Do you have a lead test kit or can recommend a company that I can valid results in less than a week? We have used a service before, but it took nearly two weeks.

We do know of home drinking water test kits that you can use to detect the presence of dissolved lead, yes, but we feel obligated to inform you that even the most accurate home drinking water test kit should never take the place of professional water analysis by a certified water testing laboratory.

With that said, you have a few options when it comes to testing for lead in drinking water. Both WaterSafe and WaterWorks manufacture lead in water test kits and both, from what we can tell, contain the same type of test… just one has a bit less flashy packaging.

We threw the third product, SenSafe Water Metals Check in there for people who want to know if they have ANY heavy meatals present in their drinking water. SenSafe Water Metals Check has adetection range of 10ppb up to 400ppb.

Many municipalities still use the older, metal-based piping systems put in the ground many years ago when concepts such as sterilization did not enter city planners’ minds. Over time these large systems of metal pipes may have shifted as a result earthquakes, vibrations from vehicles traveling the roads above them, etc. Connections between pipes may have gotten wrenched slightly out of place resulting in the creation of small openings where outside matter such as dust, dirt, debris and harmful bacteria could enter the water supply.

Here’s a fact that many NEW homeowners overlook: While almost all new homes built in the United States use PVC or some other form of high density, metal-free piping to convey water into the residence, they still must connect those brand new plastic pipes to the older metal water pipes coming from their local water supplier.

Remember we said that a lot of the older water systems used metal pipes? What happens to metal over time? It corrodes, right? Where do you think those broken off pieces of metal may wind up? Answer: Your faucet.

The question which naturally follows deals with figuring out the most appropriate way to test the water coming into one’s home, school or place of business. To this end we recommend several different water quality test kits, all regarded by water professionals as some of the most accurate, reliable and easy-to-use water quality test kits in the industry. Oh, and remember that since we DID say ‘easy-to-use’, you won’t need to break out your old chemistry text books from high school.

• WaterSafe All-In-One Drinking Water Test Kit
• Complete Water Quality Test Kit
• Drinking Water Quality Test Kit

Although we keep repeating ourselves, do-it-yourself drinking water test kits serve as great screening tools for the average consumers but no one should ever rely upon them as their sole testing method. Remember: It’s your water, your health, your life.