Updated on Nov. 21, 2024
The best well water test kit helps ensure your home's water is safe. Here are eight of the most effective tests on the market, chosen by experts.
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The best well water test kits tell you if your water contains unwanted and possibly dangerous bacteria or chemicals. Drilled well water has several advantages over municipally supplied water, but it comes with a few unknowns.
Supplied by underground aquifers, drilled wells are often completely sterile, thanks to layers of soil naturally filtering rainwater as it passes through. Trouble is, “often” doesn’t mean “always.” Nor is the water free of unwanted chemicals.
“Private wells are not regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act,” says Eric Yeggy, the Technical Affairs Director for the Water Quality Association (WQA). “The well owner is generally responsible for ensuring that the water is safe for themselves and their family.”
Everyone with a drilled well should test their water every couple of years. Different kits test for different chemicals and bacteria, so it’s important to first decide what you most need to test for. Check with local health and water chemistry authorities for guidance.
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Well water test kits vary considerably in quality and accuracy. Exceptional accuracy makes the Varify Complete Water Test Kit the best well water testing kit available, according to over 7,000 Amazon reviewers.
One Amazon reviewer writes they recently purchased a home in base flood elevation, the lowest point it can be built without being impacted by seasonal flooding.
“Since we had recent tests and the closest lab was a few hours away, I bought this kit to see what results we got,” the reviewer writes. “Being a Hazardous Materials Specialist, I decided to check it out some more to be sure and sampled water from the pool, the separate hot tub and the horses’ water trough just to see. I got results that confirmed this kit works.”
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This SJ Wave 16 in 1 Water Test Kit gives a better bang for your water testing buck. For less than $30, you’ll receive 100 chemical strips capable of testing for overall water hardness, chlorine, lead, fluoride, iron, PH level, copper, nitrate and other contaminants.
Not only is it this the best well water testing kit for those on a budget, but it’s also handy to have on hand when checking the PH of pools and hot tubs—an important step to prevent scale buildup, equipment corrosion and cloudiness.
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At $380, the Safe Home Water Test Kit isn’t cheap, but it’s extremely thorough. It tests for 200 contaminants including bacteria, metals and dozens of chemicals.
This test can safely and accurately rule out nearly everything that might be making your water unsafe. It doesn’t rely on litmus strips like many at-home test kits because these can be misread and vary in accuracy. Instead, this kit helps you collect samples to send to a lab for detailed analysis.
“The cost of this product is hefty,” writes a reviewer on Amazon, “but it provided precisely what I was looking for.”
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This MedLab Diagnostics Litmus-Based pH Test Kit measures acidity in your water. It’s really easy to use—just dip a litmus strip in your water sample, wait for the color to change, then compare it against the provided reference chart. It’s also a useful tool for health, since it detects the body’s alkalinity and acidity via saliva.
Because each pack comes with a whopping 200 test strips, there’s plenty available for double-checking results. It’s also a good choice for those looking to test the pH of aquariums—your fish will thank you.
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Excessive water hardness is often a serious problem with drilled wells, and it can lead to problems like magnesium and calcium buildup, clogged pores and a bad taste. For just $11, these total hardness test strips offer a solution.
Each kit comes with 50 litmus test strips and an easy-to-use color-coded reference chart. At a glance, see if any water source is soft, hard and where it falls on the spectrum. Once diagnosed, excessive hardness is easily remedied using simple solutions like water softeners.
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E.coli and other coliform bacteria can cause serious health issues—even death—if left unchecked in a water well. The Health Metric Bacteria Test quickly and accurately tests for such unwanted bacteria.
It’s extremely easy to use. Fill the provided bottle with water from your well, shake for 20 seconds, then wait 48 hours before examining the water color. Purple means no bacteria detected and yellow means bacteria exists.
“In light of the fact that you pay hundreds of dollars for an extensive test, I was happy to see that this inexpensive version did the trick to confirm I have coliform in my well water,” writes a reviewer on Amazon. “I did pay for the extensive test and already knew I had the bacteria in the well water, but I wanted to test our filtered water just to be extra safe.”
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Here’s the trouble with DIY well test kits: Once you get the results, you may not necessarily know what to do next. That’s the problem the Safe Home DIY Well Water Test aims to solve. Besides easy-to-use testing for various contaminants, this kit also comes with contact information for qualified water quality specialists.
“Loved this test kit,” writes a reviewer on Amazon. “Very accurate when comparing to other kits. Thorough instructions, very easy to read. The Safe Home staff was friendly, and very helpful with my questions. I would highly recommend.”
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