Why Should I Test My Home Water Quality?

Water is an essential ingredient in all households.  We use water for drinking, cooking, bathing, cleaning, and for watering plants and gardens.  United States households use more than 300 gallons of water each day.   With water being such an important factor to your daily life, have you ever asked yourself ‘whats in my water?’ To answer this question, let us explain how water arrives to your home. 

Should I Test My Home Water Quality?

Drinking water is delivered to homes from public and private water supplies.  Public water supplies are treated by cities at water plants.  Depending on the water supply, cities follow a multi-step process to clean the water before distributing to consumers.  The water treatment process follows the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) water quality standards to make sure that no contaminates above the maximum contaminant level are left in the drinking water after treatment.

Private water supplies are not treated by city water plants.  The water is pulled from the water source, which is often a well, then sent to your home using a pump.  Private water supplies can have elevated levels of iron and even bacteria.  Iron causes staining, odor, and causes water to taste bad when consumed.  Bacteria in your water can make you sick.  Because private water supplies are not treated by cities, this supply is not monitored for safety.

Why Do We Test Water Quality?

Water is considered the universal solvent, because it has a chemical composition that becomes attracted to many other types of molecules.  Water can dissolve more substances than any other liquid.   This means that as the water travels through pipes, it picks up contaminants such as lead, chromium, copper, and the list goes on.  When the water arrives to your house, it is not the same water chemistry as when it left the city water plant.  Even in private water supplies, the water chemistry changes as it is exposed to oxygen and delivered to the home.

Testing water quality is essential to ensure it meets safety standards for consumption, environmental protection, and public health. Monitoring for contaminants, pollutants, and chemical imbalances helps identify potential risks and allows prompt interventions. Regular testing safeguards water sources, supports sustainable practices, and enhances overall well-being for both humans and ecosystems.

How to Test Water Quality With a Home Water Test Kit?

Weather you have a public water supply, or a private water supply, a home water test kit can be purchased to take a water sample for analysis.  The test kits provide instructions to answer, ‘how can I test my water at home.’  The test kits are returned to a laboratory for testing.  A report is then mailed to you that shows your water chemistry make-up.  Knowing what’s in your water will tell you if your water is safe to drink, or if further treatment is required such as filtration or a reverse osmosis.  At Antunes, a Water Expert provides a detailed report showing health and non-health related claims.

Health related contaminant examples are chromium, copper, lead, turbidity, mercury, nitrate and nitrites.  These contaminants can cause health problems if consumed at elevated levels.  There are also non-health related elements in water supplies.  Calcium and magnesium are examples of non-health related elements.  Calcium and magnesium combine to make-up water hardness.

Hardness causes scale build-up on appliances, pipes, linens, and shower fixtures.  This creates the need to replace or repair hot water heaters, dishwashers, clothes washing machines, shower heads, and piping on a more frequent basis.  Linens are rough to the touch and skin may become dry when washing with high hardness water.  Utilities and detergent costs are higher due to the extra energy and soap required for processing.  Although hardness is a non-health related, it can still cause trouble for the home.

How to Test Water Quality at Home Without a Kit?

To learn how to check drinking water quality at home, contact your local district or local water company.  Cities will send the water quality report in the mail.  This report will explain what contaminants were reduced from the water source, and the end results.  This report may not provide information on non-health related claims. For private water supplied homes, contact water@antunes.com for instructions on how to test water for bacteria at home and other contaminants.

To examine how to test water quality at home without a kit pour water into a clear glass.  Look at the water to see if it has color, smell the water to determine if there is an odor, and drink the water to determine if there is a taste.  Viewing, smelling, and tasting the water will allow you to recognize if there is a problem.

If the water looks white or cloudy, this suggests there is suspended solids or dirt in the water.   If the water is brown or yellow, this indicates a presence of iron.  Black water points to metallic sulfides and manganese.  Blue water represents copper.  Bubbly water could mean there’s detergent in the water or dissolved gases.

Secondly is the smell.  If the water smells similar to pool water or bleach, this means there is chlorine in the water.  A rotten egg odor is caused by hydrogen sulfide.  A sewage smell indicates there are microorganisms in the water.

Lastly, is the taste.  A salty taste is caused by chlorides.  Bitter taste indicates presence of sulfates.  Effervescent taste is bicarbonate, also called alkalinity.  If the water tastes metallic, there could be copper, iron, or zinc.  Soapy water indicates there is detergent in the water supply.

If your examination shows results, an Antunes Water Expert can provide an equipment recommendation, or a water test kit for further analysis.  Testing the water will not only solidify the issues you are seeing, but it will also report on the items you cannot see, smell, or taste.

Antunes ships the sample bottle direct to your home with a return package and label. The sample is analyzed by an EPA-certified independent laboratory.  The lab testing is extensive and reviews more than 30 water quality parameters.  Upon completion of testing, an Antunes Water Expert provides the report with and explanation of results and an equipment recommendation when needed.

Water is important to our daily lives.  There is no need to guess what is in your water that is being used for drinking, cooking, bathing, and cleaning.  By being aware of what makes up the water in your home, you can determine if water treatment equipment is needed, or if no intervention is required. This assures you are providing the best water quality your home deserves.

The answer to your question of ‘whats in my water’ can be solved today.  And Antunes Water is here to help.

Purchase your Water Analysis Kit from Antunes Water today.