subject: Purified Water Testing- Need Of The Hour [print this page] As per the recent surveys, millions of people lose their lives by drinking contaminated water every year. This is because water can carry lots of disease causing micro organisms without being visually noticed. To avoid this, it is imperative to look for new methods of water purification. Water is a vital component for living beings without which, it is not possible to survive. Even a small variation in the water content of body can bring about disastrous results. Thus, water purification is crucial.
Water purification methods range from home based remedies to laboratory water testing techniques. But the big question is that who will ascertain the purity of water after it has been treated? The answer is purified water testing techniques. You have installed the latest water filter at your home but still you and your family members keep on catching infections which generally happen due to poor hygiene. The only reason can be the inability of your water filter to make the water completely germ- free. in such a situation, you have two ways to determine the quality of water:
Visit a testing laboratory to get the tests performed on the tap water or
Get water testing kits and do it yourself
There are various national and private laboratories which perform various tests to determine the quality of water. With the help of these laboratories, you can get an idea about the type and strength of water purifier you need to install at your home. If you are unable to find a water testing laboratory in your area, you can get a water testing kit from the market and perform a few tests at home. With good quality test kits, you can test water coming from your tap in a very convenient way. Not only for consumption, the water you supply to your plants and your fish should also be pure. The presence of substances like chlorine, pesticides, fertilizers and insecticides is also not preferred in water.
Water testing kits can save you some efforts and money but laboratory water testing is a better way to find water purity. Such kits have provisions for only a few tests however if you handover this task to a laboratory, the professionals working there for years would have a number of tests performed which the home use kits would not be able to do. Apart from that other tests can also be carried out to determine the hardness of the water and the presence of materials such as fluoride, sodium, arsenic, lead, iron and mercury. But, it should be made sure that while preparing water for testing, the containers to be used are sterile and can be sealed effectively. However, most laboratories provide containers. Most importantly before opting for a specific laboratory to test the water, ensure that it complies with EPA standards and methods.
Above all, drinking water should always be tested regularly. However, it is of special importance to test after contamination spills and floods. Water should also be tested after the winter season, when ice is thawing.
