Perhaps everyone should think about how to check the quality of water at home. Few people go to the laboratory because they are busy, and our people do not like to spend money on tests or wait a long time for the results of examinations. This is how we are designed: we want it quickly, accurately and... for free.
The main criterion in assessing water quality is its hardness, or the content of potassium and magnesium salts. High concentrations of these substances impair the taste of water and negatively affect human health.
After all, as you know, harmful salts tend to accumulate in the body, disrupt digestion and metabolism, and cause chronic diseases. Therefore, monitoring the quality of the water you drink daily is a must if you want to stay healthy for many years.
How to test water hardness at home using a device
A kettle and a boiler will tell you that the tap water is hard enough: the more scale that forms, the more salts are dissolved in the water. However, you will not be able to obtain a quantitative indicator without a measuring device.
Salt meters have been sold for a long time, but few people know about these useful household meters. I propose to consider the process of assessing water quality using the example of the SOEKS Ecovisor F4 device, a multifunctional environmental monitoring device. You can find out about all its useful functions. Now let’s take a closer look at just the salinity meter function.
The built-in TDS meter measures the content of dissolved solids TDS - total dissolved solids in relation to a million particles of water ppm (parts per million). In Ecovisor, the process of checking water quality is simple and intuitive, and the result obtained is immediately compared with the norm.
To take measurements, you need to remove the protective cap from the measuring probe and enter the “salin meter” mode.
After this, the device is ready for measurements: it is enough to lower the probe into the water to get ready readings in a matter of seconds with a color indication warning whether the water is suitable for drinking. If the norm is exceeded, a filter must be installed for cleaning.
How to test drinking water at home if you don’t have a device
Water quality can be assessed using visual testing.
Let's heat the tap water
If water heated to 20 °C has acquired an unpleasant taste and smell, it is not recommended to eat it without preliminary treatment (cleaning, boiling).
When heated to 60 °C, the taste perception is further enhanced. It is important that there is no taste of bitterness or salt, metal or acid. A slight tingling sensation on the tongue indicates a high alkali content.
Pour water into a glass glass
Transparent glass will allow you to evaluate how clean the water is. The presence of even a slight cloudy tint indicates the presence of unacceptable solid impurities and the need to install a filter. The exception is samples of borehole or well water, which may contain useful mineral salts and solid residue that settles after a short period of settling.
Let's try to do the laundry or make soup
In hard water, soap and washing powder foam very poorly, boiling takes longer, vegetables cook less well, and meat remains tough even after boiling for many hours. If you notice these signs, pre-cleaning with special aquafilters is mandatory before consuming or drinking the water.
Let's make tea
Prepare your favorite drink and see: if a film has formed on the surface of the liquid, the hardness of the water used is higher than normal. The muting of the pleasant aroma of coffee and tea also indicates low water quality.
Let's prepare... boiling water
If, after boiling water once, limescale and sediment immediately forms in a perfectly clean pan, the water is too hard.
Harmful effects of daily consumption of poor quality water
A one-time excess of the norm will not cause significant harm, and the body will cope with the stressful situation. However, with constant exposure to harmful factors, protective systems malfunction and serious problems arise: salt deposits develop in the joints, and slow slagging of tissues and the digestive system occurs.
The main negative consequences of poor water quality for the body:
- Deterioration of skin condition: pores are clogged, sebaceous glands are disrupted. The skin becomes dry and fades prematurely.
- Unhealthy, unkempt appearance and stiffness of hair, dandruff, irritation and itching of the scalp.
- Urolithiasis gradually develops, as the kidneys cannot cope with the abundance of harmful salts entering the body.
- Osteochondrosis develops and the full functioning of the joints is impaired.
Chronic diseases only become aggravated over time; the body will experience increasing stress on the cleansing organs. Therefore, it is important to promptly pay attention to the problem of water quality in order to remain healthy for as long as possible.
The best solution to the problem is to install a reverse osmosis filter, which will purify all the water entering the apartment. This way, the health of the whole family will be safe, and household appliances (washing machine, kettle, coffee maker, boiler, etc.) will last much longer. In addition, the consumption of detergents will be reduced by 30-50%, which will be a significant saving on the family budget.
If such a solution is not yet affordable, it is quite possible to limit yourself to the inexpensive option of installing a carbon filter, so that at least the drinking water and the water used for cooking do not contain unnecessary harmful impurities.
