Home water testing strips might not work so well

[GON]

Last night I tested my home water supply. Tested both before and after the water softener. I came to the initial conclusion the water softener was not removing minerals.

Came across a bottle of distilled water this morning and decided to test that water. Not so much different test results.

Now I am wondering if the rest strips are not so accurate..the far left strip is the distilled water, the far right strip is untreated water, and the two middle strips are water softener treated water.

 

[Rand]

are the test strips expired? but yes appears those are worthless.

 

[kschachn]

What exactly are we looking at? I can’t tell what minerals you’re seeing. An ion exchange resin won’t remove all minerals.

Also that Parent’s Choice “distilled water” may be initially distilled but they then add minerals back to it.

 

[Urshurak776]

As the former Project Manager for United Water in Glynn County, GA I can approve this message. These strips are nonsense, basically. Very similar to escape procedures on Submarines. They make Senators and Grandma happy, but in actuality, useless....

I'm sorry you wasted your money to find this out....

 

[alarmguy]

It's hard to tell by the photos. However distilled water is generally the purest form of water you can purchase so it's an excellent reference.

 

[Pablo]

Those kits from Amazon = suck

But also, I don't necessary trust gallon jug water either.

 

[Sumboodie]

Use the drops for water hardness testing.

This is the one I have.

https://a.co/d/2Dv48Ua

 

[Pablo]

Side note: Wow real water testing has gone through the roof$!!!

 

[duck__dodgers]

>>> I came to the initial conclusion the water softener was not removing minerals.

Are you relying on your water softener for filtration? Or just softening hard water?

 

[FowVay]

This is interesting to me. I remember many years ago I took a water sample kit that was free from Home Depot and thought I'd be slick and mail it in. I filled the sample vial with some Type 1 ultrapure water I used in the lab I worked at and mailed it in. A few weeks later I got a call from a company trying to sell me a water filtration system for my house because the sample I sent to them showed high levels of minerals and impurities that were not good for me. If you know what Type 1 lab water is then you know it has no minerals or dissolved ions or NUTHIN in it.

So I guess the free vials weren't there to help me learn about the condition of my house water but rather to help a company sell me something. Lesson learned.

 

[kschachn]

It's hard to tell by the photos. However distilled water is generally the purest form of water you can purchase so it's an excellent reference.

That’s not normal distilled water. It has added minerals.

 

[IndyIan]

Maybe just put a few drops of water on a piece of glass? Some from before the softener and some after? Or a taste test? We left the cold tap in the kitchen unsoftened, for drinking and its easy to tell the difference between the softened cold and unsoftened cold water, the softened is just tiny bit salty and tastes much different.
Also do you have any problems to make you think your water is too hard? I can easily feel if I've forgotten to add salt too long, in the shower. And the hard cold water makes the kettle build up minerals quite quickly.

 

[dubber09]

I ran a few freshwater fish tanks for many years in the past and can tell you those strips may get you an idea where about it is but are inaccurate.
Better way to test is to buy a kit that includes a vial and drip bottle from a reputable manufacturer, those are quite accurate.

 

[walterjay]

As a formerly licensed water plant operator I can tell you with full confidence that those strips are trash.

 

[Hall]

Testing for (16) different parameters ? If I want to check hardness, I use hardness test strips. If I want to check for chlorine, I use chlorine test strips.

 

[GON]

>>> I came to the initial conclusion the water softener was not removing minerals.

Are you relying on your water softener for filtration? Or just softening hard water?

City water, reported to have very high calcium. City treats the water with chlorine, which reported to damage the water softener resin.

 

[GON]

are the test strips expired? but yes appears those are worthless.

The strips are likely expired, but are in sealed foil protection.

I purchased hard water only test strips earlier today from Amazon, a long with water drop in bottle strips.

 

[Gyro Gearloose]

Ignoring for a moment that test strips are only one step more accurate than predicting weather with wooly worms,
out of all the things your strip tests for, only Hardness (calcium and magnesium ions) would have been affected by a water softener.

The other metallic ions like manganese, iron, copper fall into the "it depends" category as far as being taken out by a softener.

The non metal ions like nitrates, chlorides, sulfates, etc. and total alkalinity which are ph buffering carbonate and bicarbonate ions, are not affected by softening.

An activated carbon filter will remove the chlorine.

 

[GON]

Use the drops for water hardness testing.

This is the one I have.

https://a.co/d/2Dv48Ua

Thanks for posting the link.

Earlier today I did a search in amazon and came across pages and pages of test strips , but no kit like you posted came up. I suspect the test strips pay a lot of marketing advertisement monies to Amazon, leaving the real stuff hidden away deep.

 

[Sumboodie]

Thanks for posting the link.

Earlier today I did a search in amazon and came across pages and pages of test strips , but no kit like you posted came up. I suspect the test strips pay a lot of marketing advertisement monies to Amazon, leaving the real stuff hidden away deep.

That kit for sure works. I got it a few years ago when I suspected my water softener wasn't working correctly.

Ended up it need the venturi cleaned.