Drinking Water Testing

The taste, odor, and appearance of your drinking water can give you an indication of its quality, but do you know if your water is really safe? A glass of water may contain dissolved minerals, organic compounds, or even live organisms. Some of these materials, if present in very small amounts, are no problem for drinking water. Other materials, however, may be serious health risks.

Public water supplies present few concerns because they are routinely disinfected and tested for a long list of potential contaminants according to rules and regulations set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA)

The SDWA requires that water treatment plants notify customers if any of these standards are violated. In 1996, Congress amended the SDWA requiring water suppliers to put annual drinking water quality reports into the hands of their customers beginning in 1999. The report is referred to as Consumer Confidence Report (CCR).

It is possible for water to meet SDWA standards when it leaves the public water treatment plant, but not meet those standards by the time it reaches your kitchen or bathroom sink. For example, water can extract lead from lead solder. Therefore, if you live in a home with plumbing that pre‑dates the 1987 plumbing codes, or if you have a very old home in which there are lead pipes, you may wish to have your water tested for lead. Few other problems require testing by public water supply users.

If you get your water from a private well, it is your own responsibility to monitor its quality. Aside from your health concerns, most lending institutions require a water test before they will approve a loan for purchase or construction of your home. In some areas, however, there are health concerns, such as nitrate, fluoride, or arsenic concentrations above the drinking water standard. The more common problems, like hardness or high concentrations of iron, sulfate, or chloride are not health concerns.

Public Environmental and Water Testing Prices

Special information regarding HUD/FHA Loan Requirements

United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requires all of the above tests on private well water prior to accepting a house for FHA mortgage insurance. The Veteran’s Administration has the same requirements. The test results must meet the minimal drinking water quality requirements specified by HUD based on EPA recommendations

Water Testing Policy and Sample Requirements:

To ensure quality services, carefully follow all instructions, complete all test request forms thoroughly and submit water samples in the bottles provided by the WSLH. The bottles provided are pre-approved (i.e., quality checked) for the specific tests you requested. Failure to follow instructions or not use approved sample bottles may result in rejection of your sample(s).

Because some drinking water samples must be tested within a short time period after sampling, it is strongly recommended that you NOT ship samples to WSLH on Fridays for Saturday delivery. The WSLH building is not open to the general public on weekends and holidays and staff may not be available to process your samples. Even with overnight delivery, samples may not be received or processed to meet the time limit requirement and another sample will need to be taken and shipped.

Water Testing

Ensure Your Home Water is the Best it Can Be

When you’re in the process of buying a new home, having your water tested is essential. While public water systems are mandated to test and treat their water, these tests only cover the water that has yet to leave the treatment plant. Once it leaves the plant, your water must pass through miles of piping,

some of which may be in disrepair or contain lead, before it enters your home’s plumbing system. Inspection Service is equipped and eager to ensure the water in your home is high-quality and safe to consume. Whether you are just moving in or you’re already settled and just recognizing that your water has an abnormal odor, color, or taste

The Dangers of Low-Quality Water

Not only does low-quality water have an unpleasant taste and smell, but it can also have a number of long-term effects on the body.

According to the EPA Safe Drinking Water Act, there are two categories of contaminants. Primary contamination encompasses contaminants that have health-related effects. Secondary contamination includes contaminants with aesthetic effects. It’s possible for your water to have no traces of Primary contaminants above the recognized limits but still contain Secondary contamination that yields a bad odor, color, and taste. Fortunately, HomeTeam has the tools and expertise necessary to identify any contamination in your water so you can ensure your family’s safety, health, and peace of mind.

Well Water Customers

If you get your water from a private well, you are responsible for scheduling water testing services. Most homeowners who use well water don’t request these services until they decide to sell their property. The EPA highly recommends that well owners schedule water testing services every year and whenever they suspect an issue. You should test your well for any traces of pH, total dissolved solids, nitrates, coliform bacteria, chemicals, and any other suspected contaminants.

Home Inspection Water Test Kit

As a home inspector, clients rely on your expertise when they are making a decision to buy a house.  Now you can provide them with details about their water quality and the long-term effects that it may have on their plumbing, water-using appliances, and their health.  Our easy to use testing kit will provide you with everything you need to help home buyers understand their water quality and the costs of treatment options if necessary.

Whether you are inspecting a home that is on municipal water or well water, water testing is something that more and more home buyers are looking for as part of their home inspection. With our Home Inspection Water Test Kit, you can easily collect water samples to be tested for common pollutants and contaminants such as Arsenic, Nitrate, Nitrite, Lead, Total Coliform, E.Coli.  Water testing is a simple way to let your clients know if the water in a home is potable and safe.

