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Still, you should always have your samples professionally tested by a lab. Water with low mineral content or a high acidity level can lead to the rusting of the pipes and fixtures in your home. The faucets, lines that connect your home to the city’s water main, and even fixtures can increase the levels of lead in your home. Even if you know your service line is not lead, lead can be found in other plumbing materials and faucets.
To be clear, part of their higher cost is that both kits test for a somewhat wider range of contaminants than Tap Score. The WaterCheck CityCheck Deluxe gives readings for 114 contaminants, versus Tap Score’s 108, and the Safe Home Ultimate gives readings for 149. Choose the test kit that’s right for your paint color, and then carefully follow the instructions on the package to test many areas of your home. Lead test kits are available from hardware stores, and some municipalities have free test kits on request. This method of testing is not suitable for homes with children under the age of 6 or for landlords requiring testing—these situations require a licensed professional.
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Normally, you need to take a glass, fill it up with water and dip a test strip to check the results. If you’re on a private well the water doesn’t get any treatment whatsoever, unless you take care of it. And well water is often even more exposed to contaminants because of nearby agricultural and industrial sites. If you cannot remember the last time you tested your water for lead, don’t worry, you’re not alone; many people are in the same boat. Getting your water tested by a certified lab can easily cost you hundreds of dollars.
Besides, you can take a magnet and try sticking it to the pipe. Lead does not pull magnets, so if it sticks the pipe is not made of lead. The reports should display the amount of detected lead if any is present. So, carrying out a single test from the same source won’t give you reliable results. The related instructions are also displayed in your test kit. During the day, you are constantly using water, and running water does not indicate the true amount of lead.
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Thus, we recommend paying a certified laboratory to test a sample of the water in your home. In case of well water, an old well pump can often be the source of lead contamination. You can also choose a send-away kit worth around $250 to get a complete report on any other contaminants present in your water.
This information then helps you select the most efficient filtration system to remove lead from your water supply. Learn more about protecting water quality from private drinking water wells. EPA's Public Notification Rule requires public water systems to alert you if there is a problem with your drinking water.Learn more about the Public Notification Rule.
Related Information from Other Federal Government Agencies
If keeping your home’s drinking water clean and contaminant-free is a priority to you , you’ll want to do everything possible to prevent toxins in your drinking water supply. One of the best ways to keep your water fresh and safe for drinking is with a bottleless water system from Office H2O. You can contact your local municipality to find out if you have a lead water supply. There are commercial laboratories that offer water testing and water testing companies that will come out and take samples. The health effects of lead exposure cover a lot of negative symptoms.
If you use a filter, make sure you use a filter certified to remove lead. Read the directions to learn how to properly install and use your cartridge and when to replace it. Using the cartridge after it has expired can make it less effective at removing lead. Bathing and showering should be safe for you and your children, even if the water contains lead over EPA’s action level.
No- there are many other possible contaminants found in drinking water sources, including bacteria, chlorine, micro-plastic particles, chlorine, heavy metals, and pesticides, herbicides and nitrates. Even city water that comes out of your tap can be contaminated with traces of organic and inorganic materials that can only be detected by accurate testing of samples, usually by a lab. For a certified lab test, you’ll usually be required to send off one or several water samples.
One requirement of the LCR is corrosion control treatment to prevent lead and copper from contaminating drinking water. Corrosion control treatment means utilities must make drinking water less corrosive to the materials it comes into contact with on its way to consumers' taps. Learn more about EPA's regulations to prevent lead in drinking water.
Lead is a dangerous toxin that can cause a whole host of health effects, especially in children. As per The Safe Drinking Water Act, the Environmental Protection Agency has produced Maximum Contaminant Level Goals for lead in drinking water. The level is set at 0, because the Environmental Protection Agency deems lead to be harmful in the smallest amounts.
However, fetuses, infants, and small children are more likely to easily feel the effect of lead exposure. Adults with built-up lead or ongoing lead exposure may suffer from hypertension, increased blood pressure, or other cardiovascular problems. Adults may notice that their kidney is not working well and they can even experience reproductive issues. In 1991, the EPA passed theLead and Copper Rule, designed to address underlying reasons the water will corrode pipes. This rule aims to reduce the amount of corrosiveness in the water coming from cities’ treatment centers to ensure that it won’t corrode the pipes when it comes into contact with your taps.
The Safe Drinking Water Act requires EPA to determine the level of contaminants in drinking water at which no adverse health effects are likely to occur with an adequate margin of safety. These non-enforceable health goals, based solely on possible health risks, are called maximum contaminant level goals . EPA has set the maximum contaminant level goal for lead in drinking water at zero because lead is a toxic metal that can be harmful to human health even at low exposure levels. Lead is persistent, and it can bioaccumulate in the body over time.
Private State-Certified labs are used primarily by larger organizations- water testing for individuals by these labs is generally expensive and inconvenient and has longer turnaround times. Private State-Certified Labs typically are specialized and do not test for everything that may be on the EPA’s Primary Standards list . Water testing is accurate and reliable—the State Laboratories test for all contaminants on EPA Primary and Secondary Standards lists. The best way to find out if there’s lead in your water supply is doing your own testing. As an alternative, you can check your latest Water Quality Report.
If removing the lead source isn’t possible, you should install a water filter capable of removing lead. That said, make sure you go for an NSF-certified lead water filter. Filters gone through NSF standard 53 testing for lead are guaranteed to eliminate the heavy metal effectively.
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