Water Test - What to Test for?

[asmart82]

I'm planning on doing a water test and am curious what I should ask the lab to test for. Currently, I know I should test for hardness, ph, iron, manganese, and hydrogen sulfide. Any ideas for something I might be missing? I did the bacterial test a few months ago when buying the house and all were negative.

[Akpsdvan]

Ask what kind of packages they have.
An example Waterchek has a test that has 183 with in a test..
Are you on a city or well, any local requirements for testing?
Any thing that you have heard neighbors having in their water that you would like to find out if it is in your water?

[JKERN]

Most testing facilities have packages like cation, anion, voc's and so on you should speak with your local environment dept. for your county and see what they recommend for your area. Also you should decide what you are wanting to do with your water before you contact them. Some people perfer to buy bottled water and therefore do not want a reverse osmosis unit and some people don't care for softened water knowing what you want is the first step in deciding what equipment and treatment you will wind up with after your testing.

[jadnashua]

There are all sorts of things that could be in the water. Heavy metals can be problematic, if anywhere near an old dump or manufacturing plant, VOC (volatile organic compounds) could be present. You might even be interested in radon, but that often is a specialized test in itself. Radon in your well water can be particularly bad and the gas is released in a shower and you get to inhale it...worse than most other transmission scenarios since it is concentrated by the spray in the tub/shower area. A call to the county might get you some help in what is common, or possible in your area. Neighbors are a good info point, too.

[Gary Slusser]

If you don't smell H2S gas (sulfur) in your water as it splashes around in a sink or bucket, there's no sense in paying for a test for H2S. Your or her nose is the best test for H2S.

You should have another Coliform bacteria test done.

You should test for what you've listed and anything you think might be in the water but beware of labs, they love selling water tests and aren't afraid of charging more than they should based on what it costs them for the chemicals etc. to do the tests.