Stay healthy
Daily use of soft water improves the condition of hair and skin, which has a positive effect on overall health. The taste of prepared dishes and drinks is much more pleasant, and their aroma is better revealed. This improves the quality of life in all respects. It’s worth checking how hard your tap water is and taking care of cleaning it to enjoy life without a bitter aftertaste!
Have you ever wondered why little children should only be given boiled water? It is correct that the baby receives fluid of the appropriate quality. This also applies to adults. How to check the quality of water at home?
How to determine water quality
If you want to know how to determine water quality, then you are concerned about one or more of the following signs of “bad” water. And the quality of water can be questioned:
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32.61 USD- you don't like the liquid smelling like chlorine. This means that the water was chlorinated, and not ozonized or subjected to ultraviolet irradiation.
- the taste of the water is unnaturally salty. This also means that the quality leaves much to be desired. Chlorides that got into the water during disinfection at treatment stations are to blame for everything.
- The metallic taste that remains in your mouth after drinking tap water indicates that the water pipes are in poor condition.
- Brown water with rusty sediment means that liquid flowed through rusty pipes before entering your home.
- A white limescale deposit in a glass or teapot means that calcium salts are present in the water.
- The inside of the kettle is covered with scale. This means that the quality of water in the house is not up to par; its hardness level exceeds the norm.
When in contact with the skin, calcium and magnesium ions cause dryness and irritation. And with prolonged consumption of water containing calcium salt, the likelihood of developing urolithiasis increases.
- Are the cutlery covered in dark spots even after washing? Tap liquid is “rich” in hydrogen sulfide.
- If the water smells like gouache, sound the alarm. The liquid contains a high concentration of phenol, which enters the water with industrial waste.
- The “aroma” of rotten fish emanating from the liquid indicates the presence of nitrogen-containing organic compounds in the composition of the water.
- and finally, what we all already know, the presence of petroleum products is determined by a multi-colored film on the surface of the water.
Tap water quality
What is the quality of tap water and are there any indicators of the quality of tap water? Yes, there are such people.
- In Ukraine there is a Law on the functioning of the drinking water supply system.
- The main document that determines the quality of drinking water is the “State Sanitary Norms and Rules.” This standard specifies 54 sanitary-chemical and bacteriological indicators that determine the quality of drinking water. For comparison, 95 indicators are used in world practice.
That is, if we see, hear, feel that tap water is causing concern for our health, then it’s time to check the quality of the water.
You can read more about the quality of drinking water on Wikipedia.
How to check water quality at home
We can try to independently assess the quality of water without analysis. To do this, we will use simple tips:
- First of all, attention is drawn to the appearance and taste of the water. To apply tips on how to check the quality of water at home visually and by taste, you don’t have to graduate from college. We know that clean water is transparent, without precipitation. The smell of water can be described in one word: “freshness”, no foreign, let alone chemical, fragrances.
- Pour water into a transparent thin-walled glass glass and place it in front of any book, newspaper or sheet of text. If we can read what is printed or written through a glass of water, it means there are no mechanical impurities in our transparent water.
Be sure to check the quality of water at home with your children. In addition to the useful information they will learn from you, they will get a lot of pleasure from such experiences.
- Now let’s look at a transparent glass of water against the background of a regular white sheet of paper. If there are organic compounds in the water that decompose in the water, they will give the paper a dark color.
- slightly heat the liquid to about twenty degrees, wait a minute and continue heating to sixty degrees. If hydrogen sulfide is present in the water, the heated liquid begins to emit a putrid odor.
- The hardness of water in the house will be determined by any housewife who periodically washes by hand. Soap does not foam in hard water.
How to determine the quality of water from a well? Pour some water into a bottle and place it on a window in direct sunlight. The liquid that turns green after two days is alkaline (houseplants will thank you for it). The clear liquid is acidic and good for you.
- The sediment in the kettle or pan that appears after boiling will also tell us about the hardness of the water.
- Boil a small amount of tap liquid for five minutes. Let it cool to twenty to twenty-five degrees. And we taste the quality. The sweetness of the water is given by the gypsum contained in it; bitterness comes from magnesium salts; Iron salts add astringency. But the taste of rot (brrr) arises from the presence of decay products of plant or animal organisms in the water.
If, after taking a bath or shower, your skin becomes dry or allergic reactions occur, then check the chlorine content in the water using an express test.
- let the water settle and then filter through cotton wool. Third-party particles, invisible to the naked eye, linger on the fleece and color it dark.
- Water quality testing can be carried out on aquarium fish. After adding some liquid from the tap into the aquarium, we observe its inhabitants. Poor water quality causes concern among the inhabitants of the underwater kingdom.
