Alkalinity, Calcium, Chloride, Hardness, LSI, pH, SAR, Sodium, Total Dissolved Solids, and Total Hardness: Important general indicators of your water's health. These are also important when selecting treatment.

Lead: Enters your tap water while in contact with the pipes and fixtures leading up to your faucet. Lead is an extremely toxic heavy metal that should not be ingested in any amount by children or adults.

Copper: Although less toxic than lead, Copper is more commonly detected in water samples since it is is the primary material in more than 95% of US home plumbing.

Cadmium: Often leaches from deteriorating pipes and also frequently found near industrial contamination. Cadmium is known to build up in human kidneys and recent toxicological data suggests it may be as harmful as lead.

Arsenic & Chromium: Highly toxic and frequently detected in both groundwater wells and water utilities . Arsenic is arguably the most difficult and expensive problem facing small and large water utilities nationwide. The high cost of treatment means some water systems can't afford to remove these entirely.

Uranium & Strontium: Uranium and strontium are frequently detected in trace amounts in water systems and wells. When detected in larger concentrations they can be a hazard to human health.

Mercury: Monitored by the EPA, Mercury has been recognized to potentially cause brain and kidney damage from chronic exposure in drinking water. The most common sources of mercury come from human activity and industrial waste.

Nitrate: Nitrate most often appears in shallow wells and water systems near agricultural production. Nitrate has a number of harmful effects on the human body including 'blue baby syndrome'.

Barium: Associated with oil & gas operations and commonly found in wells.

Fluoride: Many customers are concerned about the fluoride water systems add to US drinking water for dental hygiene. In the right amounts it can protect our teeth, too much can be harmful. Many don't know that fluoride can also come from industrial contamination.

Iron, Nickel, Magnesium, Manganese, Potassium, Sulfate, and Zinc: Elements found in drinking water that cause foul taste and can be problematic at high concentrations. More than 18% of Americans are allergic to nickel, many of whom do not know it.

Aluminum, Antimony, Beryllium, Boron, Cobalt, Lithium, Molybdenum, Phosphorous, Selenium, Silver, Thallium, Titanium, Tin, Vanadium : Other contaminants that are not often found in drinking water but are easily tested together with the others above.

Testing for chlorine and chloramine at home

The easiest way to test your chlorine levels is at home. Chlorine evaporates quickly and measuring it in the lab requires expensive shipping and refrigeration. In order to provide a cost-effective measurement of your home's chlorine levels, your package includes a chlorine test strip. The strip we send you will show Total Chlorine and Free Chlorine in your water, from which the presence of Chloramine can also be derived.

Looking for something that's not part of this package? We can test for hundreds of contaminants. Browse our specialized testing packages, search by contaminant, or Contact Us.

When testing is complete, you will receive a Tap Score Water Quality Report including a comprehensive analysis of all test results, health impacts, treatment options, and household water appliance risks. If all you want is the raw result data, we can do that too. This mini-tour highlights some of what makes Tap Score unique. Click here for a full example report.

Executive summary

Understand the meaning of your results in one quick glance. Can you rest easy or is there something to be concerned about?

Health analysis

The report summarizes the most trustworthy research available on the potential health effects of each contaminant detected.

What's that smell?

The potential sources of any strange tastes, colors, or smells in your water are also analyzed.

What to do next

If you need it, our legendary treatment support team makes unbiased recommendations for the products that can treat the contaminants found in your water. In this example, the test results showed high arsenic, lead, and sodium from a salt-based softener.

Pipes and plumbing

Whether or not something is in your water that can affect your health, we let you know if your pipes and appliances are also in the clear.

This package is designed for customers who:

• Are served by a water utility they have doubts about.
• Live in a home built before 1986 or an area served by old infrastructure.
• Have young children or other vulnerable individuals in their home.

This mail-in laboratory testing package includes:

• sampling vial(s)
• sampling instructions
• prepaid return shipping label
• sample information card/chain of custody document
• shipping container

Once the lab receives the sample, your personalized Tap Score Report will arrive by email within 5 business days.

Each testing package is intended for one sample from a single location, unless otherwise specified.