What type of lab to go to for testing my home's tap water?

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For testing tap water, options include purchasing test kits from building supply stores like Home Depot or online retailers, which can assess various contaminants. Local city services may also provide testing if health concerns arise, and complaints can prompt municipal testing. Some users recommend TDS meters for measuring dissolved solids, while test strips can identify a broader range of contaminants. There is concern about phosphates being added to combat lead pipes, which may affect water quality. Overall, selecting a convenient testing option is advisable for accurate results.
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I already asked my doctor and he doesn't know. I apologize in advance if this thread is in the wrong part of the forum. What is it called?
 
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Google tapwater testing near me.

There's lots of places - building supply stores such as Home Depot have kits for you to send a sample (though they'll try to sell you a water purifier). Your city will have services to test water. You might as well just choose one that's convenient.

If you are concerned about health and safety, you can probably lodge a complaint with the city and they might come and do a test themselves.
 
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timeuser84 said:
I already asked my doctor and he doesn't know. I apologize in advance if this thread is in the wrong part of the forum. What is it called?
You can buy test kits online or in a hardware store. Testing for anything specific?
 
I think this is what you are looking for .... Just $4 on eBay ! I have one , it comes with a little battery inside it measures the dissolved solids content minerals from rocks the water passes over. You don't really need to know what minerals there's nothing toxic the supplier will make sure of that. The exception to the rule is flouride which a few suppliers put in . Many believe this is not good. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/186906049234?_ul=GB
 
I have a TDS meter too, which is useful, but the kits you get with test strips can test for dozens of different contaminants. Example:

test kit.webp
 
russ_watters said:
I have a TDS meter too, which is useful, but the kits you get with test strips can test for dozens of different contaminants. Example:

View attachment 367269
Any of those tests for phosphates? Apparently thats what theyre adding here to combat lead pipes.

But it has funny effects on our tap water. I swear I've never seen my toilet bowl get so moldy so fast. Like, two days.
 
What I know and please correct me: a macroscopic probe of raw sugar you can buy from the store can be modeled to be an almost perfect cube of a size of 0.7 up to 1 mm. Let's assume it was really pure, nothing else but a conglomerate of H12C22O11 molecules stacked one over another in layers with van de Waals (?) "forces" keeping them together in a macroscopic state at a temperature of let's say 20 degrees Celsius. Then I use 100 such tiny pieces to throw them in 20 deg water. I stir the...

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