No water source is completely free of impurities, many of which are odorless, colorless, and tasteless.  It is recommended that private wells be tested at least once a year and some mortgage lenders even require water quality testing for homes with well water.  Even municipal water is not without concern.  The possibility of contamination increases if the plumbing system is aging or if there is nearby farming, fracking, or other mining.

Offering water quality testing with certified laboratory results is an often-requested service that takes very little time and does not require additional equipment.  Simply use the leak-proof sample containers and the packaging to send the samples to the laboratory for testing.  Once the lab testing is finished, you will receive a detailed analysis that you can share with your client.

Water Quality Testing

Tap water quality in homes has become a growing, nationwide issue. There has been a growing awareness in America that what is coming out of a kitchen sink may not be as safe as once thought. There are many substances that can be found in tap water that can be harmful to yourself and your family. Water quality testing is the only way to know what is in your tap water.

lead testing within municipality drinking water has become a common occurrence. While this may have been triggered by a series of events, there is still a danger of lead contamination across the country. It is estimated the water supplied to almost 10 million homes in America runs through older lead supply pipes at some point in the delivery process.

There are many consumer-grade filtration systems available to the public, but awareness is the first step. This is why all of us at Scott Home Inspection found it very important to add a water quality testing service. There is no better time to test the water than before you move in. Water quality testing will give you the information needed to make an informed purchasing decision, give you actionable information to mitigate the water, or just give peace of mind that your drinking water is safe.

Water Quality Testing – What We Test For:

Lead – Lead is a metal commonly found in older water piping materials that can have harmful side effects when consumed.

Copper – Copper piping is a very popular water supply pipe material. However, similar to lead, heightened levels of copper in drinking water can have adverse health effects.

Chlorine – Chlorine is used by water treatment facilities to clear the water of bacteria before it comes to your home. However, the level of chlorine needs to be reduced before it gets to your tap. In rare cases, the levels are not reduced sufficiently. Also, if levels are too low, then there could be the potential for bacteria to survive in your water.

Hardness – Hardness of water is caused by dissolved magnesium and calcium ions. These minerals can build up on fixtures and surfaces in your home. Our water test can help determine the hardness level.

TDS – Total Dissolved Solids, also known as TDS, are inorganic compounds that are found in water such as salts, heavy metals and some traces of organic compounds that are dissolved in water. Elevated levels have been known to cause adverse side effects when consumed.

pH – This is a measure of where the water falls on a scale from acidic (low pH) to alkaline (high pH). The acidity of water (low ph) can result in increased corrosion to the plumbing pipes and fixtures in your home, while high pH can cause a bitterness of taste and can reduce the effectiveness of the chlorine in the water.

Alkalinity –The alkalinity of water is a measure of its capacity to resist or neutralize acid. In general, alkalinity in water comes from calcium carbonate (CaC03) that is introduced as the water is leached through soil or rock, or from acid rain or snow. Alkalinity is an important consideration in the treatment of water because it influences the cleaning process.

Water Quality Testing Equipment:

EPA approved portable testing devices.

Reagent based water testing.

Digital readout for accurate measurements.

On-site results – no waiting for labs.

Essential Tips On Mold Inspection And Removal

Mold is an airborne fungus that grows in damp places indoors. Most commonly mold can appear on window sills, under carpets, in kitchens, bathrooms and laundry areas. Mold also grows in various colors and textures, which can make it difficult to detect. If left untreated, mold and mildew can be a major health risk.

Most people try to scrub mold or mildew. But scrubbing or rubbing mold can release toxic spores into the air. Mishandling mold can increase health risks and even cause spores to grow.

MOLD INSPECTION

Routine maintenance checks are recommended for properties in Toronto that are susceptible to mold from moisture buildup. Our team regularly inspects condos and large commercial properties to ensure that facilities are free of any mold or mildew. As well we’re extremely meticulous in our mold inspections and we’re able to detect dangerous spores such as Stachybotrys. Regular evaluations are recommended to prevent future expenses that are associate with mold removal.

AIR QUALITY TESTING

Mold reproduces naturally in closed spaces such as kitchens, bedrooms and bathrooms. Mold and mildew residue in the air is invisible and can be spread with ease. Mold spores thrive off moisture and grow naturally in homes and apartments that have experienced leakage.

Here are the steps that are involved in the process:

Molds are a form of parasite that start forming on objects that are wet or are mildly damp and they survive on these for as long as the object is damp enough. This makes it awfully difficult sometimes to even remove them because they get hooked onto surviving only through those objects, and therefore, they do not have the chances of going. From this point after the formation of the molds, there are possibilities that it will either spread or keep circling around the same damp area if not treated in time. Therefore, because of moisture issues, these molds can sometimes not even take that long to spread. Therefore, at this point, professional help is what one is looking for.

