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Our reader question for the day came to us from ‘Fred222’ who wanted information on the Austin Springs line of water filters… and specifically he wanted information on the Countertop (AS-DW-CT-P) and Undercounter (AS-DW-UC) models.

I have city water and want to know if the austin springs water filter will clean my water so it is safe. The under counter and countertop models look like they will work but how can I can I tell for sure?

First and foremost, Fred, before you start deciding on a water filter, we think you should consider getting your water fully tested for typical water contaminants in your area. Contact your local water department for a copy of the most recent annual water quality publication and then locate a certified water testing laboratory in your area that can perform any testing that appears necessary.

We suggest using a qualified (and certified!) local water testing laboratory because they may have the ability to recommend testing based on their experience with the local water supply over a number of years.

If no local lab exists, then you may want to consider the mail-in water testing services of a company like National Testing Laboratories that currently offers three levels of what they call ‘City-Check’ ranging in cost from $140 for the Basic City-Check up to $250 for the Deluxe City-Check.

After completion of testing?

With any luck, Fred, your water will receive a clean bill of health! But, if not, then make a list of all the things found in your water that you would like removed (or in some cases reduced) and compare that list to the list of water contaminants removed/reduced by any of the water filters you have considered purchasing.

Moral of the story?

Rushing into a water filter purchase without knowing exactly what, if any, contaminants your water supply contains makes no sense. You could very easily make one of several foolhardy things:

• Spend money on an expensive, complicated water filtration system when your water does not require anything more than simple chlorine reduction for taste and odor improvement.
   
• Spend any amount of money on a water filter that does not address your specific water quality issues.
   
• Spend money on point-of-use (i.e. shower, faucet, countertop, or undercounter) water filters when in actuality, only a whole house filter has the filtering power to meet your water quality improvement needs.

What about simpler drinking water test kits?

The cost of water testing by a laboratory may not fit a lot of people’s budgets these days — and we can FULLY appreciate that!    🙂

So… will more economically feasible water test kits like the WaterSafe City Water Test Kit, WaterWorks COMPLETE Test Kit or SenSafe Water Quality Test Kit work just as well? Not for complex contaminants like VOC’s (volatile organic contaminants) and harder to test for environmental elements, no, but for folks on municipal water systems one would HOPE that none of those would exist in the water supply to begin with since those folks PAY a company to clean up the water before distributing it!

Interested in learning more about Austin Springs water filters?

If you would like to learn more about the filtration capabilities of the Austin Springs product line, then the links below will take you to pages containing more facts about each of the products shown:

Although municipalities typically keep tight watch over the quality of water they pump out to consumers, sometimes other factors between the water plant and your faucet may affect the end product they drink, bathe in, and cook with.

End users (consumers) of water supplied by the city may want to periodically check the quality of the water they get from their water company.

Testing the water water quality at your home, office, school or other place of interest does NOT have to cost a fortune, though, as some water service professionals would have you believe.  While nothing takes the place of certified laboratory testing, simple, do-it-yourself home water quality test kits offer fast results at a fraction of the cost and can alert consumers to the fact that they may want to consider having their water examined by a certified laboratory.

Examples of Home Water Test Kits

4 in 1 City Water Check

4 in 1 City Water Check The 4-in-1 City Water Check home water test kit gives fast, accurate water test results for four major parameters often looked at in city (or municipally) treated drinking water: pH, Total Alkalinity, Total Chlorine, and Total Hardness. The test takes less than 30 seconds to perform and requires no technical training. more information

COMPLETE Water Test Kit

COMPLETE Water Test Kit The COMPLETE Water Test Kit offers homeowners the ability to quickly and accurately test for Bacteria, Nitrates, Nitrites, Hydrogen Sulfide, Total Hardness, Total Alkalinity, Total Chlorine, Free Chlorine, Chloride, Copper, Sulfate, Iron, and pH. COMPLETE Water Test Kit gives its users rapid, comprehensive water test results at an affordable cost — MSRP of around $25 USD. more information

Water Quality Test Kit

Water Quality Test Kit With a name as simple and easy to understand as Water Quality Test Kit, you know getting accurate water test results won’t take long. This comprehensive, yet affordable, home water test kit contains the following tests: (2) tests for Iron, (2) tests for Copper, (2) tests for Chloride, (2) tests for Nitrate/Nitrite as Nitrogen, (2) tests for Total Chlorine, (2) tests for Total Hardness, (2) tests for Free Chlorine, (2) tests for Sulfate, (2) tests for pH, (2) tests for Total Alkalinity, (2) tests for Hydrogen Sulfide, (1) Pesticide in Water test, (1) Lead in Water test, and (1) 48 Hour Presence/Absence test for Coliform Bacteria. If you’re looking for a do-it-all, do-it-yourself home water test that won’t break the bank, you should definitely take a long look at the perfectly named Water Quality Test Kit — MSRP of around $37 USD. more information

Looking for more water test kits?

If so, then definitely check out the more than 50 water quality tests kits currently available in our Water Test Kit Store. We have simple, easy-to-use water test kits for basic water quality parameters like total chlorine, coliform bacteria, copper, total iron, and, obviously, many more!