Regular testing of drinking water is key to ensuring safety. And it can be hard to decide between DIY vs. Laboratory Water Testing. Lab testing, especially with EPA-certified labs, offers the highest accuracy. DIY kits, however, provide a fast, affordable option for basic checks. Here’s a quick guide to help you choose which type of testing best suits your needs.

Advantages of DIY Water Testing Kits

 

Are DIY Kits Accurate?

 

Safe Home Test Kits offers reliable, accurate DIY options, ideal for quick testing needs. Though less detailed than lab tests, these kits can detect key contaminants in two ways.

 

DIY kits, like our Lead in Drinking Water Test, provide a ‘Presence/Absence’ result to quickly confirm if a contaminant is present. Other DIY Kits, like our Basic Drinking Water Test Kit uses color-matching strips to give you approximate ranges of key parameters, such as pH.

 

Each DIY kit undergoes quality checks by the same chemists who handle our lab tests, ensuring accuracy you can trust. This rigorous process sets Safe Home’s DIY kits apart from other options.

 

When to Use DIY Water Test Kits for Initial Screening and Spot Checking

 

DIY water test kits are ideal for an affordable first check or routine spot testing. Here’s how these kits can fit into your water safety routine:

 

Initial Screening

If you’re concerned about a specific contaminant but aren’t sure if a full lab test is necessary, a DIY kit can provide a quick answer. For example, if you suspect lead in your water, you could start with our DIY Lead Test Kit to see if it’s present. If lead is detected, a follow-up lab test can confirm the levels precisely.

 

Spot Checking

DIY kits are also useful for regular checks to ensure your water quality remains stable. For instance, well water users may want to check for Total Coliform Bacteria quarterly, or you might periodically test the effectiveness of a water filtration system. Although DIY kits don’t provide exact concentrations, they offer a quick way to verify that your water stays within safe parameters.

 

What is an In-Lab Water Test

 

Our EPA-certified In-Lab Water Testing service provides a convenient, mail-in solution for detailed water analysis. Each kit provides sample bottles, instructions, and prepaid return shipping. And then our chemists run the sample and send you your results.

 

Benefits of In-Lab Water Testing

 

In-Lab testing offers precise results, providing exact concentrations for key parameters. With Safe Home’s rigorous quality control, you can trust these findings as the most accurate.

 

The Most Comprehensive Water Test

 

One of the main advantages of in-lab testing will be the number of parameters that can be tested. With most DIY test strips, you will be limited to approximately 10 parameters. Our In-Lab Ultimate Drinking Water Test Kit will test for 200 contaminants, including herbicides and pesticides.

 

In addition to getting more contaminants tested for, you will also get exact concentrations that will tell you exactly what is happening with your water.

 

This will let you find the exact solution you need if you need to adjust or add a filtration system.

 

Quality Control of an In-Lab Test Kit

 

Our In-Lab Kits undergo rigorous, third-party verified quality control. Our In-Lab testing also undergoes annual EPA certification standards. We have a dedicated internal quality control system where every single test is confirmed by one of our top chemists.

 

We know how important it is to have safe water and making sure your test results are correct is our top priority.

 

Low Contamination Levels

 

Lab tests can detect trace contaminants even below the limits of DIY kits, making them ideal for users requiring precise, low-level detection. This is especially important if you have anyone in the home who is especially at risk, like infants, or is immunocompromised.

 

Water Testing Report and Customer Support

 

Safe Home’s In-Lab Testing provides a detailed report on your water’s contamination levels, along with EPA guidelines and extra resources. Plus, our support team is ready to help you interpret results for informed safety decisions.