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Today’s inquiry came from ‘John J’ who asked, “I am looking for a kit to check my drinking water for mercury lead and aluminum.. can you please recommend a product or products?”

The Water Test Kit Store carries several products for testing metals in drinking water.

General Metals Test – SenSafe Heavy Metals Check performs a general test for metals and will let you know if you have any of a number of dissolved metals present. It gives a reading of the total dissolved metals in a water sample. It does not, however, break down the reading by individual metal ion.

WaterSafe Lead in Water Test – A pass/fail water test for dissolved lead in drinking water that yields positive results if a sample contains 15ppb or more dissolved lead. The test will read ‘negative’ for dissolved lead quantities under 15ppb.

Boris’ Mercury Test – Simple test for dissolved mercury in drinking water that has a low detection level equal to the USEPA action level for public water systems (.002 ppm) and a high detection level of .08 ppm. Testing takes just 60 seconds to perform and requires no mixing of chemicals, crushing of tablets, etc.

Regarding your request for an aluminum test, we do not know of an at-home drinking water test kit specifically designed to test for aluminum BUT we do know that the WaterCheck 1 & 2 mail-in testing package for 30 different water quality parameters contains a test for aluminum.

• Measuring levels from 0-500 ppm (mg/L), Chloride Check promises to replace conventional measuring techniques in situations where meters or traditional wet tests would prove too cumbersome.
   
• Detection Range: 0, 50, 100, 250, 500 ppm (mg/L)
   
• Each Bottle Contains 50 Tests
   
• Each Test Takes Just 40 Seconds to Perform
   
• Product Manufactured in the United States by Industrial Test Systems, Inc.

Why Test for Chlorides?

In recent years scientists studying the effects of certain industrial activities have loosely linked changes in chloride concentrations found in bodies of water (both above and below ground) near those activities to those industrial activities. Accordingly, researchers have determined that extreme changes in chloride concentrations found in a water supply definitely merit further investigation and more in-depth testing of the water supply.

As an example, some researchers studying the effects of hydraulic fracturing (aka: fracking, the practice of injecting water an chemicals deep into the Earth at high pressures to liberate natural gas from shale formations) on surface and ground water believe that sudden changes in chloride levels may occur as a direct or indirect result of hydraulic fracturing and suggest performing other testing if a private well owner notices a change in chloride levels in his/her well water.

Good evening, Blair, and thank you for your inquiry.

Yes, the SenSafe Heavy Metals Check product should detect dissolved Manganese since it typically has a +2 valence state for its electrons BUT do keep in mind that other dissolved metals, if present in your samples, will also yield positive results and the test kit will not differentiate between (or identify) the metals it detects.

If you require a more manganese-specific test kit, then you may want to consider the SenSafe Manganese Check product which includes interference masking agents on each strip to reduce false positive readings given by metals other than Manganese.

Normally if a homeowner finds that he or she has a higher than desirable level of ANY metals in his or her water, regardless of the metals’ identities, that person typically seeks out additional, more qualitative (i.e. laboratory) testing so that a decision regarding what filtering solution will work best for their unique water quality situation can get made.

Laboratory testing for manganese

In the event that you do decide to seek out laboratory testing, we suggest first contacting your local health department to get a list of qualified water testing labs in your area. If that does not work then we suggest considering one of the WaterCheck Test Kits manufactured by National Testing Laboratories.

Arsenic Quick Test Kit (100 Tests)

Today’s inquiry comes to us from an aspiring environmental scientist who asked a very shrewd question about a product that we believe very strongly in: Arsenic Quick™ test kits for drinking water.

‘Kelley’, contacted us from the Southwestern US and asked, “Recently a local news channel did a story on arsenic in drinking water in our area and it sounded like our water could really have problems. My family and most families where we live all have well water and after asking some neighbors about it none of them or us have a clue about arsenic or testing for arsenic. I found your site via a google search and you talk a lot about arsenic quick. Is that a product that I could use to help my family and neighbors learn if we have a problem with arsenic? If so why do you recommend it more than others on the market?”

Thank you, Kelley, for contacting us about the Arsenic Quick line of arsenic in drinking water test kits. Let us first say that we have USED most of the test kits ourselves and yes, we believe very strongly in their ability to help the average person get a handle on any arsenic concentrations that may lurk in their water supply… and here’s why:

• As we stated, we have used the kits ourselves — successfully and with ease.
   
• The reagents in the kit pose less of an environmental hazard when compared to ingredients included with competing kits on the market.
   
• EPA/ETV Test Verified Chemistry — The chemistry and procedures used by the Arsenic Quick Test Kit has undergone a rigorous review by a division of the EPA and that showed both the chemistry and procedures simple enough for testing personnel of all levels to carry out and obtain accurate, repeatable results.
   
• Please feel free to read through the details contained in both the EPA/ETV Verification Statement and the EPA/ETV Verification Report to see exactly what the EPA said about the Arsenic Quick Test Kit.
   
• Arsenic Quick has a shorter and simpler test time than any other comparable arsenic test kit we have seen on the market.
   
