The other day we received a question from a reader in California who asked a question about free and total chlorine readings in what she called the ‘high range’.

I work at the front desk of a company that works on water lines and the guys are always complaining about ‘powder pillers’ and so today I finally asked what a ‘powder piller’ was. I learned two things today. One never ask a cranky engineer a question unless you know what your asking cuz they’re called POWDER PILLOWS and two the guys use them to test chlorine and they are a real pain to work with on a job. Do you have something else the guys can use cuz they REALLY don’t like those things nad they don’t test very high either it seems. Thanks for helping. MandyMandy113

A very interesting question, indeed, Mandy, and definitely one many people besides yourself probably would like to have answered — especially that cranky ‘ole engineer! He probably has spent years testing for free chlorine residual in water mains using DPD-Based test kits that require users to tear open a tiny foil packet and pour a pre-measured amount of reagent powder into a small test tube or vial.

Believe it or not, opening those small foil packets, often referred to as powder pillows, and pouring their contents into tiny openings using dirty, wet hands in cold, windy conditions really DOES take a lot of concentration and effort. Who knew, right?

So anyways, Mandy, other options do exist and they have a few bonuses they your co-workers, even the cranky ‘ole engineer, might appreciate. One option in particular even has approval by the EPA for use when testing the free chlorine residual in drinking water! See how he likes THEM apples. We think he will.

The SenSafe Free Chlorine Water Check test kit for free chlorine residuals in drinking water detects free chlorine residuals as low as 0.05 parts per million in a matter of seconds and requires the user to do nothing more than dip the strip into a sample, wait a few seconds, and compare the color on the test pad to a color chart.

Now before you say, “Oh great… a test strip…” let us remind you that the USEPA has thoroughly evaluated the SenSafe Free Chlorine Water Check test strips and found them more than adequate for testing free chlorine levels in municipal water supplies.

In the past test strips had color charts with hard to read colors, but this products stands as testament to the fact that times have changed and test strip technology has progressed quite far. See for yourself.

Many people (like several of the people here at Water Testing Blog) have difficulty telling the difference between different shades of colors with red in them so the fact that Free Chlorine Water Check uses a reagent that turns different shades of blue can really make a difference in how accurately a tester can interpret test results.

Testing higher levels of free chlorine

Since Mandy’s co-workers work on water lines, they most likely need to test for higher levels of chlorine (between 20 and 50 ppm) when flushing a new line or putting a repaired water line back in service. For testing like that they probably had to dilute samples 4 or 5 to 1 so they could get readable results with their dpd-based test kits. Not a fun task, especially since they would need to carry a supply of chlorine-free water with them to dilute their test samples.

As an alternative to diluting and testing with dpd reagents, SenSafe created a dip-n-read test strip that uses the same reagent as Free Chlorine Water Check, but has the ability to accurately detect up to 120 parts per million free chlorine w/ no monochloramine interference: WaterWorks Free Chlorine High Range.

We recently learned that the maker of SenSafe Water Test Kits has released a new version of the eXact Micro Meter Water Testing Kit that makes accurate chlorine testing with DPD-based chemistry easy for experienced testers and novices alike.

Introducing, for all your chlorine testing needs, the eXact Chlorine Photometer… a digital meter for testing chlorine that has a detection range of 0 to 11 parts per million for both free and total chlorine without the need for drop counting, crushing tablets or dissolving powders.

Using the same hardware platform as the eXact Micro 7+ Meter, this new kit comes with 100 tests for free chlorine (using DPD-1) and 100 tests for total chlorine (using DPD-4)

Aside from the 0.01 ppm resolution with +/- 0.02 ppm accuracy between 0.00 and 2.39 ppm chlorine and its high detection limit of 11 parts per million, the eXact Chlorine Photometer also offers a great deal of versatility for those who may want to test for other water quality parameters such as… Ammonia, Bromine, Chloride/Salt, Chlorine Dioxide, Chromium (in Hexavalent Form), Copper, Cyanuric Acid, Fluoride, Iodine, Iron, Low Range Total Hardness, Manganese, Nitrate, Nitrite, Ozone, Acid pH, Alkali pH, Potassium, Sulfate, Sulfide, and Turbidity.

If the need arises where you need, or want, to test for parameters other than free and total chlorine, simply pick up a bottle of the appropriate reagentstrip and follow the simple instructions in your meter’s manual.

Whether you need a basic test kit for chlorine & pH, a set of easy-to-use chlorine test strips, or an electronic chlorine testing meter, you will find the product to suit your testing needs on ChlorineTests.Com.

You can also find replacement reagents for several different chlorine test kits on ChlorineTests.Com, which naturally means you will find DPD tablets on the site for sure.

And now for a few basic chlorine testing facts:

• Test kits containing only OTO as their chlorine testing reagent will test for total chlorine only.

• Free chlorine testing requires DPD-1. Adding DPD-3 to the sample after adding DPD-1 allows a person to test for total chlorine.

