Water Quality Testing
Water Quality Testing
At Two Moose Home Inspections we offer water quality testing as an add-on. This type of test will determine if your water is safe to drink. We will draw two samples from your house’s water supply and deliver it to a lab where the chemist will then run a series of tests to determine the quality of your water supply. The results are normally ready after four days.
Drinkability of water should always be tested for private well water, but some homes on a public water supply may benefit from their water tested since some types of water supply lines inside the house can cause water quality issues.
41% of all drinking water sources that we test need some type of treatment system installed. The need for a modern water filtration system or water softening system are the most common issues found, and we have not yet tested a water supply in our area that could not be fixed using common treatment systems.
Does My House Need A Water Quality Test
The short answer is yes. If your house has a well then, your water needs to be tested because there is absolutely no oversight for the quality of your water other than what you proactively choose do do. A private well on your property can have a significant number of issues with the quality of the drinking water from the minor issues such as taste to the major issues such as E.coli bacteria. If your house is connected to a public water supply it doesn’t necessarily need to be tested, but some houses have pipes in them that can cause water quality issues.
Private wells should always be tested and should be tested regularly to ensure that water is safe to drink. Public water supplies are tested by the governing body that provides the water and their test results should be public record. Unfortunately, these public water supply tests are not done at your tap and there are many things that can happen inside your house that could cause the water quality to be lower than what the public water utility is providing.
The standard drinking water test is what our local chemist considers to be an adequate testing panel for our area. Some loans such as VA Loans require additional metal testing to include Copper and Lead, so make sure you ask for these additional tests prior to the water sample being taken. If you want additional metals to be tested for your own personal curiosity we are more than happy to add them to your order.
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Standard Water Test |
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pH |
Chlorine |
Sulfates |
Alkalinity |
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Hardness |
Ammonia Nitrogen |
Coliform Bacteria |
Pathogenic Bacteria |
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Iron |
Manganese |
Total Dissolved Solids |
Turbidity-raw |
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Turbidity-filtered 20 micron |
Total Ortho Phosphates |
Nitrates |
Hydrogen Sulfide |
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Add-On Metal Tests |
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Boron |
Arsenic |
Copper |
Lead |
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Cyanide |
Zinc |
Silver |
Mercury |
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Sulfur |
Barium |
Fluoride |
Molybdenum |
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Aluminum |
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How Much Does A Repair Cost
Repairs for water issues can range from a few hundred dollars to install a new filter system to an unfixable issue that prevents your home from ever having safe water to drink. If your well water is unsafe and unfixable, the property value will plummet and the house may have to be abandoned.
This worst-case scenario can happen when mining operations have been conducted near the water source that supplies your property with water. In our area of Colorado, we have a significant history of mining from the traditional lone prospector looking for gold to the multi-billion-dollar mining operations.
The majority of the time the water treatment solution for most homes is to install sediment filters and water softeners which will cost about $2,000. Clearly that price is dependent on the quality of your water, but it is a good starting point.
What Could Go Wrong
What we test for at Two Moose Home Inspections when we take a water sample is: pH, Chlorine, Sulfates, Total Alkalinity, Hardness, Ammonia Nitrogen, Coliform Bacteria, Pathogenic Bacteria, Total Iron, Manganese, Total Dissolved Solids, Turbidity, Total Phosphates, Total Nitrates, and Hydrogen Sulfite.
For any of these factors that we test for a high concentration could be a serious problem. For Example: search “High Manganese in Water” and the result shows that there is an association between manganese levels and nervous system diseases such as Parkinson’s Disease. Replace the word manganese in our search with any of the factors that we test for you will quickly come to understand why testing your water is so essential.
What’s the Next Step
Once we get the results back from our laboratory, they are nice enough to provide us with a document that outlines the steps that need to be taken for each factor that is tested for.
To continue our Manganese example, the recommendation is “filtration, softeners, manganese reduction system” As listed in the “How Much Does a Repair Cost” section, the price for a filtration and softener system installation could cost about $2,000. The next question would be who is going to pay for the system. You and your realtor can discuss how to negotiate the repair with the seller.
The Two Moose Home Inspections Process
We locate a sink that does not have an adjustable spray selector and remove the aerator. Adjustable spray selectors and aerators can hold onto bacteria which could cause the test to indicate a bacteria issue when there really isn’t an issue present. The water is then run for about 5 minutes to draw fresh water into the house from the well. We then fill our first sample bottle and after a few seconds we then fill our second sample bottle. After the home inspection is complete, we then drive the samples directly to our water laboratory for testing. The results are then added to the inspection report for you to review.
Our pricing and availability is located on the Two Moose Home Inspection website when you click “Schedule an Inspection”. You can schedule everything online and you will see an invoice and pre-inspection agreement from us once we get access to the house from the homeowner.
If you have any further question, please send us a message.