Right now we know of only two test kits that the general public can make use of to test the fluoride content of their water: 1) National Testing Labs Fluoride Test Kit (mail-in); 2) eXact Micro 7+ Water Testing Meter (w/ fluoride reagent).

Why test for fluoride?

While many people in positions of authority believe fluoride a great additive for the public water supply, many others see it as a dangerous poison capable of doing massive damage to the population if no one monitors its levels.

Also, some people have severe, and sometimes fatal, allergic reactions to fluoride.

Moral of the story?

No matter what side of the fluoride Great Fluoride Debate you may find yourself, the fact remains that small amounts of fluoride can have beneficial effects on teeth and too much fluoride can harm a person over time.

Therefore, like any other water supply additives that serve a purpose (i.e. chlorine used to disinfect drinking water), we believe its concentration need to stay on the radar of water treatment operators at all times.

1. Bill wants to test the fluoride level in his water before it goes into his water filter. As awe have said time and time again, without a baseline scan of your water’s quality you will undoubtedly run the risk of selecting the incorrect tools for cleaning up your water.

2. Then, Bill wants to test the fluoride levels in the water after it leaves his water filter to make sure the filter did its job. Continual monitoring of one’s filtered water quality gives real-time performance data on one’s chosen water improvement device(s).

Enough of our words, though, and let’s here from Bill himself: “I am looking for a fluoride test–I am installing a filter to remove fluoride–and want to know what levelis presecn Please advise–the page on your website says to use the eXact Micro 7+ Water Testing Meter but the product description says nothing about it being used for fluoride”

None of us here at Water Testing Blog have control over the content posted on the sites of merchants who sell the eXact Micro 7+ water testing meter… but we can assure you that the meter does have the ability to test for fluoride in drinking water.

As a direct result of your inquiry, Bill, we checked on the meter manufacturer’s web site for the current version of the eXact Micro 7+ water testing meter manual and on page 19 of the document you will find instructions on how to use their meter to test fluoride levels in drinking water.

As of 8/17/11, the date contained in the manual’s file name, the eXact Micro 7+ detects levels of fluoride in water as low as 0.1 ppm and as high as 1.1 ppm. As with any test procedure, use of proper dilution techniques would allow for the quantification of higher fluoride levels if needed.

Keep in mind, though, that the basic eXact Micro 7+ kit does not come with the necessary fluoride reagent strips. You will find those, along with many other optional reagentstrips for testing a bunch of other water quality parameters listed on the eXact Micro 7+ ReagentStrip page.

Sas your answer regarding chlorine not lasting long with the answer being that liquid chlorine without a stablizer was probably the problem. I’m using powdered shock and put 2 pounds in last night at 10 PM. This morning at 6 AM, there was just a trace of chlorine. I don’t want to empty the pool in the middle of the season, so can I use conditioner to make the chlorine last longer? Thank you.

Thank you for your question, JerseyGuy. Many of the powdered (also called granular) shocks on the market have calcium as their base and do not possess stabilizer. For that reason the situation you described where 2 pounds of shock literally vanished overnight makes sense… providing you have not added chlorine stabilizer to the water at some point.

If you have not added any stabilizer (cyanuric acid) this year, then certainly putting some in now should help you maintain a healthy chlorine residual in your pool water.

If, on the other hand, you have added chlorine stabilizer and still cannot maintain a healthy chlorine level, you either have an abundance of contaminants in the water that require your chlorine’s immediate attention or you may not have enough chlorine stabilizer in the water.

Testing for Chlorine Stabilizer?

Several different test methods for cyanuric acid exist: 1) Wet Kits; 2) Test Strips; 3) Water Testing Meters.

• Wet Kits for Stabilizer Testing: Test kits of this nature use a chemical reagent that reacts with chlorine stabilizer to create a white substance in test samples which makes the water turbid and difficult to see through. Analysts then measure chlorine stabilizer levels as a function of turbidity.
• Test Strips for Stabilizer Testing: Test kits of this sort use a small piece of chemically impregnated cloth which changes color in the presence of cyanuric acid. Analysts then measure chlorine stabilizer levels as a function of change in color.

• Meters for Stabilizer Testing: These devices typically use the same principles as wet kits for determining cyanuric acid levels in pool water samples except the meter interprets turbidity levels instead of analysts taking the measurements. Given the very subjective nature of quantifying turbidity in a sample, meters generally tend to give more accurate and repeatable results.

So, JerseyGuy, if you have clear water at this time and still cannot maintain a proper chlorine residual, first we suggest determining if you have any stabilizer already in your water. Then we suggest bringing the level up to around 30 or 40 parts per million.

We hope this helps!

“Do they make meters for pool testing that regular people can afford? Last yr our poolguy had a meter and I asked him how much it cost. He told me one thousand and some change. He lie to me so I would not go get one and he loses a customer?”

Wow. Interesting situation, right? Personally we’d have fired the guy for telling an outlandish lie. Yeah, sure, SOME equipment used to test pool water MAY cost upwards of a thousand dollars or more, but would the average pool maintenance person REALLY spend that kind of money? We doubt it.

We suggest, Lassie, that you take a look at the eXact Micro 7+ Pool Water Testing Meter… which costs well under a thousand dollars, by the way. 😛

Combining the reliability and repeatability of a photometer w/ the dependability of proven chemistry methods such as DPD (for chlorine testing) and phenol red (for pH testing), the eXact Micro 7+ Pool Testing Meter puts the power of accurate water testing into the hands of the people who need it most: pool owners.

A definite advantage offered by this particular pool meter: Versatility. The pool testing meter tests for 7 critical pool water parameters directly and with the use of a conversion chart and correct reagentstrip it can test for a number of other water parameters, as well.

What comes in pool water test kit?

In the basic kit you will find everything you need to test for free chlorine, total chlorine, pH, calcium hardness, total alkalinity, dissolved copper, and cyanuric acid.

Unfortunately, as you will see, Gordon neglected to tell us which ammonia test kit he purchased, though we suspect he has one of the eXact Micro 7+ meters from the makers of SenSafe and WaterWorks water testing products.

I have revision 08/26/09 booklet and have just pouchased some ammonia test kits but my instructions do not cover the use of the added liquid, how can I get an up to date insrtuction booklet.

Thanks

If we guessed correctly, then Gordon needs to take a look at this page because it contains a link to the newest version of the manual for the eXact Micro 7+.

Take a look at page 12 in particular, Gordon. Best of luck in all your water testing adventures!