Drinking Water Test Kit Results Guide

What this kit checks

Your WaterKit strip reads 20 measures in one dip. You can also add a bacteria test to any pack for £5. The quickest way to understand a result is the online results portal at waterkit.co.uk/results: tap the colours you matched and it explains each reading and what to do next. Each measure also has its own detailed guide:

• pH — how acidic or alkaline your water is
• Total alkalinity — the buffer that keeps pH steady
• Carbonate — the chemistry behind limescale
• Hardness — the limescale measure
• Sodium chloride — salt, from softeners or the coast
• Bromine — a spa sanitiser, expected at zero in tap water
• Aluminium — treatment residue and cloudiness
• Iron — staining and metallic taste
• Copper — your own pipework
• Lead — the old-pipework check
• Manganese — black staining and bitter taste
• Chromium — rare, worth ruling out
• Total chlorine — overall chlorine, used and unused
• Free chlorine — active disinfectant residual
• Mercury — very rare, worth ruling out
• Nitrate — mainly from farming run-off
• Nitrite — a contamination indicator
• Sulphate — bitter taste at high levels
• Zinc — galvanised pipes and fittings
• Fluoride — natural or added for dental health
• Bacteria — the contamination you cannot see, checked with the optional bacteria test (add it to any pack for £5)

Reading your strip

Fill a clean glass with the water, dip a strip for two seconds, hold it level and wait 30 to 60 seconds, then match each pad against the colour chart in your pack, top to bottom. Read promptly — colours keep developing if you leave the strip sitting. The bacteria test has its own timing: read it after 24 to 48 hours, following its instructions.

What to do next

• Open the results portal, tap the colours you matched and read the guidance for each measure.
• Anything outside its range: re-test with a fresh strip to confirm, then follow the steps in that measure’s guide.
• Save your results in the portal so your next test shows what changed.