Fluoride Water Test Results Guide

What this test measures

This test measures fluoride. Some fluoride occurs naturally in UK water; in a few areas it’s topped up under NHS schemes to around 1 mg/l for dental health. This test simply tells you what’s in your water so you know where you stand.

The UK standard

The UK drinking water standard is 1.5 mg/l for fluoride. Both naturally fluoridated and scheme areas sit below this limit.

Reading your strip

Dip a strip into your sample for two seconds, hold it level and wait 30 seconds. Match the fluoride pad against the colour chart on your instructions card and read off the closest band. Strips give you a clear range rather than a lab-precise number — exactly what you need for spotting problems and tracking changes over time.

What to do next

• Confirm it first. One strip is a snapshot — re-test with a fresh strip and a fresh sample before acting on a result.
• Your water supplier can tell you whether your area is fluoridated — useful context for reading your result.
• If a reading on a mains supply stays above the standard after re-testing, contact your water supplier — they investigate quality concerns free of charge.
• On a private supply (well, borehole or spring), your local council’s environmental health team can arrange accredited lab testing.
• Thinking about a filter? Test before and after fitting it so you can see exactly what it changed.