• Inspecting the house: firstly, making sure that these molds can easily be spotted is another issue because they usually multiply in darker rooms and therefore, starting from a small area, it could be difficult to spot them. This becomes important because after carefully understanding the nature of these molds and seeing the intensity of the problem and after an overall inspection, this will be possible. There are services for these are well, because house inspection is done very carefully by experts.
• Molds removal: After the inspection is in place and the problems spotted, there are areas that have to be looked at that might solve the problem of removing these molds without any such heavy removal techniques, considering the intensity is not too much and the extent to which these molds have spread is not that much. However, if that is the case, then it is easier to simply remove the molds by letting a professional handle this, because then there are special tools required for something like this. The space is also an issue here, because if the molds are not converting too much of the wall, then these can easily be removed by you as well. However, if the molds have multiplied and spread across, then you need to make sure that the company you’re looking for professional help have the right equipment to deal with this and make sure this problem does not arise again. Some things like a respirator, gloves, and cleaners and for harder surfaces multi-purpose cleaners are ready.
• Removing molds professionally: For getting hold of a company, you need to make sure that you have considered their background, their reputation and how well they are trained to complete this process. For something like this, an expert will always take time, but will also make sure that everything is in your budget, and nothing becomes as important as these molds to be removed. The equipment is reliable and these professionals will also give you an insight to what exactly the problem is and what one should do to not let it happen again.

Tips On Mold Inspection And Removal

If you are buying an older home then you might have to check other things. The tests that should be done are running a camera through the drainage lines, a hydrostatic test in the drains might help to find out leakages in the drainage system. It is one of the important things to remember.

If you have a suspicion you can always go for a professional checkup. This will help you determine in a better way. Another thing that you should be going for is a termite inspection. This will find out if there are termites in the place. So, there will be chances that you will be staying protected from making costly repairs after buying a home.

If issues are found then the inspectors might suggest you some repairing. If you feel they are not much then you can find out the estimate that might be incurred. In some instances, the first home inspector whom you approach might want to take suggestions from another service provider. This can actually be good and help you get a proper third opinion. So, wait for the opinion so that you are ensured about your choice.

Buying your own shelter is definitely an achievement in itself. But purchasing the right home is not at all easy. There are many things that should be taken into consideration. By hiring a home inspector a proper evaluation of a particular property can be done. This helps to recover any issues and indicate them before one can spend on the house or probably move into them. So, follow this article to find out some of the home inspection tips that can help you spend your money wisely.

Mold Removal Safety Precautions

If you have to remove mold concentrations or perform any black mold removal covering more than a few square feet, we recommend you take these precautions:

• Wear old clothes and shoes that you can launder or throw away after the cleanup work.
• Wear special N-95 or P-100 respirators, in addition to goggles and gloves.
• Set an old box fan or a cheap new one in a window to ventilate the room while working. Throw it out when you’re done cleaning, because the spores are almost impossible to clean off. Tape plywood or cardboard around the window openings so the spores can’t blow back in.
• Wrap and tape moldy carpeting in 6-mm plastic, and double-bag mold-infested debris in garbage bags for disposal.
• To control airborne spores, moisten moldy areas with a garden sprayer while you work.
• Turn off your furnace and air conditioner and cover ducts and doors to contain spores.
• Keep your wet/dry vacuum outside when you vacuum.

Different Types Of Mold

Molds comes in many different forms; in fact, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are probably tens of thousands of types of molds, if not more. Molds play an important role in breaking down leaves, plants and trees. While many molds are harmless, harmful types in enclosed places can lead to respiratory distress, manifesting itself in symptoms that include stuffy noses and wheezing. The effects will be more intense for those who are allergic to that mold or have asthma. Molds responsible for breaking down natural materials, like wood and leaves, can damage the structure of your home. Everyone has an aversion to that.

Here are a few types of mold that you might commonly encounter in various areas of your home:

Alternaria

This type of mold, which can cause asthma-like symptoms in the upper respiratory tract, is frequently found in showers and tubs, beneath leaky sinks and in homes that have suffered water damage. It has a velvety texture with dark green or brown hairs.

Aureobasidium

Typically found behind wallpaper or on painted or wooden surfaces, this mold starts as a pink, brown, or black hue, then turns to a dark brown as it ages. This type of mold can cause eye, skin and nail infections.

