Top 5 Ways to Test Your Water

There is a quote by Audrey Hepburn that says "Water is Life and Clean Water Means Health". 

Up to 60% of the human body is comprised of water, but how clean is the water you are drinking. You replenish your body body daily with water, you should want it to be as clean as possible. Testing water is very important because there may be things like bacteria, toxins, lead, feces and so much more in it. Some of the more common issues can be quite obvious but others not so much. Things like taste, color, odor and even staining your clothes can be obvious signs. But you may have things lurking in your water that are toxic and tasteless.

So what is the best ways to test your water and make sure it is in the best condition possible. 

These are the top 5 best ways to test your water

1. Do you have Hard or Soft Water? No Kit Needed! 

First off, what does this mean...

Hard Water - hard water has higher amount of calcium and magnesium in the water.

    Benefits:

• Rich in minerals and possibly more healthy 
• Beneficial for your bones and heart.
• Closer to natural rainfall and streams

    Negatives:  

• Bad for skin and pores
• Can damage your pipes over time
• Leaves spots on glasses and dishes

Soft Water - Minerals are removed, usually by ionization 

     Benefits: 

• Doesn't leave spots on dishes and glasses
• Doesn't leave your pores closed and easier on your skin
• Easier on the pipe system 

     Negatives:

• Higher in sodium and cause pose a risk for blood pressure. 
• Lacking minerals and considered not good for long term drinking
• Picks up more unwanted things in pipes

Quick Home Test: 

What is Needed:

Castile Soap (don't use normal soaps because they have more additives.)

Empty Clean Water Bottle

Your Tap Water

Instructions:

Fill your clean empty water bottle 1/3 full of the water you would like to test like your tap or shower water. Add about 3 drops of Castile Soap into the bottle. Screw on the cap tight and shake vigorously for about a minute. Set it down and check for these results. 

If you have a lack of bubbles from the soap and your water is cloudy or milky looking, then you have hard water. If your water is mostly clear with many bubbles then your water is soft. That's it! 

Note: If you would like a more professional test, you can find kits for this same test for around $10 online or have major chains like Home Depot or Lowes. These kits are more accurate and will give you the level of how hard or soft your water is. Some water may be right in the middle, something the home method won't be able to tell you.

2. Heavy Metals Test

A heavy metals test is important because water can contain things like Cobalt, Iron, Lead, Zinc, Mercury and more. This is a very simple test using a strip

For $20 you can get a well rated one at  Sensafe

While this isn't directly for the water, you can test your body for Heavy Metals as well. It would interesting to see a before and after with this test as you fix your water and filter it from Heavy Metals. These tests kits can be a bit more in cost, but it sounds important to have safe limits of such things in your body

For $199 you can get a very detailed urine analysis kit online with  Everlywell

3. All Inclusive Water Test

Maybe you just want to do something once and know everything at once, sounds pretty easy. But home test kits can actually be inaccurate in some cases. At  Xperiential you can get a professional lab test by simply sending in your water samples to them. These tests are quite advanced as far as results, the comprehensive test is considered the all inclusive but you can get several specialized tests. 

This site has specific tests that can be for city water or well water so this is a good opportunity to test for things that may be specific to well water. 

Here are some of the items checked in the comprehensive test.

• E. Coli
• Coliform 
• Chloride
• Nitrate
• Floride
• Sulfate
• Lead
• Iron
• Mercury
• Nickel
• Copper
• Arsenic 
• Chromium 
• Many More

It's a bit worrisome that these strange things can be in your water, especially if in high doses. Do you think things like these affect your health, mood, immune system and energy? My guess would be yes! 

4. Environmental Health Protection Agency

If you live in the United States you may be able to get your water tested free by the government. If not, they will lead you in the right direction for your area test it. Simply visit the EPA or call the  Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 800-426-4791. You would want to tell them some sort of concern because they won't just test people who wonder what's in their water. If you have things like strange colors, smells, or in general just a weird water that tastes like chemicals they may give you this service for free. This can be by test kits or home visit depending on your area. 

5. Taste Test

That seems easy doesn't it? If you are just used to drinking your tap water you can become accustom to it in your body and tastebuds. One of my first red flags of concern was when my water would sit in a cup overnight. In the morning it tasted like pool water, the taste of chlorine was extremely strong and that caused concern. If it didn't sit out long, it tasted like normal water to me. But this lead me to explore my options for water filters, the taste was night and day after. 

Simply go out and purchase very clean bottled water, something like Fiji water works well. Fiji water is shipped from Fiji, this natural jungle water is earth filtered in a very clean air and land environment. You would want a water like this, some of the cheaper bottled water is just tap water the company filters. It is fine, but not something to use for this test. 

Although this water is a bit pricy, it's probably cheaper than a test kit. If you actually have toxins in your water. Drinking this for a week might just change your mood and energy. Overall, you would want to switch to this water from your tap water for about 7 days. For these 7 days do not drink your tap water, you want to acquaint your tastebuds and mind to this new clean water. 

After the 7 days, have some more of your Fiji water and wait about 10 minutes without water. Then, fill up a very clean glass with your water, make sure it is without ice and straight from your tap. How does it taste? You may be surprised you have always been drinking such water after this taste test. It may even gross you out and realize
something should be done. 

Fix Your Water

At this point you have tested your water and realize some change is needed. What can you do? Here are some options that you could explore. 

• GO BIG! - If you are convinced water is the secret to good health at this point. You can go to the next level with clean alkaline, oxygenated and electrolyte added water. But are you willing to drop $5,999 on a water system? Some people are and swear it changed their life. There are actually online groups for this and tell stories about how this cured conditions or restored their health in different ways. If you are interested in such a system visit look into a FlowWater System. They are in the works of developing a more affordable smaller option, depending on what year you found this article, it may be available now. 


• House filter - These are good if you want to install a system that cleans all the water coming into the home. Even shower water which may be important to some for skin reasons. These can range in price from around $1,000 and up for quality systems. This can even help your ice if you have a refrigerator that dispenses ice but doesn't have a filter. 


• Basic tap filter - There are several filters that can attach directly to your tap. These are a nice affordable option and easier if you are always filling up a hand held filter and it's a pain for you. There are affordable options at any home improvement stores, but these do require filter replacements.


• Brita Filter - There are of course a few options for this method, but Brita is probably the most well known. It is just is a system that filters tap water in a jug, you can then keep in the fridge so it's cold. It is a good option and affordable, but you do need to replace the filters occasionally. 


• Bottled Water - If you don't mind buying bottled water this is a good option as well. You can even get home delivery of 5 gallon jugs and a water cooling system. Delivery is a good option because you can set a schedule that works for you and always have clean water. These do require some heavy lifting but you can also get an extension pump if that is easier. 


• Boil Water - Not exactly a great method, but if your water is making you sick and you don't have the options for the others, this is a cheap method. You can take a large pot of water and boil it for a good 10 minutes of hard boil, this will at least get rid of bacteria and other toxins. This water can later be put in the fridge so it is cold. This is actually a common method in some places, many do it in countries like Mexico where the water will literally make you sick and give you parasites.
  

So there you have it, you have ways to test and options to put healthy water in your body. If you are not convinced water matters for your health. We urge you to look more into it. Thanks for reading and visit our Blog at for more  Home and Land related articles.

Once you have a water well, be aware that you need to maintain it. You wouldn't want to have to redo a well else where so this is important. RedFin has a great article about this 5 Ways to Maintain a Water Well

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