How to Avoid Scams
Buying a water test online? Read this first!
It is important to periodically check the health of your drinking water. Purchasing a laboratory-based water test online is one of the easiest ways to get a clear picture of your water quality. There are different types of online water tests and different types of water quality reports. These are some of the most important things to look for when choosing one to avoid misleading products and shady business practices.
5 Rules You Need-To-Know:
Don’t Buy a Test From a Treatment Company.
A staggering number of companies offer “free” water tests as a vehicle to get you to buy their expensive treatment systems. It goes like this: a salesperson masquerading as a treatment expert will come to your home and perform some “tests” with the same color changing strips you can buy for $10, with the same low quality results and the added downside of having a pushy salesperson in your kitchen. Read more about the problems with “free” water tests.
Do-It-Yourself Home Test Kits Are Neither Accurate Nor Comprehensive.
Products like this are not worth the time, mess or your money. They are your worst-case scenario testing option. Let laboratory professionals perform the analysis for you, the testing equipment costs millions of dollars for a reason.
Return Shipping Costs Can Add-Up
Many labs exclude the expensive cost of return shipping when they sell a testing service. Sending a heavy, water-filled package quickly to the lab (especially for testing bacteria) can cost you as much as $40. Look for testing services that don’t have hidden costs.
More Contaminants Does Not Mean Better Testing
Many companies will try to sell you on their kits by listing a huge number of contaminants. This is nothing more than marketing spin. Any lab can readily perform certain testing methods that will concurrently analyze water for hundreds of superfluous chemicals. However, most of these chemicals have no realistic chance of appearing in your drinking water.
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Essential City Water Test
Basic test panel for water utility customers primarily concerned by metals, aging pipes, and infrastructure.
Advanced City Water Test
Ideal baseline for testing tap water provided by a local water utility–including metals, minerals, and chlorine-related byproducts.
Extended City Water Test
Comprehensive testing for the core concerns impacting utility-provided tap water, plus analysis of radioactive particles and additional disinfection byproducts.
How can we support you?
Where to begin? What should you test for? What does it all mean for your health and safety? Answers to all your questions are always a chat or FAQ away.
What test do I need?
When in doubt, we recommend that everyone start with one of our CORE KITS, which test multiple contaminants within a single test and are designed specifically for your drinking water source.
How long do results take?
Most people receive results within 3-5 business days after the lab receives their sample. However, some tests may require additional analytical time so be sure to check each kit’s product page for the most accurate estimate.
What will my report include?
Your report will rank your water against local and federal safety benchmarks, provide a thorough breakdown of any contaminants detected and how they may be affecting your health or plumbing, and provide non-biased treatment recommendations.
Are Tap Score labs certified?
Every lab facility in our network is certified with accreditations ranging from ISO to NELAC/ELAP, Direct State, DoD, DoE, DoH and beyond. Need a specific certification? Let us know so that we can meet your needs accordingly.