Drinking water testing?

helpimcrap

helpimcrap

helpimcrap

Soldato
Joined
13 Jan 2004
Posts
12,776
Location
Leicestershire
Any advice on how and where?

We're mid Wales. Been in touch with one, about £300.

Are the home kits any good?
 
Depends what you wanna test for. Bacteria will take a week to cultivate in a lab. Chemicals can usually be tested instantly. Is there anything specific you're worried about?
 
hornetstinger said:
Don't your local water provider offer free testing?
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Borehole. We've had it tested through a filter company but we have another potentially linked part we need testing to see if the results come back the same which changes our plans. We can go through the same company but wondering if we could go direct rather than through a middle man.

We need the full range such as manganese etc.
 
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helpimcrap said:
Borehole. We've had it tested through a filter company but we have another potentially linked part we need testing to see if the results come back the same which changes our plans. We can go through the same company but wondering if we could go direct rather than through a middle man.

We need the full range such as manganese etc.
Click to expand...

Then you need to test the PH, as well as the EC.

EC as in electrical conductivity.

The higher the EC, the higher amount of minerals in the water.

Excellent tap water will have an EC of 0.1 to 0.3, assuming the PH is within desired parameters.

An EC of 1, or more indicates a lot of minerals in the water and not good for drinking. That's very 'hard water' and causes lime scale etc in pipes and kettles etc.
 
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helpimcrap said:
Borehole. We've had it tested through a filter company but we have another potentially linked part we need testing to see if the results come back the same which changes our plans. We can go through the same company but wondering if we could go direct rather than through a middle man.

We need the full range such as manganese etc.
Click to expand...

You're gonna want someone completely independent. No skin in the game whatsoever, as people lie and manipulate and conveniently omit data all the time.

Dunno if they'll do private stuff, but we use Eurofins quite a bit - https://www.eurofins.co.uk/water-hygiene-testing/
 
I'm not sure if you're just trying to save a few quid, but if you are, is drinking water an area you want to do it in...
 
Normally whoever put the borehole in would organise testing from what I've seen so if there's some paperwork for the borehole then might be a test report in there somewhere? Guess I'm familiar with larger operations though, if it's just for your house or something or it's an old borehole then maybe not.

I think in theory any UKAS accredited lab should be reliable, so could check on their website to make sure a company is accredited.
 
You could look at treatment. Get a reverse osmosis kit and you're set.

It's belt and braces as chance are the borehole will be absolutely fine. (Lived off well water in Greece until I was 11)
 
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Once you have had a thorough test by a lab. A simple TDS meter from Amazon, can keep an eye on the inorganics. This measures the concentration of total dissolved solids (TDS) in water, including minerals, salts, and metals.
 
Just so everyone knows - the borehole is installed, filters etc. All ok when we bought the house but something's changed in the water when tested for adding water softener last month. It may be because farmland use has added something to the water but who knows.
Previous owners deceased and no paperwork so we've been investigating for 18 months and we've literally only figured it out. It's a mess but we want to adjust it so it works more effectively and efficiently.
On bottled water for now whilst we investigate it more.
Took us ages to establish who fitted it as no paperwork....
We bought a doer upper and it's certainly been that.... In 18 months we've transformed the house but it still needs a lot of work....
We'll be getting an Ecomix filter system fitted probably.
 
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helpimcrap said:
Just so everyone knows - the borehole is installed, filters etc. All ok when we bought the house but something's changed in the water when tested for adding water softener last month. It may be because farmland use has added something to the water but who knows.
Previous owners deceased and no paperwork so we've been investigating for 18 months and we've literally only figured it out. It's a mess but we want to adjust it so it works more effectively and efficiently.
On bottled water for now whilst we investigate it more.
Took us ages to establish who fitted it as no paperwork....
We bought a doer upper and it's certainly been that.... In 18 months we've transformed the house but it still needs a lot of work....
We'll be getting an Ecomix filter system fitted probably.
Click to expand...
Living near farmland can alter the water at different times of the year. Nitrate spikes are not uncommon. The water test will give you all the info you need.
Ecomix will certainly deal with iron, manganese etc. Size will be based on flow rate.
Presume you already have a UV and particle filter?

You sound like you have it all under control, but If you need any help, give me a shout.
 
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