The 7 Best Water Testing Kits to Buy in 2018

If you want an informative and easy-to-use water testing kit for home, our recommendation is the PurTest Home Water Analysis Kit.

This test strip kit includes one strip each for testing bacteria, lead and pesticides. It includes two testing strips for iron, alkalinity, pH, hardness, chlorine, copper, nitrate and nitrite. The additional test strip included for these contaminants can be useful for testing multiple water sources, or for follow-up testing.

Users really like that there are no mailing fees or wait time to get results. All testing can easily be done at home. A few people even mentioned that the results were confirmed by more expensive lab testing they had done. One thing to be aware of is the fact that results from this kit are provided within a range. The test doesn’t provide specific values. This was a disappointment to some users, but is on par with the majority of at-home water testing kits. What the kit does provide you is peace of mind or an indication that there is further testing needed to diagnose water quality problems. For a simple and useful water testing kit, choose the PurTest Home Water Analysis Kit.

If you’re looking for more comprehensive information on the quality of your water, a mail-in test kit sent to a laboratory will give you the information you’re looking for. The Essential Indicators Water Test from Drinking Water Specialists is our top choice for a mail-in test kit thanks to its fairly quick turnaround and expansive testing capabilities.

Follow the kit’s simple directions to collect a water sample, then mail to the laboratory and receive comprehensive results for over 170 different indicators of water quality. The The company will send results and treatment suggestions via email within about six business days. You’ll need to test for bacteria at home, though, due to the fact that temperature and other conditions cannot be regulated in transit to the laboratory. Unlike many other bacteria tests, the Essential Indicators kit tests for eight different forms of bacteria — adding to the amount of useful information you’ll gather from this kit.

Users found the directions to be easy to follow and the results proved to be thorough and insightful. Many people expressed that the value of this kit represented a tremendous savings over using similar local water testing facilities.

If you rely on well water for your family or livestock, you need a dependable test kit to ensure that the water source is free of contaminants. The Watersafe Well Water Test Kit is our pick for reliable information about your well water supply.

The Watersafe Well Water Test Kit is an at-home kit that will give you information on 10 different containments. It tests for copper, iron, lead, nitrates, nitrites, bacteria and also toxins from fertilizers or pesticides — a common concern for a well.

This well water testing kit works well, and has easy-to-read strips that provide ranges for each tested contaminant. Users did comment on the fact that since the results are provided within a range only, it is not as specific as laboratory testing. However, those who compared their test results to laboratory results found the values from the Watersafe kit to be in line with the lab’s findings, adding to the reliability of this kit. For a good reference as to whether your well water is free of contamination, test using the Watersafe Well Water Kit for quick, easy-to-read results.

If you are looking for a test kit that will allow you to monitor your water quality on an on-going basis, pick a multi-use testing kit like the Baldwin Meadows 9-in-1 Drinking Water Test Kit.

This at-home test kit stands out for its affordability and almost instant results. The kit includes 100 test strips, and it provides results for nine contaminants including: total alkalinity, pH, hardness, iron, lead, copper, nitrite, nitrate, and chlorine.

Note that this kit doesn’t include bacteria testing, but this can be tested for separately if needed. What the Baldwin Meadows kit does provide is an easy way to keep tabs on the level of the nine most common indicators of water quality. Users love how simple and convenient this water testing kit is, and many reported it was more than sufficient at providing the information they were seeking about their water quality.

For reliably and accurately testing the water quality of your pool, pick the Poolmaster 5-Way Test Kit.

This reasonably-priced kit comes in a convenient case and is relied on by professional pool cleaners and home pool keepers alike. The kit includes testing for chlorine, bromine, pH, acid demand and total alkalinity. This solution-based kit comes with five different indicator solutions and a clear-view test block with integrated color charts to easily read results.

Users find the solution-testing method to be superior and more accurate to testing pool water quality using test strips. Many also mentioned that this kit is simple to use, and the results are easy to interpret. So before you make a splash in the pool, pick up the Poolmaster 5-Way Test Kit for reliable information about your water quality.

If you’re only concerned with testing for the presence of bacteria, a simple screening test like this one from PurTest will give you a clear answer.

The PurTest Bacteria Water Test Kit uses a test strip to indicate the presence or absence of coliform bacteria and E. Coli. It also includes two bonus test strips to evaluate the presence of nitrites and nitrates.

Some users were disappointed that the test doesn’t specify the amounts or type of bacteria present, but this is the standard for most at-home bacteria testing kits. Many homeowners rely on these test kits as a screening method to determine if further, more expensive testing is needed. So if this is your purpose, then you may find peace of mind and financial savings by first testing your water for bacteria with the affordable PurTest Bacteria Water Test Kit.

For a water testing kit that is more basic, the First Alert Drinking Water Test Kit provides essential information in a budget-priced kit.

This at-home water testing kit will give you information on the presence of bacteria, lead, pesticides, nitrates and nitrites, and chlorine. While this is a more limited number of tested contaminants than many other at-home or mail-in kits, it covers the basic information that many homeowners are concerned about.

The First Alert Drinking Water Test Kit was found to have clear instructions, and accurate results when users followed the directions. For the small price tag, it is a good baseline test to ensure basic water quality.