Today @Tron and I used an at home water testing kit from Home Depot, H20 Ok, to test the front fountain drinking water at DMS.
We have a class this Thursday, 4/19, where you can bring a bottle of your home’s drinking water and test what it may or may not contain. I just posted the event on the calendar so expect to see it Tuesday Morning.
Agreed. We couldn’t find any lead testing kits at Home Depot except for paint. I’m sure we can order better test, but baby girls pockets aren’t that deep. Thanks for the material, we will read through it and invest in better tests.
We will be allowing those who sign up, to do free testing, this thursday, 4/19 at 7:30 pm in the science area.
All of this. People were freaking out when NTMWD did their “chlorine burn” and pointing to total dissolved solids as some indicator of “we’re all gonna die.” All the TDS tells us is we have hard water. Duh. Glad I spent money on a test kit to tell me what I can tell by looking at my shower head.
And if anyone really wants to get up in arms about the “chlorine burn,” remember: NTMWD met all applicable standards for average chlorine level during the burn. If one wants better water, one’s gonna need better water standards, meaning “more regulation.”
The test should take no more that 10 minutes. Please bring a bottle of your home’s drinking water. If you forget, lets try testing water around DMS or better yet, your favorite water brand.
Where I grew up (rural South Dakota) the state schools provided that service.
Tens to a few hundred. Basically, each test has a cost. Ideally, the set of tests performed focuses on a set of possible contaminants. For example, someone using well water on a farm is not going to test for chlorine compounds and someone using city water is unlikely to test for cow-related bacteria.
Thanks to all who came out tonight. Some people brought some of their own water, for those who didn’t we bought water from Park’s Pantry and tested those instead. We’re hoping that we test for lead and bacteria in future tests.
I forgot to add in the pH field on the worksheets, so thats why you don’t see the pH recorded.
What the alkalinity is measuring is the amount of carbonates (ppm) in the sample, not the actual pH. The amount of carbonates within your sample determine if your water has the capacity to neutralize acids.
Glad to see the interest and I did not participate in the class. However, I want to draw caution to the quality of the test kit for delivering any accurate results.
Fiji probably represents the best control sample here. Fiji water has no detectable levels of copper and has no detectable levels of chlorine. In fact, chlorine levels above 4 ppm in a swimming pool would be considered elevated levels. At those levels, you’d probably approach experiencing eye and nose discomfort. There is no possible way bottled water (or regulated tap water) has a 10 ppm chlorine level. Also, the alkalinity level for Fiji should be significantly higher.