• Users of the Arsenic Quick line of test kits can choose from a number of kits ranging from 2-test versions all the way up to 300-test versions… and also from a range of kits with varying detection ranges designed to look for high levels of arsenic in water or very, very low levels of arsenic in water.
   
• Versions of the Arsenic Quick test have gotten incorporated into Compliance Guidelines for arsenic monitoring in at least two US States which means water systems required to monitor arsenic levels in drinking water may use specific versions of the Arsenic Quick test for reporting purposes.

We truly do not believe you can go wrong with the Arsenic Quick line of test kits, Kelley. We wish you the best with all your arsenic testing and let us know if you have any other questions!

Although both manufactured by Industrial Test Systems, Inc., a US based company in South Carolina, the DPD-1 ReagentStrip and SenSafe Free Chlorine Water Check products test for free chlorine residual in very different ways.

The chart below will explain the differences and similarities between the two free chlorine residual test methods:

	DPD-1 ReagentStrips™	SenSafe™ Free Chlorine Water Check
Detects:	Free Chlorine Residual (and Other Oxidizers Normally Tested Using DPD-1 Chemistry)	Free Chlorine Residual
Test Procedure Overview:	Liberarting of DPD-1 Reagents Off Reagent Pads Into 10mL Sample and Checking Chlorine Concentration Visually by Color Comparator or Electronically Using a Colorimeter	Immersion of Test Strip in Water Sample, Removal of Test Strip After Specified Period of Time, and Visual Comparison of Developed Color in Test Area to a Color Chart
Detection Range:	0-6ppm	0-6ppm
Accuracy & Precision:	Depends on the Method Used to Interpret the Developed Color in the 10mL Sample. Visual Methods Will Have Less Precision Than Meters	0, 0.05, 0.1, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, 1.2, 1.5, 2, 2.6, 4, 6 ppm (mg/L)
Certifications & Compliance:	DPD Testing as Specified in 4500-CL G Check w/ Your Local Health Department for Final Word on Compliance	USEPA Approved Test Method for Free Chlorine Read the EPA Letter   View EPA Approved methods   Check w/ Your Local Health Department for Final Word on Compliance
Number of Tests:	100 Tests per Package	50 Tests per Package
Benefits:	Cleaner to Use Than DPD-1 Powders (i.e. DPD-1 Powder Pillows)   Dissolves Easier Than DPD-1 Tablets   Longer Shelf-Life Than DPD Liquid Reagents   No Undissolved Solids When Testing in Cold Water (5ºC)   Requires No MSDS	Safe for Use on Most Production Floors   Requires No Specialized Testing Knowledge   No Expensive Meter (Colorimeter)   Designed to Resist Monochloramine Interference   Requires No MSDS
Per Unit Cost:	$15.99 per Package of 100 Tests	$15.99 per Bottle of 50 Tests

As always, if monitoring free chlorine residual for reporting and/or compliance monitoring we suggest contacting your local health inspector before switching to a different chlorine testing method.

Although seemingly counter-intuitive, many methods approved on a Federal level may not have attained acceptance, yet, on a State or Local level.

In the water business testing for free chlorine happens quite frequently (as Scott just said)… and we know of two ways to make that task easier:

• DPD ReagentStrips — If you use DPD-1 to test for free chlorine residual, then undoubtedly you do so using DPD in powder or tablet form. Both methods work, but DPD-1 ReagentStrips make testing for free chlorine residual in water a faster and easier process while staying in compliance with 4500-CL G. Simply insert a DPD-1 ReagentStrip into a 10mL water sample, move it back and forth (liberated required DPD chemistry off of reagent pads), and read visually or with your favorite meter.
   
• SenSafe™ Free Chlorine Water Check — In the original recommendation letter from the USEPA, dated October 2003: “We believe that the ITS test strips will provide the regulatory community with a valuable option for monitoring free chlorine levels in drinking water.” This method bears USEPA Approval for in drinking water applications.

While both testing methods make free chlorine residual testing much easier without losing accuracy, we highly suggest check with your State and Local inspectors first before using either product for compliance monitoring… because as you know (probably better than we do!), sometimes State/Local regulation changes do not always keep up with Federal Regulation changes.

Thanks, ‘Kara-Lynn’, for this very good question about the relationship between pH readings and alkalinity readings when testing water. A good many people have confusion on this topic!

Going back in time a bit…

Many years ago when we worked in a pool store that performed free water testing and (obviously) also sold a variety of pool water adjustment chemicals that raised the pH, lowered the pH, raised the alkalinity, or lowered the alkalinity levels of pool water we faced customers on a regular basis that had questions about the relationship between pH and alkalinity.

Quickly we learned a very simple way to explain the relationship:

• Think of alkalinity as a total number of particles that can change color in a body of water.
   
• Think of pH as the range of colors that each particle could change.
   
• If color change is required: It is easier to convince a small number of the color-changing particles to change color than it is to convince a large number of color-changing particles.
   
• If color change is unwanted: It takes more effort to convince a large number of color-changing particles to change color than it does to convince a small number of color-changing particles.
   
• Higher alkalinity means greater color (pH) stability. Lower alkalinity means less color (pH) stability.

