Water Test Kits Promise to Tell You if Your Tap Water Is Safe—but Do They Work?

[rangerrebew]

Water Test Kits Promise to Tell You if Your Tap Water Is Safe—but Do They Work?

We asked the pros if testing your water at home is a legit way to find contamination.
By Erica Sloan   
Jul 12, 2018
 

Local water utilities are required to test their systems for contamination and to release annual reports demonstrating water safety (usually enclosed with a summer bill). But since the 2014 crisis in Flint, MI—when water laden with lead and other harmful substances owed freely through the city’s water supply—homeowners are turning to at-home testing kits to analyze the contents of their tap water for common contaminants, like bacteria, lead, mercury, and aluminum.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommends doing a test if your water appears cloudy or smells and tastes off, your soaps don’t lather, your plumbing fixtures or laundry gets stained, or if you experience consistent gastrointestinal illnesses.

But the number of kits on the market is staggering, so we asked water-quality experts to distill the best options. Here’s what to keep in mind before you splurge on a kit.

https://www.prevention.com/health/a22130040/water-test-kits/

[Cyber Liberty]

They make "food-sniffers" to tell us if our meat is "safe."  They're bogus.   They can tell you if it's "rancid," but not if they are free of pestilence.  Your own nose can do just as good a job, for a lot cheaper.