I have a couple of questions about working on my well water, First, I would like to get it tested and would like some advice. Are the home test kits reliable at all? I've seen very mixed reviews of them. The one advantage I can see is that they are a lot less expensive. If going with a testing service is the better route, do you have any recommendations as to a good one?
Also, I'm positive that if nothing else my water is quite hard. Have any of you guys installed a water softening system and filter system and done it yourself? It looks like a fairly easy project so I would probably attempt it myself. Ih you have done it could you recommend any good brands to purchase?

Is it a new well? Is there an actual well log? Has it every been tested. I would start with a good local company that has a good reputation for that type of work. Find out who they send it to for testing.

When we bought our home, we wanted to have the well tested as complete as possible. Don't mess with home tests.

We actually googled our township and called them. They had several local labs all certified to test wells.

It was pricey but well worth it for a complete report on the well.

For softener, we called a local water treatment supplier...you can also google them to get a few quotes. Softeners are pretty straight forward in cost.

Comprehensive water testing reveals a greater amount of contaminants than DIY tests.

Depending on the cost of a lab vs what you might miss that matters is your call.

I would go the lab route to have a good baseline.

It has been years since I have dealt with the information, so DIY tests may reveal more useful information than before.

Not a place for DIY, IMO. You and yours will be drinking the results for a long time.

If nobody else, the real estate agent who sold you the home and the local water/sanitation department should be in a position to recommend professionals to do the testing.

Depending on what the testing finds, go from there. If it's concerning then you'll want a water pro to lay out options and then set up the system. Might need filters, pretreaters (getting the pH to where the softener does it's thing correctly) and advice on what sort of softener you need and what to fill it with (iron-reducing salt, potentially, for example).

TL: DR - In the absence of good, comprehensive test results, the cart is firmly in front of the horse.

Thanks for the replies. It isn't a new well. I've been living in this house for forty years and have never had the well tested. My son came to visit and he complained about the water. I do know the water has a hardness issue. I get that white residue from soap on my dishes and tub, so I would like to at least install some sort of softening system in but figured I should probably check to see what else is going on with my water.

When I bought the house nearly thirty years ago I had the well water tested. The company I used sent you a test kit. You took water samples and sent them back. They tested the water and sent back a report.

My water came back as having Toluene. They advised I contact the County Health Dept. I did. The Health Dept. freaked out. (My area had [?] a wide-spread issue with LUSTs [Leaking Underground Storage Tanks] -- mainly from gas stations.)

The Health Dept. couldn't get one of their people out there to do their test for a couple weeks, and time was running out on committing or backing-out of the purchase, so I paid for another test, which tested for that, just about every other pollutant imaginable, plus a bunch of other stuff, to detection levels ten times lower than the first test.

The well came up clean. It turned out the toluene probably got into the first samples from me taking the water from the kitchen tap. The kitchen had brand-new cabinets in it. I verified with the manufacturer the finish they used contained toluene.

I took the second set of samples from an outside tap.

I did not install either of our water softeners myself. Other than the soldering of copper pipes there's no reason I couldn't have.

In order to properly set up the water softener the water hardness must be known. With the last water softener the plumber just set it to what he thought was right for the area. It doesn't work that way. Just hundreds of feet apart or dozens of feet difference in height can get you an aquifer with much different characteristics.

I found a forum where they discuss such things (could have been Terry Love's DIY Forums: Water Softener Forum, Questions and Answers), bought a Hach 145300 Total Hardness Test Kit, Model 5-B, and re-programmed the water softener myself.

quote:

Originally posted by vandrv:
My son came to visit and he complained about the water.

Has your son been living on municipal water for a while? "City people" tend not to like the taste of well water. Not enough chlorine taste

Get a professional lab to do the test.

Your state EPA will test your water for a very reasonable fee. Not a bad idea to do it annually, and sometimes I take my own advice.

quote:

Originally posted by TMats:
Your state EPA will test your water for a very reasonable fee. Not a bad idea to do it annually, and sometimes I take my own advice.

Not in TN. We get calls all the time and refer them to their water utility folks or independent labs.

Regarding the OP: I would think if hardness and softeners were your main deal - an off the shelf kit would do just fine. If you are wanting to check on metals or organic chemicals and such, you'll definitely need to get a lab to do the work. And how you collect the sample (see comment above about kitchen cabinets causing issues...) is very important.