- Apply a small drop of water to a mirror or glass and wait for the liquid to evaporate. Is the surface still clean? The water quality is excellent. Are there any stains or stains on the mirror? Unfortunately, the water does not meet quality standards.
But it is still worth drawing your attention to the fact that advice on how to check the quality of water yourself is not entirely useful if you do not use test devices.
- We can evaluate the quality of water at home and well, check the pH level (an indicator of acidity) using special indicator strips, onto which we drip some water, and then we compare the developed color with the standard. The optimal acidity indicator in water is pH 6-9, if lower, then the environment is acidic, and if higher, it is alkaline.
Instead of an indicator strip to determine the pH level in water, you can purchase a pH meter. The small device is easy to use - just dip two electrodes into the liquid - and the acidity level is displayed before your eyes.
- Whether the water in your house is hard can be determined by indicator test strips or a TDS meter.
In order not to purchase separate indicator tests for each type of possible contamination, you can buy a household kit that allows you to do an express analysis of the quality of tap water for several items at once, including microbiological contamination.
Where can water quality be determined?
To be absolutely sure of the composition of the water used in your home, have the liquid analyzed. We immediately prevent the search for a place where water quality can be determined.
- The sanitary-epidemiological laboratory is the very place where laboratory analysis of water quality will be carried out.
What is needed for this? Make the correct water selection:
- Determining water quality independently at home does not require sampling, but for chemical, microbiological and bacteriological analysis, the material should be collected according to the rules.
- prepare a sterile bag or container for water.
- After treating your hands with alcohol, wipe the tap and valve. We put on sterile gloves.
For normal well-being, each person needs to drink from 2 to 2.4 liters of clean water per day. How can you make sure it complies with regulations and is safe? What is the best way to check the quality of drinking water at home, using available means?
There are many ways:
- boiling the liquid and analyzing the contents of the walls of the container;
- brewing high-strength black or green tea;
- identifying water quality using a mirror.
Special kits are sold that are designed to test water and check its parameters. You can determine the physical indicators of water (smell, turbidity, taste characteristics, salt inclusions) at home. To obtain a detailed water analysis based on chemical composition, use the services of a reliable laboratory.
After reading the article you will learn:
What drinking water quality can be tested?
Before testing water for quality parameters, determine whether it belongs to a certain type. This substance is classified according to various criteria.
According to the source of origin, H2O is:
- artesian;
- spring;
- water supply;
- well
There are conditioned, purified and mixed water. The services of an independent laboratory are used by people who want to know the characteristics and parameters of water coming from. Often it does not meet the standards, so it is not recommended to use it without preliminary cleansing.
You can check the quality of any type of water, including groundwater, river and lake water, that is, taken from open reservoirs. You must deliver the samples to the laboratory yourself.
Tap water
Its integral characteristics are controlled by SanPiN 2.1.4.1074-01. The regulatory document establishes the levels of metals (iron, manganese, aluminum, arsenic, strontium) in water and the permanganate oxidability of such a liquid.
What other indicators does SanPiN 2.1.4.1074-01 control? It defines the maximum permissible values:
- phenolic index;
- residual chlorine;
- general hydrocarbons;
- organohalogen compounds.
Specialists check the general mineralization and hardness of the substance submitted for analysis. They establish the concentration of coliform bacteria, nitrates and nitrites, and formazin turbidity. Purified water coming from various water supply sources is used by residents of populated areas for cooking and household needs.
Bottled water
Requirements for drinking water, which is sold to the population in glass and plastic bottles, determine sanitary rules.
This water is divided into 2 categories:
- first;
- highest.
Organoleptic properties must comply with the standards specified in the sanitary rules. Indicators of salt composition are important, that is, the levels of chlorides, sulfates and phosphates in bottled water, which are measured in hectoliters. A product received for analysis in a laboratory is subjected to thorough analysis according to several criteria.
Experts determine:
- pH value;
- smell of the substance when heated to 60 degrees;
- taste of the liquid being tested, color and turbidity.
Drinking water from natural sources
Water obtained from natural sources brings great benefits to the human body. These include reservoirs, reservoirs, sand wells, and lakes. Before using such a liquid, you will need to make sure that it is safe and meets the standards.
To find out the chemical composition, contact specialists from a suitable laboratory. Many institutions provide such services:
- center for sanitary and epidemiological surveillance;
- central analytical laboratory of water intake;
- Rospotrebnadzor specialists who work with citizens’ appeals;
- accredited laboratories offering analysis services.