Black Mold (Stachybotrys)

This mold appears slimy and black or dark green and is commonly found in organic materials such as wood, hay and cardboard. It is also known as “toxic mold” because it releases mycotoxins that can cause a host of medical issues, including difficulty breathing, sinusitis, fatigue, headache, a burning sensation in your airways, a persistent cough, nose bleeds, fever and even depression.

Ulocladium

Also black in color, this type of mold is found in kitchens, bathrooms and basements – areas where there are high levels of condensation or where there has been water damage. It can cause severe reactions that include hay fever, skin infections and difficulty breathing.

Pink Mold

While pink mold is referred to as a mold, it’s bacteria. It is commonly found in bathrooms, especially showers – particularly on the tiles, in the grout, and on the doors – where it feeds on soap scum and shampoo residue. You can identify the bacteria by a colony that appears pink and slimy. While generally harmless, it can cause infections if it gets into your eye or an open wound.

How to test the quality of Open Water for bathing or swimming

There is always a greater risk of infection or illness caused by microorganisms when swimming in open water (lakes, rivers etc) compared to a chemically treated swimming pool. This guide aims to help identify most appropriate water quality monitoring and testing (

Below you find a general summary of the guidelines in the United Kingdom (UK), which follows similar guidelines to the EU. In addition to this, please make sure that you always check your local guidelines to make sure that everyone is safe. If you plan to open your water to the general public you must strictly adhere to the guidelines set by the EU and UK, therefore please refer to the official guidelines.

How often should I check the water: It is recommended to check the quality of the water regularly, ideally at the start of the bathing season, every 4 weeks, before any event, when there are visible changes to the water, after heavy rainfall as well as at the end of the bathing season. The pH should be monitored more often as it can be an early indicator of changes, because it is affected by algal and weed growth, agricultural run-off as well as waste water from industry

How to take a water sample: With the exception of algal blooms, samples should be taken 30cm below the water surface. Samples should be transported as soon as possible after collection in a cool box (we provide a cool box as well as ice packs) so that they arrive at the laboratory on the same day

Swimming Pools & Spas: These guidelines are designed to give general information about regulations for open water swimming. This includes lakes, rivers etc. Different recommendations exist for swimming pools & spas – please refer to separate guidelines for these. Click here for our wide range of test strips for Pools & Spas. The iDip photometer Pool & Spa is ideal for regular testing of public pools and commcercial use.

How to Choose the Right Test Kit For Your Well Water

Your decision on what to test your water for should be based on the types of land use near your well and what your goals are for using your water such as domestic use, irrigation, agricultural or commercial uses.

Why Should I Test My Well Water?

Municipal city water systems test their water supplies regularly to ensure that the water is safe to drink.  As a well owner, you are responsible for making sure your well water is safe.

Events such as floods, earthquakes or close proximity to agriculture, drilling or oil field activities are top reasons to test your well water regularly.

Most private wells provide a clean, safe supply of water.  Contaminants can, however, pollute private wells.  Unfortunately, you cannot see, smell, nor taste most of them. Consequently, you should test your well water on a regular basis.

Most Common Reasons for Testing

A common reason many folks want to test their water is to improve the aesthetic quality of the water and eliminate iron staining, white scale build-up, corrosion, and/or odors.

How to Test Your Tap Water

It’s important to know your local results to decide whether you need to filter your water

How safe is your tap water? Finding out can take some time, effort, and money, but it’s worth doing.

Most people on municipal water who pay their own bill should receive an annual water quality report called a CCR, or Consumer Confidence Report. If you don’t receive yours, call your local water supplier. And if you rent, contact your landlord.

In the report, look for a summary that shows whether any contaminants were found above government cutoffs and, if so, what the potential health risks are, what is being done to fix the problem, and what you should do in the meantime

If you’re on well water, you won’t get a CCR, so you should get your water tested. That’s also a good idea if your home was built before lead-free pipes were mandated in 1986: Even if your CCR says that the municipality’s water is free of lead, it can leach into your water from the pipes in or leading to your house.

The Best Water Quality Test Kit for Your Home

If you’re worried about your home’s water quality—as many Americans justifiably are, in the wake of water scares in Flint, Michigan, and Newark, New Jersey—a home water quality test can ease your fears. After 50 hours of reporting, and after testing 11 different home water quality test kits, we’ve found that the SimpleWater Tap Score Advanced City Water Test is the best water quality test kit for your home. It measures a wide range of more than 100 potential contaminants and delivers the results in an easy-to-read, richly detailed report. If you’re worried only about lead, we recommend the much cheaper Safe Home Do-It-Yourself Lead in Drinking Water Test Kit.

