Strips use proven colour-match chemistry and give a colour band, not a number. Each pad is matched to the nearest printed colour, so a reading sits in a range rather than at an exact figure, and right next to a limit it cannot say under or over. That is what the results portal is for: it explains every reading against the UK limit where one exists and tells you when a reading is worth confirming with a laboratory test or your water supplier.

They do different jobs. A laboratory test gives measured figures, usually for 10 to 35 readings depending on the panel. A postal test that covers bacteria and chemistry costs about £180 to £365, and results usually take 10 to 14 working days once the lab has your sample. WaterKit gives you 20 banded readings in 60 seconds from £3.99 (£8.99 with a bacteria test), and the portal tells you when a reading is worth confirming with a lab. Most people use the strips first and only pay for a laboratory test when there is something to chase.

20 readings on one strip, plus an optional bacteria test. One 20-in-1 strip reads pH, alkalinity, carbonate, hardness, salt, bromine, aluminium, iron, copper, lead, manganese, chromium, total and free chlorine, mercury, nitrate, nitrite, sulphate, zinc and fluoride, and the optional rapid test screens for coliform bacteria. Dip a strip, wait about 30 seconds and photograph it or match the pads against the colour chart.

Scan the QR code on your colour chart, or go to waterkit.co.uk/results. Photograph the strip on its chart, or tap the colours you matched, and the results portal explains what each reading means against the UK limit where one exists, with clear next steps. Save your results and your next test shows what changed.

The portal shows the reading in amber or red, explains what it usually means and gives the next step: re-test with a fresh sample, run the tap, contact your water supplier or your council's environmental health team on a private supply. For any reading outside its normal range we can also arrange a UKAS-accredited laboratory test of your water.

10 strips covers a one-off check. 20 lets you compare two taps or test again later, and it is the pack most people choose. 30 suits checking before and after a filter or softener. 50 is for regular checks through the year, and for landlords, holiday lets and private supplies. Any pack size can come with a bacteria test for £5 more.

Your chosen number of 20-in-1 test strips in a resealable pouch, the fold-out colour chart with the steps on the back, and access to the online results portal. Bacteria packs also include a rapid coliform bacteria test.

Little and often. Drinking supplies roughly once a month, straight away after plumbing work or moving in, and any time the taste, smell or look changes. A strip takes a minute, so testing often is easy.

Yes. Wells, boreholes and springs are exactly where regular testing earns its keep, because no water company is checking the supply for you. The kit covers the metals, nitrate and nitrite that matter on private supplies, and the optional bacteria test screens for the risk you can't see. Any reading that concerns you can be confirmed by your council's environmental health team or a laboratory test.