Are you looking to spend as little money as possible? Then contact a state laboratory owned by a water utility or located on the territory of a sanitary-epidemiological station. The services of this laboratory will cost you inexpensively. Private institutions charge higher prices for H2O analysis.
What needs to be done to check water quality in the laboratory
It is necessary to collect water from a suitable source or pour it from a tap. You will need a clean glass bottle, scalded with boiling water. Plastic containers are not suitable. The bottle volume exceeds 1 liter. You should not treat it with disinfectants, as this will affect the results.
Try to bring the sample to the laboratory as quickly as possible; after 24 hours, the contents of the container cannot be used. Do you want to check the quality of the water coming from your tap? Then let it drain for 18 or 20 minutes, and then collect a sample and send it to the laboratory. Many institutions offer a home-based water analysis service. These are mainly commercial laboratories that have not been accredited.
However, you should not be afraid to contact such companies. Accreditation is an expensive procedure, so not all testing laboratories can take advantage of this offer. Meanwhile, such companies professionally perform a comprehensive analysis of the quality and taste properties and safety parameters of H2O.
How to check water quality at home using organoleptic analysis
What is it - organoleptic qualities? How to accurately analyze water parameters using this method? A person determines the organoleptic characteristics of drinking water using the senses (vision, smell and taste). The analysis is performed taking into account the intensity of perception of the properties of water by the senses.
If the organoleptic properties of the water being tested do not pass the test, then this is the basis for a thorough and comprehensive analysis in the laboratory. Let's start looking at the methods that are used to determine the quality of H2O and can be used at home at any time.
- Fill the bottle made of glass or plastic, water from a natural source or tap. Close its neck with a lid and place this container in a cool place. After 48 hours, open the bottle and see how its contents have changed, and whether plaque has appeared on the walls of the container. If you see a coating or notice an oily film that appears on the surface, then stop drinking such water. It contains harmful substances.
- Fill the kettle with water, put it on high heat. When the liquid boils, do not turn off the stove, but reduce the heat to low and continue boiling the water for 12 to 14 minutes. After boiling for the specified time, wait approximately 20 minutes for the liquid to cool slightly. Then drain the contents of the kettle into another container.
Check to see if there are any lime deposits or scale left on the walls.
The gray color of the scale indicates an excess of Fe concentration. When deposits are yellow, this is a sign of high calcium concentration.
7 ways to check the quality of drinking water at home
Perform the analysis in your city apartment or country house.
There are 7 reliable ways:
- Add 40–50 ml of the tested water to a transparent glass container containing tightly brewed tea. If the drink changes color or becomes cloudy, then you should not drink the water.
- Drop 1–2 ml of liquid onto the glass. Now wait a few minutes for it to completely evaporate. After the water has completely evaporated, check the surface of the glass. The surface of the glass should remain clean, this is one of the signs that the water is suitable for consumption.
- If you keep freshwater mollusks belonging to the Unionidae family, place them in a container filled with water. If the mollusks are hidden in their shells, the water does not meet accepted requirements.
- Wash your hands with strong soap. If it produces little foam and you have to soap your hands again, then your water is too hard.
- The reaction of H2O with potassium permanganate will reveal the quality characteristics of water. An alarming sign is that the water turns yellow.
- Using a high-precision balance, compare the mass of the H2O samples. The first sample is the liquid you are testing, the second is obviously high-quality water, for example, taken from a cooler. The mass of the samples should be approximately the same. Acceptable error is 1–2%.
- Evaluate the water by its appearance and smell. The presence of foreign and pronounced odors, impurities of various kinds and cloudy sediment is not allowed.
Use any of the above methods. Then you will not need to contact a trusted laboratory and pay for its services.
How to check the quality of water in an apartment using test systems
To perform tap water tests, buy special devices, compact kits equipped with different reagents. They can be purchased online or in retail stores that sell chemical test systems to the public that are suitable for quick and reliable analysis.
Test systems are portable and inexpensive. They are used for precise and thorough control. It will not be a problem to choose a suitable analyzer to determine the pH level of the water substance, the concentration of residual chlorine, the content of iron, cations and nitrates in H2O.
How to check water quality using special meters
If you need to quickly check fluid levels, use special test strips. These are litmus paper strips, their price ranges from 300 rubles per set. Each litmus strip turns a specific color after contact with the test liquid.
