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.

Want to use to determine if a water sample has flouride and is likely city water vs ground water. Site lists lots of chemicals but steers away from Flouride. What is the range of flouride the instrument will detect? Will the presence of other chemicals associated with drinking water efect result? How often is calibration needed and can user complete cal?

With all of the publicity that fluoride in drinking water has gotten over the years it does not surprise us that we keep getting questions about fluoride in drinking water, its effects on people’s health and how to test for it in drinking water.

Until a few years ago fluoride in water testing required ‘sophisticated’ laboratory glassware and used chemical reagents not readily available to the public. Either that or you needed very expensive laboratory grade equipment and a degree in chemistry to operate it.

Now, however, companies like Industrial Test Systems, Inc., a US based manufacturer of water quality testing products have come out with hand held meters like the eXact Micro 7+ Water Testing Meter which uses proven SPADNS chemistry to detect levels of fluoride between 0.1 ppm and 1.1 ppm. See page 18 of the eXact Micro 7+ Meter’s Manual for more information or call the meter’s manufacturer at 1-800-861-9712.

How much fluoride does tap water contain?

While concentrations of fluoride in tap water will vary by location, A 1994 World Health Organization expert committee suggested a level of fluoride from 0.5 to 1.0 mg/L (milligrams per litre), depending on climate. ( source )

We would guess that most municipal water supplies fall somewhere in the range specified by the World Health Organization.

It looks like your Tester will test for Fluoride but on the actual page it doesn’t say that it Does? I specifically want a Device that measure Fluoride levels. Do you have this or does this 199$ machine do this?

This question, we believe, came in response to the following blog entry: EPA Compliant Chlorine Testing Meter

In that entry we mentioned that the eXact Micro 7+ Water Testing Meter has the ability to test for a number of things… including fluoride.

After checking the Filter Water page for the eXact Micro 7+ Water Testing Meter we also noticed that it did not specifically mention fluoride testing… EXCEPT in the final bullet point which reads, “Can test for 25 parameters: with use of test-specific reagents and conversion chart: Ammonia, Bromine, Chloride/Salt, Chlorine Dioxide, Chromium Hexavalent, Copper, Cyanuric Acid, Fluoride, Iodine, Iron, Low Range Total Hardness, Manganese, Nitrate, Nitrite, Ozone, Acid pH, Alkali pH, Potassium, Sulfate, Sulfide, and Turbidity.”

The kit, as sold, does not come with the reagents (Hach SPADNS replacements, to be exact!) to test for fluoride, but you can get them on the meter manufacturer’s web site: www.sensafe.com. Click on the word ‘fluoride’ in the list and it will take you to the exact (no pun intended) place on their site where you can order the product you need for approximately $13.

For instruction on how to use the meter for fluoride testing, please refer to page 18 of the eXact Micro 7+ Meter User’s Manual.

As an example,

Newdale is facing drinking water quality issues because of arsenic and fluoride levels in the water supply that do not meet U.S. Environmental Protection Agency water quality standards.

…

Testing over the past several years showed average arsenic levels at 10.8 parts per billion, and the level has been as high as 15 parts per billion.

The city’s level of fluoride in the water supply has consistently averaged about 4.8 parts per million over the last several years.

The state DEQ has ranked Newdale as the first priority in the state for drinking water improvements. ( source )

Efforts to remedy the solution have begun in Newdale and many other areas but the fact remains that many people still consume levels of fluoride and arsenic considered dangerous by health officials.

People living in smaller communities served by older water systems and well ought to consider testing their water periodically for things such as bacteria, arsenic and other critical water parameters. Smaller towns have smaller budgets and remediation for arsenic costs a lot of money. Sometimes a lot more money than a small town can afford.

Thankfully, though, State and Federal agencies across the country have recognized smaller communities’ needs for assistance when it comes to cleaning up their drinking water and made funding available for that purpose.

To take advantage of an offer of loan money from the state of Idaho with federal stimulus funds, the Newdale City Council voted on June 24 to see if the project could be approved through judicial confirmation, a quicker process than a bond election.

