.
Looking for DPD-1? You can find it in our other store here: DPD-1 Test Tablets for 10mL Samples
Easier DPD Method?
Frequent users of DPD complained that traditional methods took too long to dissolve (tablets), made messes (liquids) and/or were difficult to use in windy areas (powders). A product called the DPD ReagentStrip which practically eliminated all those problems.
Learn more about the DPD ReagentStrip on this page.