Along with this type of meter, you receive instructions that describe how the resulting colors correspond to the measured H2O parameters. A more expensive option is a set of reagents and chemicals, which allows you to conduct a full quality assessment at home and establish the safety of the water.
How and where can you check the quality of water from a well?
If you get water from a sand well or collect it from a well, then check its quality once every 8-10 months. Often such a substance exceeds the permissible concentration level for iron, nitrates, and calcium salts. If you want to be sure that the water indicators meet the standards, collect a sample of the liquid and send it to the laboratory. After drilling a well, you must contact a suitable company and order a detailed analysis.
How to check the quality of distilled water
To determine high water hardness, use a salinometer - a compact and simple device. He will accurately check this hydrophysical characteristic. The salt concentration should not exceed 5 ml per liter.
A pH meter, an autonomous and economical device, will allow you to measure the pH value (acidity). It's inexpensive. To measure the electrical conductivity of the distillate, you will need a conductivity meter. A high-precision device called a chlorometer helps determine the level of free chlorine. The concentration of this substance in distilled water should not exceed 0.02 mg per liter.
Sergey
How to check the quality of water from a well at home?
When it is not possible to connect to a centralized water supply, it is logical that water from a well or is used for domestic and household needs. But are you sure of its quality? In order not to expose yourself to danger, you need to check the water from time to time for the presence of contaminants and harmful substances. To do this, it is not necessary to go to a laboratory - the procedure can be performed at home. Let's figure out how to do this.
Preparing water for testing
To obtain accurate test results, you need to correctly take water samples for analysis.
- Use only glass or plastic containers no larger than 1.5 liters in volume. Containers of sweet carbonated drinks are not suitable here - there may be deposits of dyes and chemicals on their walls.
- The container for analysis must be sterile.
- Water should be taken directly from a pipe connected to a well or well: open the tap and wait 5-10 minutes until the stagnant liquid drains.
To check the quality of water, collect it in a transparent container
- Before using the container, rinse it with hot water without using chemicals.
- Fill the container under low water pressure: if the pressure is strong, excess oxygen will enter the liquid, and this will provoke unnatural chemical reactions.
- The container must be filled to the brim and then closed with an airtight lid.
The first time water from a well or borehole should be tested only after all particles of dust, sand and soil raised during excavation work have settled. Further, already during the operation of the source, the analysis should be carried out once a year.
Advice. If the site is located in close proximity to industrial enterprises, water from a well or well must be tested at least once every six months.
Water analysis and purification
Having prepared the water, proceed to analyze it for color, taste, smell and other external properties. Depending on the test results, take appropriate steps to clean up the liquid at home.
If the water is cloudy, it means that the mesh filter is not doing its job - it often becomes clogged with sand and clay. The easiest way to get rid of this problem is to clean the filter you are already using or install a new one.
A more serious cause of water turbidity is the penetration of groundwater into a well or well through concrete rings or a caisson. In this case, you need to perform a number of maintenance work:
If the water quality is unsatisfactory, install filters
- pump out water;
- clean the walls of the well or well from deposits and disinfect them;
- clear the bottom of silt;
- seal the seams of the rings and check the caisson for integrity.
If the water has a specific metallic taste and smell, it contains an excess of iron. Special filters will help reduce its concentration: reagent or non-reagent. The former purify water from iron through chemical reactions, and the latter by adding filter substances.
If the water has a rotten smell, there is too much hydrogen sulfide in it. You can reduce its amount using a carbon filter - it will eliminate excess hydrogen sulfide through adsorption.
If solid sediment and scale accumulate in electrical appliances that use water, install a filter to soften the liquid in the well or borehole.
Important! To prevent water quality from deteriorating again, regularly check the condition of the installed cleaning filters and change their working elements.
As you can see, there is nothing complicated in testing water from a well or borehole. Proper sampling and careful analysis will allow you to correctly determine the quality of the liquid, and the proposed simple cleaning steps will improve its condition even at home.
How to check the quality of water from a well: video
A simple water analysis at home, which can be carried out using hand-held means, can provide approximate information about what is flowing from the tap. But what kind of “explosive mixture” does a person actually drink? Is it possible to reliably know the quality of the water consumed? About 76% of people come into daily contact with poison that flows from the tap in their apartments. The fact can be easily proven by a simple analysis of water at home using the senses. Concentrated with heavy metals, hydrogen sulfide, iron, various chemical compounds and salts, the “reagent” slowly poisons the body. A non-laboratory analysis of the water at home will not show the full deplorability of the picture, but it will convincingly demonstrate the seriousness of the situation. Our company will help you conduct inexpensive professional water testing.