…

In his finding of fact and conclusions of law Moeller wrote: “The Idaho Supreme Court has held that the impact of a proposed expenditure on public safety is fundamental to the determination of whether a project is necessary. … If the expense is necessary to protect the health and safety of the inhabitants of the municipality, it is both ‘ordinary and necessary.'” ( source )

As usual, we suggest that anyone suspecting life-threatening drinking water contamination have their water tested by a certifed water testing laboratory. For routine testing, though, one can use at-home drinking water test kits such as the Water Quality Test Kit or the WaterSafe All-In-One Test Kit.

For people interested in testing their drinking water for arsenic, we suggest using one of the Arsenic Quick Test Kits. Below we have listed some of their smaller, more affordable field arsenic test kits.

Arsenic in Water Test Kit <1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 13, 20, 25, 30, 40, >50, >80, >120, >160 ppb (481303-5) Perform 5 Tests, Results in 14 Minutes	481303-5
Arsenic in Water Test Kit 0, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 & >500 ppb (481396-5) Perform 5 Tests, Results in 12 Minutes	481396-5
Arsenic in Water Test Kit 0, 0.3, 0.7, 1.0, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3, 3.5, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 13, 20 & >20 ppb (481300-5) Perform 5 Tests, Results in 12 Minutes	481300-5
Arsenic in Water Test Kit 0, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 & >500 ppb (481396-2) Perform 2 Tests, Results in 12 Minutes	481396-2

More on Arsenic and Testing for Arsenic:

• Arsenic in Upstate NY Wells
• Testing Arsenic in Salt/Brackish Water
• Arsenic Exposure Linked to Lower Influenza Resistance
• Testing for Arsenic in Wood and on Playgrounds
• Possible Link Between Arsenic Exposure and Diabetes

More on Fluoride and Fluoride Testing:

• Fluoride Exposure Linked to Sperm Damage
• Removing Fluoride From Drinking Water
• Why Test for Fluoride in Drinking Water
• Fluoride in Drinking Water Facts
• Filters to Remove Fluoride From Drinking Water

Thanks to a recent breakthrough by the research and development team of Industrial Test Systems, Inc., laboratory technicians have an easier way to test using the SPADNS method — AND the average person can now test for the presence of fluoride in drinking water w/o having to send their water out to a laboratory.

Reasons to Care About Fluoride Levels in Drinking Water:

(1) Your Child’s Teeth — “A little fluoride is a good thing for your child’s teeth, but swallowing too much of it over time can lead to a condition called fluorosis that can cause white spots to show up on his adult teeth.” ( source )

(2) Experts Disagree — “There is a lot of information available about fluoride but the information is also sometimes conflicting. Some leads us to believe fluoride in drinking water is a good thing; and some says just the opposite! Even information in clear opposition claims to have solid scientific backing – how can this be? This situation led us to ask: How can a person make an informed decision about whether fluoride is good or bad when everything they hear is so conflicting?” ( source )

(3) Potential (Accidental) Over Exposure — “Even those who aren’t convinced of the toxicity of fluoride should be concerned about the level of fluoride added to the water supply. The optimum level was set in the 1940s at approximately 1 ppm (equal to 1 mg/l). This was based on assumptions that the total intake of fluoride would be 1 mg/day, assuming 4 glasses of water were drunk per day. However, current intake of fluoride comes not just from the water supply. A study conducted by researchers at the University of Iowa and reported in the November issue of the Journal of American Dental Association found that 71% of more than 300 soft drinks contained 0.60 ppm fluoride. Toothpaste, beverages, processed food, fresh fruits and vegetables, vitamins and mineral supplements all contribute to the intake of fluoride. It is now estimated that the total amount of fluoride ingested per day is 8 mg/day, eight times the optimum levels.” ( source )

Many more reasons exist, but for now just understand that experts disagree about the health effects of fluoride in drinking water, too much fluoride can and will damage teeth, and the possibility exists that we may currently get exposed to a lot more fluoride on a daily basis than we ought to.

With that in mind, anyone bothered that information ought to either get their water tested for fluoride content or consider taking advantage of the fluoride testing capabilities of the versatile eXact Micro 7+ Water Testing Meter.