Drinking Water Test Kit

Drinking Water Test Kit - Complete Water Analysis Test Kit

Have you ever wondered about the drinking water in a new place? Have you ever wished you a had a drinking water test kit on vacation to feel a little safer about the water you and your family are drinking? If you have, you are not alone. Company’s like Test Assured are seeing an increased demand for water test kits among Preppers. I was introduced to this test kit when I was contacted by a Test Assured’s representative when they offered to send me a Complete Water Analysis Test Kit in exchange for a product review.

My parents live on a small ranch that has a well. One of the reasons I was so intrigued by this test is because every time I drink the water at my parent’s ranch I get a stomach ache. This was a problem even as a child and I have not grown out of it. Out of the ten family members that lived there, I am the only one that didn’t like the water. The well has been tested a couple of times over the years but there have been no red flags. I’ve always wondered what it was about the water that causes it to not sit well on my stomach, so naturally it was the the water source that I chose to test.

My hope in trying this water test is that it will:

help me better understand water contaminants
isolate contaminants that I may be sensitive too
see if water testing kits are a good preparedness resource

Upon opening the Complete Water Analysis Test kit, I was a little overwhelmed at all the items within. My initial thought was with so many items the water testing must be complicated; that was not the case, the steps were simple and easy to follow. The kit had everything I needed (except the water) to analyze: lead, pesticide, iron, copper, alkalinity, PH, hardness, chlorine, nitrates, and bacteria.

The kit includes:

3 vials
5 test strips
dropper pippette
iron tablet
2 instruction cards
contaminant level range card

Step-by-step Directions

Since chemistry was never a strong subject for me in school, I looked up this step-by-step video to see how easy or difficult it might be. After watching the video, testing water for 10 different contaminants seemed easy.

This YouTube video was made by Survival On Purpose. Check out some of their other informative videos here and don’t forget to subscribe!

Well Water Test Results

Below are pictures taken after testing the well water. The test strips start out white and the results are manifest as the test strip changes color.

I started the lead and pesticide test first because they take 10 minutes for the results to be read. If the left blue line is darker than the right line then it should be safe to drink.

Next I tested the iron, copper, alkalinity, PH, hardness, chlorine, and nitrates. If you look between the colored boxes in the pictures below, you’ll see my test strips. These tests were all easy to preform and I had them completed while waiting for the results of lead and pesticide tests. As you can see for yourself, most of the test strips show little to no contaminates except for Alkalinity and pH.

The Bacteria Test – The bacteria test vial was the last on the list because it takes 2 days to get the results. The vial comes sealed with a small amount of white powder. Once water is added to the vial it turns light purple. It is then set aside for a couple of days to see if the purple will disappear. If the water stays purple, the well water should be safe to drink.

The Results: There were little to no contaminants in my parent’s well water. There was a little copper, nitrate, and the alkalinity was high but all were safe levels. The pH didn’t match any of the possible 9 colors so that test is inconclusive. After doing some research there is no evidence that high Alkalinity in water is harmful. I may be sensitive to copper, nitrates, or high alkalinity so these items I will pay close attention to when I start testing other water.

Conclusion

The PROS: easy, compact, and affordable. It tests for E. Coli bacteria, lead, and other harmful contaminants. This is a fair price and it allows me to purchase several kits. I have a few more homes where I would like to test the drinking water and I’d also like to add some to my preparedness supplies and bug out bag. This test was a good introduction to common water contaminants to be aware of.

The CONS: pH color didn’t match any of the possible 9 choices. The iron test cap leaked when I shook it. The complete Water Analysis Test Kit covers ten contaminates but they do not test for viruses or parasites (contaminates commonly found in rivers and lakes).