Why conduct preliminary water tests at home?
The main pipes (connecting the water intake station with apartments in the houses) have long ago become unusable. They corrode, depressurize, rust, and become overgrown with bacterial colonies. All this is washed away with water into the glass from which we drink. According to studies, drinking water in 69% of apartment buildings is unsuitable even for domestic needs.
Well water and water from wells also require testing. The environmental situation in the country leaves much to be desired. The soil, and therefore groundwater, is becoming clogged with emissions and waste, and the number of landfills is growing. All this affects the quality of what we drink. To protect yourself, it is enough to know how to test the quality of water at home using primitive research methods. If during the inspection you notice a deterioration in performance, we recommend ordering a professional analysis. Having received the results, our specialists will offer the most effective ways to protect your health.
What water test can be done at home?
You can determine the suitability of a sample for drinking by doing a water test at home - we check:
- Taste and aroma of the sample at 20 0 C.
Heat 1 liter of tap water to 20 0 C. The clean liquid has no taste or odor. Even the slightest deviations make it unusable. - Smell and taste of the sample at 60 0 C.
If testing the water at home according to point 1 gives the result “clean”, it is worth heating the sample to 60 0 C (the temperature at which the taste and smell are more pronounced). Evaluate according to the following criteria: should not be bitter, salty (samples from natural sources may have a salty taste), sour, give a metallic taste, pinching (presence of alkali). The presence of odor indicates the presence of microorganisms, chlorine, ammonia, and bacterial waste products. - Sample color.
Our experts determine it by comparing a sample with a quality standard. Pure water should have a color value below 20 on the platinum-cobalt scale. Therefore, testing water at home will not allow you to accurately determine the result (there is no standard for comparison), but it will make you think. It is necessary to pour tap (borehole, well) water into a transparent and clean container and examine it in the light. To notice even slight coloring, it is necessary to place a clean white sheet behind the container. If liquid is tested from natural sources (borehole, well), then a slight tint is allowed. Tap water should not have any tint. It will be difficult to check the quality of water at home in a regular glass. You need a thin-walled cylinder or a special container. - Sample transparency.
It's worth making a small digression. Samples taken from groundwater (borehole, well) are usually cloudy because they are saturated with iron oxide and salts. Their transparency is checked in the laboratory with a special device - a colorimeter. But tap water that is safe to drink must be 100% clear. In order for testing the quality of water at home for transparency to give approximately reliable results, you need to take a clean, thin-walled glass container, fill it halfway and examine it in the light, changing viewing angles. - Sample stiffness.
The presence of magnesium and calcium and their salts in the liquid determines its hardness. Washing powder foams very poorly in it, soap lathers up, vegetables take longer to cook, and it takes longer to boil, since its density is higher. But the most important criterion is the sediment on the walls of the kettle or vessel in which the sample was boiling. It is very easy to test the degree of hardness of water at home - you need to “boil” a sample and estimate the amount of sediment.
When purchasing a summer cottage or a house near a reservoir, we recommend testing the quality of water in surface sources. While doing the analysis, you should not drink water from such sources. There is a high probability of contracting infectious diseases. In this case, it is better to order a chemical, bacteriological and microbiological examination of the sample in our laboratory. We offer low prices and a high level of service.
How to properly test water at home: rules for taking samples
If water quality is determined at home by the apartment owners themselves, then there is no need to follow the rules for its selection, since it is impossible to determine the chemical, microbiological and bacteriological composition through the senses. But if you decide to order a laboratory analysis, then the collection of material should be carried out, following certain rules:
- Collect water in a sterile tight bag or container. They can be purchased from our company;
- Wipe the faucet and valve with 96% alcohol. Hands must also be treated;
- Before collecting water, release it (full jet power) for 10-15 minutes;
- Collect at least 0.5 liters of water, but up to 2 liters is better;
- When collecting, the neck of the container or bag should not touch foreign objects: faucet, sink, bucket, and so on. It is better to wear sterile gloves.
Having decided to test the water at home (tap, well, well, pond) and in the laboratory, we remember: microbiological analysis is reliable if the study is carried out 2 hours after taking the sample, but chemical and bacteriological analysis can be carried out after 1-2 days. The sample must be kept in a dark place at a temperature no higher than +8 0 C. In order not to spoil the sample, it is better to entrust its taking to our specialists. Call us if you have questions or need professional advice on water purification in an apartment or private home.