Jug & Carbon Filter Test Kit Results Guide

What this kit checks

This kit is built around one habit: test the tap, test the filtered water, and compare. Each measure has its own detailed guide:

• Free chlorine — the cartridge-life signal
• Total chlorine — overall chlorine, used and unused
• Lead — check what the cartridge claims to reduce
• Copper — pipework metals at the tap

Reading your strip

Fill one glass straight from the tap and one from the filter, dip a strip in each for two seconds, wait 30 seconds and read them side by side against the colour chart.

What to do next

• A working carbon cartridge should take chlorine to zero. When chlorine starts creeping back into the filtered glass, the cartridge is spent — change it and re-test.
• Lead and copper reduction varies by cartridge type — check what yours is certified to reduce, then verify it on the strip.
• Keep a note per cartridge: a dated before-and-after reading tells you exactly how long a cartridge really lasts in your water.