The SimpleWater Tap Score Advanced City Water Test is a send-away kit: You take samples of your water, put them into a handful of bottles, and ship them off (using an included mailing label) to a certified laboratory. There, your water is tested for more than 100 compounds, including metals such as lead, mercury, and arsenic; volatile organic compounds (VOCs) like chloroform; bacteria; and industrial and agricultural compounds like pesticides and nitrates. Tap Score is not the only highly accurate send-away kit, but no other kit we tested delivered nearly as useful a report. Tap Score not only tells you, in plain language, exactly which compounds are in your water (and the amount) but also explains their potential health risks and suggests ways of addressing any concerns. Tap Score also offers unmatched online support. You can chat with a representative, and if your questions go beyond their knowledge, the questions are passed on to experts, who follow up with a detailed email. All of this makes Tap Score by far the most user-friendly and informative home water quality test kit we found.

If for some reason you are unable to use Tap Score, we recommend two runners-up: the WaterCheck CityCheck Deluxe and the Safe Home Ultimate Drinking Water Test Kit. Like Tap Score, these are send-away kits; you put samples into bottles and ship them to a certified lab. We found that the testing was just as accurate as Tap Score’s (and, in fact, National Testing Laboratories, which makes the CityCheck Deluxe kit, is among the more than 60 labs Tap Score partners with). But both of these kits are more expensive than Tap Score, and their reports aren’t as easy to understand. The reports are still much more readable than those of some other send-away kits: They’re color-coded, so you can quickly see contaminant levels of concern. But they lack Tap Score’s clear explanations, actionable advice, and robust online support. The CityCheck kit also lacks an included mailing label, so you’ll have to take a trip to the post office or another shipper.

the Safe Home Do-It-Yourself Lead in Drinking Water Test Kit, doesn’t have to be sent away—you can get the results at home yourself. It tests only for lead, but if that’s your sole concern, this DIY test is a great option. The Safe Home Do-It-Yourself kit is widely available, inexpensive, and fast (the test takes a total of 10 minutes and less than 30 seconds of active work). And it delivers a clear positive or negative result: Your lead levels are either below the EPA standard or above it. You simply dip a strip of test paper into a sample of your water, and the presence or absence of a blue line tells you whether you have a lead problem. If you don’t, you’ll have peace of mind. If you do, you’ll know it’s time to enlist a professional plumber or an environmental service to help you find and address the source of the problem.

We do not recommend any of the more-comprehensive DIY test kits that are available. We tested six of them and found that the tests were so rushed and the results so subjective (you’re asked to match the color of your test sample to a chart by eye, with only seconds to do so) that we didn’t trust our ability to interpret them. If you want a complete picture of what’s in your water, we strongly recommend that you go with one of the send-away kits and let a professional lab do the testing.

TIPS FOR CHOOSING THE RIGHT WATER FILTER FOR YOUR HOME

You have made the wise decision to install a water filter system into your home. Water is what you drink, cook with, and bathe in, so having poor water can easily make you and your family sick. The more proactive you are about your home’s water quality, the more proactive you are about your health.

Water filter systems change many noticeable properties in water, including turbidity, taste, color, iron content, and odor. Dirty or chemical-filled water is easy to change with a simple water filter, but finding the right home water filter to fit your needs best can be tricky. At Clearwater Systems, we believe that each customer has a unique situation, so the “one size fits all” concept does not apply to water systems.

Find Your water’s problem before purchasing a filter

A free water test can easily determine what, and how severe issues are with your water filter. A free water test can detect iron, hydrogen sulfide gas, acidity, chlorine, and many other issues. After receiving the results from the water test, determine what factors are important to you. Is a pH balanced water supply important when deciding the type of filter to purchase? If so, consider a water filter that concentrates on that issue. If reducing chlorine is your biggest concern, then finding a water filter that can remove chlorine is a smart investment. Many filters can remove a combination of problems, and your water filtration company can help you find a system that fits your unique needs

Typically, after a home has been built, it is difficult and more expensive to install a water filter for both your indoor and outdoor water supply. Usually installing only an indoor filter is more cost effective and simple. If your primary concern is to only filter water indoors, let your water filtration company know to concentrate on systems meant for indoor use only. If you are hoping to filter outdoor water as well to improve landscaping or ensure your children’s water toys are not spreading germs and hoarding unwanted chemicals, your water filtration company can find a system desired for both indoor and outdoor use.

Know Your Flow Rate

Similar to water softeners and water heaters, it is important to understand how much water your household uses on a daily basis. As with all home water filter systems, a single person living alone will most likely use less water than a family of four. Considering the technology and the size of each system helps save money and conserve water in the long-run.