Complete Guide on Testing Water Quality
Testing water quality is essential for several reasons. It not only protects your health and environment but also detects the pollutants in your home’s drinking water. But the question arises: how to test water quality.
There are many methods for testing water quality, such as visual inspections, DIY, and professional water quality testing services. These tests are conducted to check various factors such as color, odor, turbidity, pH level, contaminations, and other factors. Noble Property Inspections will guide you on how to test water quality. So, without any further ado, let’s get started.
How to Test Water Quality
Testing water quality is vital to ensure a wholesome living for you and your family. From checking your water for any contaminants to inspecting their source, only professionals know how to test water quality right. Besides professional water quality testing, there are many more options to explore. It includes visual or physical inspection, trying out DIY kits, or conducting professional tests.
Let’s explore each option to learn what’s being found in each method.
Professional Water Quality Testing
Visual Inspections
Starting off with a visual inspection, the inspectors test the color and odor of your home's drinking water. Visual inspections also involve checking the turbidity of the water.
This visual inspection can be conducted both personally and professionally. But the difference lies in the extent of attention you pay. A common eye would only notice the color or taste of drinking water doesn't feel pure. On the flip side, a professional inspector will examine elevated levels of different elements and conclude how impure and unhealthy the water is.
Color
Impure water quality can be identified by its colors, such as yellow, blue, or greenish. This shows how your water is contaminated with heavy metals, bacteria, or other elements.
For instance, the higher levels of Aluminum give the water a blackish color. And when the water contains increased levels of copper, iron, and manganese sulfides, then it suggests bacterial presence in the water.
If you think your drinking water looks like tea, that's not something to feel good about. Because it indicates boosted levels of tannic and fulvic acids in the water. Moreover, if the iron level is higher in the water, it will partially decompose its organic materials.
Odor
Odor is another factor that indicates impure water quality. Like color, a common person can only notice a mild or pungent smell in water. That limits testing the water quality. When you conduct professional water quality testing, you better understand what type of smell your water contains and what elements are responsible for that.
If you notice a phenolic or strong smell, it shows your water contains volatile organics or petrochemicals. And the chemical odors indicate the presence of methane or mercaptans. On the flip side, your water can smell like oil, rotten eggs, or fishy smell. This shows the presence of gasoline, sulfur, hydrogen sulfide, high organic matter, barium, cadmium, and more, respectively.
Moreover, if you notice a musty smell, it shows the presence of iron bacteria, algae, mold, or fungus on your water’s surface. All these factors are responsible for the smell of water and show how dangerous and impure water can be.
Turbidity
Turbidity is the murky or cloudy state of water. When you feel the water is not transparent or unclear, it falls in the turbidity category. Turbid water may not have any major health risks, but it can be a source for microbes’ growth. Moreover, it can also hinder water treatment or disinfection processes.
Turbid water can damage pipes, appliances, or fixtures. It makes it difficult to improve water quality. Higher turbidity levels may also indicate the presence of sediments, contamination, or other particles. Turbidity can also cause bad taste and smell in water, increase erosion and sedimentation, and disturb natural habitats.
Sampling
After a visual inspection, water sampling is done by professionals. It may include using various sampling techniques and checking the water quality, identifying contaminants, and locating the water sources.
Water Sources
Your home’s water, used for drinking or washing purposes, can have different water sources. For instance, it can be tap or well water. A professional water quality test will examine these water sources.
Data Interpretation
Once all tests are complete, the experts will analyze the findings. And interpret the results in the context of local standards of water quality. These results declare water contaminants, found chemicals, and their levels or concentrations. It also shows the possible sources of this water and assesses overall water quality.
Reporting
After the testing and their results, the inspectors will prepare a detailed report. This enlists every essential aspect of testing water quality. It gives you a gist of the findings, results, and interpretations. It also explains how to test water quality using various methods. Most importantly, this will give you the necessary recommendations and tips. These water quality testing reports should be clear and concise.
DIY Test Kits
When it comes to DIY water quality testing, you can expect everything at home. The visual inspection we just discussed is also a common DIY. But you can’t detect higher levels of different elements or the presence of contaminants and pollutants. Instead, you can only notice a change in taste or color. Or notice any mild or strong smell in the water.
Taking a step further in DIY methods, you can take DIY kits for testing water quality. These kits allow people to examine the pH and chlorine levels and test the water for bacteria or hardness. Let’s further discuss each of these aspects of tests through DIY kits.
pH Testing
The DIY test kits contain strips or meters to check the pH level of your home's water. The ideal pH levels fall between 6.5 and 8.5. any number lower or greater than this range decides whether your drinking water is alkaline or acidic in nature.
Chlorine Tests
This chemical is often used for water cleaning, but if it gets mixed with drinking water, it can cause health issues. You can test your water for the presence of chlorine through simple DIY kits. It also tells you the concentration of chlorine levels in water.
Bacterial Tests
Common bacteria like E. coli. can reside in your drinking water. You can quickly analyze its presence by conducting simple DIY tests.
Hardness Tests
You can determine whether your home's water is hard or soft by using these DIY kits. Of course, knowing this is essential to maintain your clothes' quality during washing. And protecting your children's health, as drinking hard water also causes several health problems.
Conclusion
Water quality tests are important to ensure health protection and prevention from waterborne diseases. You can also promote sustainable and eco-friendly living for the long term. And also make your home free from hazardous pollutants. We suggest you consider professional water quality testing instead of going for DIY methods or kits. Choosing a professional is an unbeatable option as compared to DIYs, with minimal risks of mistakes and blunders.
This blog gave you in-depth details on how to test water quality. And how testing water quality can bring forward various pollutants hidden in your drinking water. Tune into our latest podcasts to learn more informational and valuable content.
