Was wondering for those that do water testing i watched a video a while back with Ben and a testing company seemed pretty affordable to get the testing kits. Can’t seem to find the video again or the company he was promoting.
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So… what’s that tell you?
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The way we do it is, our local Water Lab provides us with the bottles we need and their SOP for whatever sample your taking. If you dont have a local lab go to your county health department and ask them who they use for their water quality testing. Let me know if youve got anyother Water/Wastewater questions. Have a great day.
Whenever I have a client inquire about a water quality or testing, I send the here and tell them they can do their own test if they like. home - PRO-LAB® (prolabinc.com)
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Ya some test require you get them in ASAP, so unless you send overnight (which gets expensive) you would be better off finding a lab near you.
Also, cant find a list of what all they test for?
Here you go.
If VA, it requires a complete water analysis. And they can’t do it themselves.
It has to show chain of custody.
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Yes Sir, its in the process of being made. Should be up in a couple days. Thanks for letting me know
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PriorityLab and EMSL both sell mail in kits. Check out your local labs in your area as well.
I do water quality (safety) testing for wells (add-on). Here are some suggestions:
- Check with you local health department on what are the minimum standards for home testing in your area. If there are none, then you need to decide what you feel comfortable as the minimum set of contaminants to analyze. Here is what EMSL has to say about that:
EMSL has created this informational drinking water package which, in the absence of any specific local or state analytical requirements, is based upon FHA & VA minimum tests for drinking water contaminants. Accordingly, your drinking water samples will be analyzed for Total Coliform, E. coli, Lead, Nitrate, Nitrite, and Turbidity.
Going with the FHA/VA recommended minimums made sense to me.
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I would use a lab that has been certified by the state you are located for liability reasons.
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The water samples need to be taken carefully to avoid contamination using sterile containers typically provided by the lab you choose. They also need to be chilled/refrigerated ASAP at about 36 degrees Fahrenheit to restrain any bacteria growth…
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The chilled samples need to be transported to the lab within 48 hours, preferable the same day or overnight.
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Many labs do not so anything fast–the ones closest to me physically will only produce the final report within 10 business days (which is a lifetime for your client in escrow).
So, what this comes down to is you need a state-certified lab conveniently close to where you live, that can do a basic set of tests with a short turn-around time. Like me, you might not find that. For me, the EMSL water test kit was the best option. The kit includes a Styrofoam shipping container, ice packs, and pre-paid FedEx shipping.
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Thanks for the info… I did find the video and company “my tap score” is what it was and the prices are not the same as the video from 2021.
My wife had a one of her listings close a few weeks ago. The house was on a community well for a subdivision consisting of 15 homes on that particular well. The buyers were doing a VA loan witch require a lot regarding the well. The well company that services the well did the water test and sent it to University of Georgia Extension Services for the lab services. Results were back in 3 days. The house was located in NC so not just state a state regulated thing unless your jurisdiction has those mandates.
You may want to check local Universities too to see if they offer testing and their protocols.
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Yeah i checked our state, Pennsylvania is only one of two states that have no regulations over private wells. Also no permits are needed if you own the land and want to dig your own well.
I do the same as Tyler Davis and use a local lab. There are lots of advantages to doing it this way - no shipping/worries, direct access to lab personnel, the lab provides all the sampling bottles and protocols, the lab keeps up with the local County/State requirements and helps to keep me informed, the lab helped me get the training/certification (although not a necessity) for Maryland Rural Water Sampler Certified which adds to credentials and client trust, the lab offers dozens of testing parameters that occasionally a client will ask me if I can do (the lab will provide me instructions for protocol for each), and lab provides me copies of the County instruction sheets for sanitization procedures should the results fail. Finally, the lab will also answer any questions my clients have that I cannot answer should that be necessary and can provide local contractor lists for water treatment, well drilling, etc.
Hope this helps!
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Richard thank you for posting this, your are so spot on. I use the main lab (other than ODEQ) to test my water and they work hand in hand with the state and have been in this field for a while now. The local lab gives you a local person to talk to and work with. I enjoy providing my local services with local business. Just food for thought.
Inspector Lab has the kits & does the analysis & report. 888-854-0477
Good Morning Sir, just wanted to let you know my site is finally up if you wanted to check it out.
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