Survival Buzz: How to Test Your Drinking Water

This site contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn a commission from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. Full Disclosure Here.

When you think about emergency water, most likely you think about acquisition, purification, and filtering processes.  I know that I do.  What is missing from this equation, though, is testing. Can we assume the water coming out of the kitchen faucet is safe to drink?  And what about well water or home filtered water?  Wouldn’t you like to know about the lead, bacteria, pesticide, iron, and copper content of your water?

These questions lead me to the topic for today: testing your drinking water using a home test kit. 

Truth be told, I have had a kit from Test Assured sitting in my office for a couple of months but shame on me.  I procrastinated using the kit because I assumed the testing process would be complicated and time-consuming.  Guess what?  Testing my tap water was easy and fun plus, at the end, I was confident my water was safe to drink.

My guess is that you, too, would also like to test your water, and to support that, Test Assured is sponsoring a giveaway for three of their complete water analysis test kits.  The beauty of these kits is that they are all inclusive – all you need is a about a half cup of water, and you are good to go.  Not only that, the kit can be used to test municipal water, well water, or water from a private water company owned by a community or co-op.

Follow along as I share some highlights of the testing process.

How to Use a Kit to Test Drinking Water

I started with a half cup of tap water in a Pyrex cup.  This was enough water to perform all of the tests.  Showing you a cup of water was kind of boring so here you see me pouring water into one of the included test containers.  As I mentioned, everything you need to perform all of the tests is included in the kit.  This includes the testing vessels.

For one of the tests, you use a pipette to transfer a couple of droppers full of water to the testing vessel.

The various tests come in tightly sealed foil packets so you might also want to have a scissors handy. Each packet is well marked with the type of test and can easily be cross referenced to the instruction card.

The instruction cards double as keys to the test results.  The exception is the bacteria test which takes 48 hours to “cook”.  Your water passes the bacteria test if it turns purple.

Yay!  I passed!

All in all, I was extremely satisfied with the test kit and plan to keep a spare with my emergency supplies.   Following a disaster, it seems prudent to re-test.  Note that my kit included an expiration date of 11/2018 which is a shelf-life of 2+ years which is decent enough.

A few other points.

The tests are easy to administer and gives you results within 10 minutes for every test included, except bacteria which takes 48 hours for full results.   The test kit includes all of the following water tests.

• Lead Test
• Bacteria Test
• Pesticide Test
• Iron
• Copper
• Nitrates & Nitrites
• Chlorine Level
• pH Levels Check
• Alkalinity
• Hardness

The tests are manufactured in the United States.

The Test Assured website has a detailed discussion of the various contaminants that are tested using this kit.  When you go to the site, you will find the topic “Water Contaminants” on the menu bar.  After clicking that, you will find a discussion of each, including health concerns and various ways to eliminate the contaminant from your water.

Test kits are available online via their website.

The Giveaway

This is the part you have been waiting for, right?  There will be 3 winners, each receiving a complete water analysis kit just like the one I used.

To enter the giveaway, you need to utilize the Rafflecopter form below.  Select one or more of the options after signing in using your email account or Facebook, the choice is yours.  The best way to start is by clicking on “Free Entry for Everyone”.  After that, each option you select represents an additional entry.  There are a number of different options so pick and choose or select them all.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The deadline is 6:00 PM Pacific next Tuesday with the winner notified by email and announced on the Rafflecopter in the article.  Please note that the winner must claim their prize within 48 hours or an alternate will be selected.

Note:  Due to Customs requirements, this giveaway is only open to those with a mailing address in the United States.

Other Current Backdoor Survival Giveaways

Prepper Book Festival 12: Mason Jar Nation + Giveaway

With all giveaways, winners are notified by email and have 48 hours to claim their prize or an alternate will be selected.  Once selected, the names of winners are also displayed in the Rafflecopter on the original giveaway article.  This usually happens on the Friday following the end of the giveaway.

Other Announcements

This week I have been listening to the webinar talks that are part of Essential Oils Revolution2.  They have been of extremely high quality and are free.  One of the best parts of the series is they are non-brand specific which means the information can be applied to your favorite high-quality essential oil brand.

EO Revolution 2 runs through August 29th but if you missed out on the first week, no worries.  Sunday, August 29th is “Encore Day” and you will have an opportunity to listen to a replay of any or all of the topics.  You do, however, need to register.