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:
<Snip> Hach 145300 Total Hardness Test Kit, Model 5-B, and re-programmed the water softener myself.

I can't comment on testing for pollutants - however, we used that same test kit mentioned above for testing the water hardness here in town. Super easy and was able to dial in the water softener settings based on the results.

Water softener install was pretty easy too.

quote:

Originally posted by SBrooks:

quote:

Originally posted by TMats:
Your state EPA will test your water for a very reasonable fee. Not a bad idea to do it annually, and sometimes I take my own advice.

Not in TN. We get calls all the time and refer them to their water utility folks or independent labs.

Regarding the OP: I would think if hardness and softeners were your main deal - an off the shelf kit would do just fine. If you are wanting to check on metals or organic chemicals and such, you'll definitely need to get a lab to do the work. And how you collect the sample (see comment above about kitchen cabinets causing issues...) is very important.

OK, how about your state land grant university?

No way in hell would I use a well that has not been tested in the last few years . Too many idiots pouring waste oil , chemicals of all kinds out on the ground and into the waterways . Not to mention industrial pollutants . I'm just paranoid that way .

quote:

Originally posted by selogic:
No way in hell would I use a well that has not been tested in the last few years . Too many idiots pouring waste oil , chemicals of all kinds out on the ground and into the waterways . Not to mention industrial pollutants . I'm just paranoid that way .

A little paranoia can be a good thing. E.g.: I freaked-out when a landscaping crew dumped diesel in our drainage ditch--no more than about seventy feet from our well. I pestered the Michigan DEQ so relentlessly they actually came out and remediated it.

The Dept. lab guy who was testing the soil as the contractors removed it asked my wife "How did you guys get the Department to do this? We don't usually address spills this small." "My husband can be very persistent," she replied.

But the truth is our well is down 112 feet. It's clay all the way to the aquifer. Our well guy told us (paraphrasing): "With a well this deep and a clay cap like that, you won't ever have to worry about pollution."

Must have been a reasonable amount of fuel, btw. They ended-up digging nearly six feet down and three-four feet wide, for a length of about fifty feet across the front.

quote:

Originally posted by SBrooks:

quote:

Originally posted by TMats:
Your state EPA will test your water for a very reasonable fee. Not a bad idea to do it annually, and sometimes I take my own advice.

Not in TN. We get calls all the time and refer them to their water utility folks or independent labs.

Regarding the OP: I would think if hardness and softeners were your main deal - an off the shelf kit would do just fine. If you are wanting to check on metals or organic chemicals and such, you'll definitely need to get a lab to do the work. And how you collect the sample (see comment above about kitchen cabinets causing issues...) is very important.

I don’t see where my state or county offer any sort of water testing, so was wondering if you could recommend a test lab or are they all pretty much the same?
I’m sure hardness is a problem so will go ahead and see what I can find in the way of a water softener. I’ve never worried too much about chemicals in the water, but maybe I should start. I just know the water hasn’t killed me yet.

Contact your nearest water company and ask who they use to test their water. Don't do it yourself. Water testing is not rocket science, but in all the responses that I have read here do not mention disinfecting the tap used in sampling. It is done with a simple hand torch. Just don't melt the gasket in the tap. If not done correctly, I have seen many tests fail due to fecal contamination. I have seen thousands of tests while in compliance at the water utility I worked at.

Get a clean mason jar and get a sample. Then take it to your health department.

if you can't get help via the State of local water districts call someone in the home inspection business. they will have in their Rolodex the name and number of a competent fast comprehensive tester.

quote:

I’m sure hardness is a problem so will go ahead and see what I can find in the way of a water softener.

Within 6 months of buying our home the dishwasher and washer crapped out all due to water hardness. Filters and hoses etc were clogged with mineral deposits and the previous owner just dealt with it I guess.

I bought and installed this, and everything has been good since.

I tested the water for PH only with a home kit.

Hire a professional service to test your water.

I just replaced my water softener with a Hague Hyrdo-Clean HC111. Uses 1 bag of salt pellets monthly (vs. 2.5 on prior system) and is very low-key/sleek.

And - don't fall for the "radon" nonsense if it comes back positive on a water test. Some companies will try to upsell you a radon water mitigation system - which is BS. Now arsenic - that's a different story.