• The USEPA has set the maximum contaminant level for chlorine in drinking water at 4.0ppm. This limit applies to both free chlorine levels and total chlorine levels.

• When testing for parameters other than chlorine, some test kits will require the use of chlorine eliminating agents such as sodium thiosulfate before testing can take place.

• Water containing the same amount of total chlorine as it does has very little or no free chlorine.

• The difference between the free chlorine level and the total chlorine level equals the chloramine concentration.

Why do you see a blog posting dealing with testing for lead in paint on a web site dedicated to water quality and water quality? Simple: The folks responsible for this site care about the health and safety of families and want them to live lead-free lives whenever possible.

Why should a family or person have to wonder whether or not the paint covering their furniture, window sills, radiators, walls, baseboards, etc. contains harmful lead when a simple, easy-to-use test kit for lead in paint like the LEADQuick Paint Home Test Kit contains 25 tests and each test takes only minutes to perform.

Using visual detection method which makes use of a new & improved red-green color development technology, LEADQuick Paint Home Test Kit detects the presence of lead on surfaces including wood, plaster, drywall, and metal.

The LEADQuick Paint Home Test Kit includes:

• 10 – Testing Tubes: Small polystyrene test tubes
• 1 – eXact® Reagent Acid-1 in a dropper bottle
• 1 – eXact® Reagent PB-2 in a dropper bottle
• 1 – eXact® Strip PB-3P bottle of 50 strips
• 1 – eXact® Strip PB-4 bottle of 25 strips
• 1 – Foam Test Tube Holder
• 1 – Instruction Manual
• 1 – Lead Paint Drywall ‘Standard’

While newer homes must pass certification tests prior to sale and may not contain lead-based paints, the law does not always require older homes that have passed down from family member to family member an/or as rental properties that have not changed owners in many years to comply with newer lead regulations.

Testing for Lead in Water

Given all the publicity that lead in water contamination has received in recent years, it should come as no surprise that people have interest in testing their drinking water for lead.

Remember: At one point copper piping joined by solder containing lead went into pretty much every home and office.

Got interest in testing for other metals in your drinking water? No problem. The following test kits will make that task a breeze!

Ewwwww…… Yuck!

Could bacteria really live in the trusty water coolers at work or in your home? Unfortunately we have to say… “YES.”

Think of it this way: When you swap out the large, cumbersome jugs when the current jug runs out of water, the feeder tube that will stick into the new jug gets exposed to the air… and whatever bacteria, viruses and or airborne biologicals happen to blow around in the room that day.

Over time any of those nasty little buggers that land on the feeder tube and wind up in the fresh jug of water could multiply to dangerously high numbers in the water cooler. Zero disinfectants in the water creates an excellent place for bacteria to start a family!

To make matters worse, the area AFTER the feeder tube down inside the water cooler can also become a nice place for bacteria and other nasties to raise a family… which could one day wind up in your supposedly safe glass of drinking water.

Moral of the story?

If you cannot determine the last time anyone cleaned the inside of the water cooler, you may want to test the water it dispenses for potentially harmful bacteria with a kit like the WaterSafe Water Cooler Test Kit.

The other day we gave a brief tutorial on the origin of tannins in drinking water… which naturally resulted in our receiving at least half a dozen emails asking us about testing for tannins, and if detected, ways to remove them from drinking water.

We will address the matter of removing tannins from drinking water in a future blog posting.

As of yet we have not found an inexpensive way to test for tannins. Good Water Warehouse manufactures a test kit for tannins, but that kit better suits a person who tests water and sells remediation systems to the public if they find problems. Why? Because the kit has a relatively high cost.

Though the test kit does come with 100 tests, it costs a little over $200… a price tag which typically scares off most homeowners.

Another, and some would say more practical, way to test for tannins involves having a certified water testing laboratory such as National Testing Labs analyze water suspected of containing tannins. For the same cost as the Good Water Warehouse test kit a homeowner can have their water tested for tannins and 100+ other potential drinking water contaminants.

Despite efforts by public health officials to keep the general population safe, scofflaws make their jobs very difficult sometimes. For some reason members of the general public believe signs warning of dangerous water conditions (including water quality issues) always choose to believe those signs apply to OTHER people, but not them.

Note to the Public: A ‘Beach Closed’ sign and closed in fencing around the swimming area means… YOU CAN GET SICK IF YOU SWIM IN THE WATER! Also, if the staff on-hand suggest avoiding going in the water and/or wading into the water deeper than just a few inches, FOLLOW THEIR ADVICE!

LITTLETON, Colo. — The swimming beach at Chatfield State Park was temporarily closed Sunday when routine water testing found high levels of E. coli bacteria, authorities said.

But 7NEWS Reporter Jaclyn Allen found dozens of people playing on the beach and swimming in the water right next to the closed swimming area Sunday afternoon.

Several families said they had no idea why the beach was closed because it’s not posted on the signs, which simply said: “Swim Beach Closed Today.” The swim beach was also fenced off.

Visitors were surprised to learn from 7NEWS that the closure was triggered by bacterial contamination that could make them seriously ill.

