We all know how important it is to have clean and safe water. But, how many of use have really bothered to check the quality of water we use in our everyday life? Clean water is essential for good health and instead of trusting blindly on your water provider, it would be a good idea to take some time and test the quality of water.
There are numerous ways in which you can test the quality of water;
- A Home Testing Kit
Irrespective of the various brands available in market, they all function similarly. These kits contain test strips, which when exposed to water change color based on the mineral content in water. The strip’s color needs to be compared to a color chart. Based on the colour chart you can determine whether the concentration levels are acceptable or dangerous. Cases wherein the result is not acceptable, ensure to contact your local municipality.
There are certain other options as well with which one can test the quality of water. These include color disk tests and using certain hand-held digital instruments such as lightweight and portable digital meters, colorimeters, and photometers.
- Trust your senses
Even before going for testing kit, one can rely on their senses to check the quality of water. Smelling, tasting and visually examining the water helps in knowing about your water quality to a certain extend.
Metallic taste in water can be the result of either low pH levels, or excess minerals in the water supply. Excess of chlorine gives water the taste of bleach and water will get a salty taste, if chloride ions or sulfates are present. Industrial waste or irrigation drainage might be the reasons behind the presence of chloride ions or sulfates.
Floating particles and cloudiness can also give you an idea about the various contents in water. If you come across brown, orange, or red particles, the reason might be rust in pipes or fixtures. Black particles can come from the hoses that the water flows through and white or tan particles shows the presence of calcium carbonate or magnesium carbonate in excess.
It is the responsibility of local water municipalities to test the quality of water on a regular basis and the results of the same should be made public every year. One can contact the municipality and obtain the water quality report.
Just because water looks clean, doesn’t make it clean. Diseases can easily spread through contaminated water and some of these can be life-threatening. Ensuring the quality of the water you use, is not an option, but a necessity.