Here is a link:  2016 EO Revolution 2

~~~~~

Spark Naturals Weekly Specials

This week Spark Naturals is featuring special pricing on a bundle that includes the Health and Wellness Kit plus a bottle of Fractionated Coconut Oil.  The price with my discount code BACKDOORSURVIVAL is $69.52.  That works out to less than $7 per oil (including pricey Frankincense, normally $24.99) plus your carrier oil.  The discount ends up at a whopping 33% plus shipping is free.

Click here for the Health and Wellness + FCO Bundle

If you are not interested in the FCO, in honor of this interview with Valerie, the Health and Wellness Kit alone has also been discounted 25% when using my code.

~~~~~

My favorite talk was on day one.  The title was “Debunking the Most Common (and Dangerous!) Myths” by Robert Pappas, PhD.  If you only have time to listen to a single talk, let it be this one.

The Final Word

The water in my home flows through the tap via a small, locally owned water company.  For years we would receive quarterly reports indicating our water fell below EPA standards for drinking water.  Once a carbon filtering system was installed at the plant, the reports turned the corner and became positive.

Regardless of the reports and my own personal testing, I still filter all drinking and cooking water through my Royal Berkey.  Having the Berkey is like having a backup plan.  Still, not everyone can afford a Berkey or other filtering system for day to day use.  II t simply makes sense to have the ability to test your water yourself, and now that I know how easy it is, I recommend doing so annually.

Enjoy your next adventure through common sense and thoughtful preparation!
Gaye

If you enjoyed this article, consider subscribing to email updates.  When you do, you will receive a free, downloadable copy of my e-Book, The Emergency Food Buyer’s Guide.

You can also vote for Backdoor Survival daily at Top Prepper Websites!

Spotlight:  Drinking Water Test Kit – 10 Minute Testing For Lead Bacteria Pesticide Iron Copper and More

This at-home kit contains tests for Lead, Bacteria, Pesticide, Iron, Copper, Alkalinity, pH, Hardness, Chlorine, Nitrates and Nitrites.  A cinch to use plus it is made in the USA and 100% guaranteed.  Works with well water as well as water from your municipal of community water system.

Here are some additional water-related items that I own and can  recommend.

Ultimate 55 Gallon Water Barrel Combo:  Everyone should have at least one.  Remember, if storing in your garage or on pavers, place the filled barrel on a wooden platform and not directly on the concrete.

The Prepper’s Water Survival Guide:  You can survive up to three weeks without food, but only three days without water. When catastrophe strikes, having enough water can spell the difference between life and death. This book offers a step-by-step plan with straightforward information you can easily follow.  Written by my friend Daisy Luther, I recommended the book for everyone’s survival library!

No Rinse Cleansing & Deodorizing Bathing Wipes:  One wipe is more than enough for a complete “bath”.  These are a good backup when traditional showers are not available such as the week or weeks following a disaster.  Also good for the sick room as well as camping, boating, hiking and such.  Here is my review.

Fluidmaster 400CR Toilet Fill Valve and Flapper Repair Kit:  Speaking of water, this is one of those items you don’t think of stockpiling but believe me, we now have a couple in reserve for emergency purposes.  Why fuss with adjusting a tank valve when you can replace the whole thing and 10 minutes of your time?

AquaPod:   Have you considered storing water in your bathtub?  The AquaPod is a bladder that you can use in your bathtub to store water if you know that a storm, flood, or hurricane is brewing. (I call these “disruptive events”.)

LifeStraw Personal Water Filter:  The LifeStraw is considered the most advanced, compact, ultra light personal water filter available. It contains no chemicals or iodinated resin, no batteries and no moving parts to break or wear out. It weighs only 2oz.  making it perfect for the prepper. For more information, see my LifeStraw review.

Potable Aqua Water Treatment Tablets: Potable Aqua Water Purification Tablets make questionable water bacteriologically suitable to drink. Easy to use and the water is ready to drink in 30 minutes. One 50 tablet bottle treats 25 quarts of water.

DryTec Calcium Hypochlorite, 1-Pound:  This is 68% Calcium Hypochlorite.  As of this writing, the price is with free shipping.  I purchased Ultima Pool Shock which is 73% Calcium Hypochlorite.  For more information, read How to Use Pool Shock to Purify Water.

Black Berkey Primer Gizmo:  Okay, that is my name for it.  This device makes back-flushing a Black Berkey Filter a cinch. Following a disaster, when you are depending on your filters for clean water, you may not have running water.  If you have a Berkey, you are going to want one of these inexpensive devices.  For more information, see The Survival Buzz #160: Maintaining Black Berkey Filters.

~~~~~~~~~

What are the best oils for your survival kit? Here are my top picks.

~~~~~~~~~~