“I had no idea about the E. coli,” said Monique Garcia, whose toddler son had been playing in the water all day. “The woman who took our money told us the beach was closed because the water quality was not good.”

Signs warning “Swimming Prohibited” were posted in the neighboring area where people were swimming and splashing in the water. Park rangers said people are only allowed to wade knee-deep in the water outside the designated swimming beach area.

But clearly people weren’t getting the message. ( source )

Signs and staff warned people to avoid the water, but they went around the fencing and played in the water anyways. So far no one has reported any illnesses resulting from those dolts ignoring warnings, but next time they may not have the same luck.

People have DIED from illnesses they contracted by swimming in water that health officials had recently declared unsafe for swimming.

Can the average person test water at parks, pools, etc.?

In a word, yes… and to do so will NOT break the bank. WaterSafe manufactures a bacteria test kit for pools/spas and rivers/streams/ponds/lakes that gives pass/fail results for bacteria in water at a level which would make the water safe or unsafe for swimming.

Samantha009 emailed us a very direct question:

What are tannins and what effect do they have on my drinking water?

Tannins occur in nature as organic matter and typically get created as water passes through peaty soil and/or decaying vegetation. They normally have a faint yellow to tea-like color, and can cause yellow staining on fabrics, fixtures,
china and laundry.

As far as detecting tannins (without a test kit), one can sometimes detect them in water as a tangy or tart aftertaste. Some people have also attributed a musty or earthy odor in their water to tannins.

Other names for tannins: fulvic acid or humic acid.

Because of the ways in which tannins get created, you will more likely find them surface water supplies and
shallow wells than in deep wells. Water in marshy, low-lying, or coastal areas also plays host to tannins quite frequently.

With regard to health effects of tannins in drinking water, they pose more of an aesthetic problem than a health risk. They may make water unappealing to the palate and can cause stains in laundry… but at this time most health experts agree that they present little or no health hazard.

Recently post we provided links to three different bacteria in water test kits in the same blog entry and since then we have received a number of emails asking us to please explain the differences between them.

We will begin by re-posting the links to the three kits:

• The first bacteria test kit does the most complete testing for potentially harmful bacteria in drinking water. It can provide presence/absence test results in 24 hours for coliform bacteria down to 1 cfu per 100 milliliters, the current low detection limit enforced by the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

  Additionally, use of a light source with a wavelength of approximately 365nm on the sample after the passing of 24 to 48 hours will let you know if you have E. Coli present in your test sample. The ability to provides presence/absence results for E. Coli. results in this test kit having the highest cost.

  Sold in cases of 12 and manufactured by SenSafe.

• The second bacteria test kit provides presence/absence test results in 48 hours for coliform bacteria down to 1 cfu per 100 milliliters, the current low detection limit enforced by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. It does not provide information on the presence or absence of E. Coli. in a water sample.

  Sold as individual tests and manufactured by WaterSafe.

• The third bacteria test kit performs the same task as the second test kit, providing presence/absence test results in 48 hours for coliform bacteria down to 1 cfu per 100 milliliters, and comes packaged in cases of twelve or as individual tests.

  The kit’s manufacturer, SenSafe, claims that Bacteria Check “follows the APHA, Standard Methods, 20th Edition, 9221 D, screen test for total coliform in potable water”.

No matter which test kit you decide upon, always remember that only a water analysis performed by a certified water testing lab such as National Testing Laboratories can give you a definitive answer regarding the safety of your drinking water.

You should use At Home and Do It Yourself Water Test Kits from WaterSafe and SenSafe should serve as screening tools only.

The Omnipure Inline Water Filter CL10ROT33-B received certification by NSF against NSF/ANSI standard 42 for the reduction of Chlorine, Taste and Odor. This filter uses granular activated carbon to reduce chlorine, taste and odor from your drinking water.

Economically priced at around $14, the Omnipure CL10RO T-33 Inline Filter has a 0.5 Micron, a water flow rating of 0.5 gallons per minutes, can handle water pressure up to 125 PSI, and has a life expectancy of 1,500 gallons or approximately 12 months.

You can use the Omnipure CL10RO T-33 Inline Filter in place of the Ametek INCF-10, Omnipure K2533 BB, and P3916.

This filter also replaces the following inline filters: Honeywell RF-66, Kenmore 46-38447 and Kenmore 4638447. The Omnipure CL10RO T-33 Inline Filter also works as Stage 5 of the 5-Stage PuROLine 5000 Reverse Osmosis System.

How Do I Know if I Have Chlorine in My Water?

Most often we hear, “How can I get rid of the chlorine taste/smell in my water?” but sometimes people have such low amounts that they cannot tell for sure if they have ANY chlorine in their drinking water and/or they have an impaired sense of smell and cannot detect the chlorine odors… but know they don’t want to drink it regardless of whether or not they can smell or taste it.

The easiest way to test chlorine levels in drinking water, Chlorine Test Strips, and at this time we recommend using test strip products from two manufacturers: SenSafe and Watersafe.