Some people understood the meaning of my little story asked for more information on how they could test for both parameters since a clear relationship existed between pH and alkalinity.

For those folks we suggested pool water test strips like the Pool Check 5-Way and the Pool Check 6-Way test strip products as the easiest ways to keep tabs on both the pH and alkalinity of pool water.

Other people developed a blank look on their faces and simply said, “Yeah, OK, just tell me what I need to buy”… and went on their merry way.

Testing pH & alkalinity in drinking water

Can you use pool & spa test strips to test the pH and alkalinity of drinking water? Yes, but in general the manufacturers of pool & spa test strips calibrated those products using water with a higher temperature.

Therefore, we suggest using products specifically designed to test water with a cooler temperature such as the WaterWorks pH & Total Alkalinity Test Strips which come packaged in bottles of 50 tests for each parameter and cost less than $10 per bottle.

Detection ranges for the WaterWorks pH & Total Alkalinity Test Strips:

• pH: 6.0, 6.5, 7.0, 7.5, 8.0, 8.5, 9.0
   
• Total Alkalinity: 0, 80, 120, 180, 240, 360 ppm (mg/L)

We thank our friend from the Ohio area for their inquiry and would first like to congratulate them on taking the first step towards understanding more about the impact a local factory that works with metals (and possibly some ‘interesting’ chemicals stored in tanks) may or may not have on their water supply — or at least on the surface (puddle) water they encounter.

Given that the inquiry asked specifically about water pooled on the ground, we will assume our reader encountered puddles of water that formed as a result of runoff from the factory’s property and appeared to contain… ‘something unusual’ in terms of their color or other visual nature.

Having said that, we believe the more likely culprit responsible for why a puddle appeared ‘unusual’ probably had more to do with the presence of of oils, greases, and/or organic solvents than it did dissolved metals like mercury and/or cyanide. Oils, greases, and solvents tend to leave a (sometimes) colorful film on water’s surface whereas dissolved metals would typically impart no visually detectable characteristics.

To test for commonly found compounds in the oil, grease, and organic solvent families one must contact a certified water testing laboratory because no at-home water test kits exist that can reliably qualify or quantify compounds of their complexity.

Testing for mercury and cyanide?

Although we did say that we do not believe mercury or cyanide caused any of the discoloration our reader may have seen in a puddle, that does not mean cyanide, a compound used in many metal finishing shops, and mercury may not have washed down from the factory during a heavy rainstorm (or over time with light rains).

Thankfully simple and affordable test kits for cyanide and mercury do exist… and require no special equipment, training, or complex testing procedures.

• Boris’ Mercury detects dissolved mercury (Hg) as low as 2 ppb (parts per billion) and as high as 80 ppb. Each bottle comes with 50 tests and each test requires just 1 1/2 minutes to complete.
   
• Cyanide in Water Emergency Test Kit allows the average person to quickly test for the presence of dissolved cyanide in water. The test provides presence/absence test results for dissolved cyanide concentrations between 0.2 ppm an 1,700 ppm, takes very little time to perform, and costs very little.

Moral of the story?

If you see something unusual in your environment, don’t hesitate to ask questions like, “What is that? Why is that? Is that safe?” and definitely look for the answers to your questions. Often times factories (perhaps like the one mentioned at the start of this article) do not know they have a leak… or, in more extreme cases, they hope no one notices their leak.

Drawing attention to a possible problem begins the process of: 1) Determining if a problem exists; 2) Fixing the problem; 3) Installing proper safeguards to prevent the problem from happening again; and 4) Cleaning up any environmental damage caused by the problem.

Representatives and employees of government and non-profit environmental protection groups cannot be everywhere at all times so the nest time you see something that you think may pose a hazard to the environment, whose cleanliness helps make safe drinking water possible, do not just shrug it off and say, “Someone else will report it.”

One quick call may keep many animals, plants and people from serious illness… or death.

The Baquacil pool water treatment system uses something called a biguanide in place of traditional pool sanitizers like chlorine or bromine to keep water safe for swimming. In addition to the biguanide this type of pool water treatment system also makes use a ‘shock’ comprised mainly of hydrogen peroxide that pool owners, last we heard, should use once every one or two weeks.

Regarding the matter of whether you need to test for peroxide in your pool, from what we have read that all depends on whether or not you plan to keep (and maintain) a hydrogen peroxide residual in your water or if you plan to shock according to schedule and be done with it.

If you plan to maintain a residual then yes, you will want to own a test kit or test strips for peroxide in water.

As for whether or not we sell a testing product for peroxide, we carry WaterWorks Peroxide Check tests trips that has the following peroxide concentrations on its color chart:0.05, 2.0, 5.0, 10, 25, 50, 100 ppm (mg/L).

In our experience most people using a biguanide pool sanitizer sanitizer system typically do not need to test for peroxide levels in excess of 100 ppm (most peroxide levels get kept around 30ppm or 40ppm) but, if you ever do need to test for higher levels, mix an equal portion of pool water with distilled or deionized water, perform the test per the product’s instructions, and then multiply the detected peroxide level by a factor of two.