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Can someone recommend a consumer water testing kit that covers things like this?

Scoundreller 7y ago
The problem with tests is that they look for what you know to look for at one point in time. If you’re going to go down that road, better to just get carbon filter and R/O filtering setup.
LeifCarrotson 7y ago
No, you can't test for PFAS with consumer kit, it's dangerous at 70 parts-per-trillion levels and is tricky to handle without contamination. The test itself is expensive, too. I'm in the part of Rockford, Michigan contaminated by Wolverine/Hush Puppies/Caterpillar shoe leather tannery scraps, and they've paid Rose & Westra GZA to send techs to my house every 6 months. A friend just outside the supposedly affected area paid $300 to have a test performed, which came back with <5ppt (to my house's 35-45ppt). And that's just one possible issue. You can't feasibly test for every possible exotic contaminant. In my case, however, a pair of 48"x10" granular activated carbon filters (with auxiliary sediment filters, water softener, and UV light) have proven completely effective at removing PFAS from my water.
- skeptical900067 7y ago
  Those sound like big filters. Where are they installed, and how often do you replace? Or is that just pitcher volume?
  - hadlock 7y ago
    Typically the filter is a tube with connectors on end. Most soda fountain machines have a pair of inline 36" x 6" filter for activated charcoal and water softeners mounted on the wall somewhere.
  - LeifCarrotson 7y ago
    They're in my unfinished basement. Culligan (on Wolverine's dime) handles the service, had one replacement in almost 2 years. They just disconnect,install refurbished units, and bring my old ones back to contain the chemical waste and repack with fresh carbon.
- rsync 7y ago
  "In my case, however, a pair of 48"x10" granular activated carbon filters ..." Are those backwashing filters with a head unit that contains a pump ? What level (micron) of filtration does just that unit achieve ? Just curious ...
  - LeifCarrotson 7y ago
    No pump, just passthrough. I don't believe they provide any filtration, just reaction mass/catalyst. I can take a picture tomorrow if you're curious.

The problem with tests is that they look for what you know to look for at one point in time. If you’re going to go down that road, better to just get carbon filter and R/O filtering setup.

LeifCarrotson 7y ago

No, you can't test for PFAS with consumer kit, it's dangerous at 70 parts-per-trillion levels and is tricky to handle without contamination. The test itself is expensive, too. I'm in the part of Rockford, Michigan contaminated by Wolverine/Hush Puppies/Caterpillar shoe leather tannery scraps, and they've paid Rose & Westra GZA to send techs to my house every 6 months. A friend just outside the supposedly affected area paid $300 to have a test performed, which came back with <5ppt (to my house's 35-45ppt). And that's just one possible issue. You can't feasibly test for every possible exotic contaminant. In my case, however, a pair of 48"x10" granular activated carbon filters (with auxiliary sediment filters, water softener, and UV light) have proven completely effective at removing PFAS from my water.

skeptical900067 7y ago
Those sound like big filters. Where are they installed, and how often do you replace? Or is that just pitcher volume?
- hadlock 7y ago
  Typically the filter is a tube with connectors on end. Most soda fountain machines have a pair of inline 36" x 6" filter for activated charcoal and water softeners mounted on the wall somewhere.
- LeifCarrotson 7y ago
  They're in my unfinished basement. Culligan (on Wolverine's dime) handles the service, had one replacement in almost 2 years. They just disconnect,install refurbished units, and bring my old ones back to contain the chemical waste and repack with fresh carbon.
rsync 7y ago
"In my case, however, a pair of 48"x10" granular activated carbon filters ..." Are those backwashing filters with a head unit that contains a pump ? What level (micron) of filtration does just that unit achieve ? Just curious ...
- LeifCarrotson 7y ago
  No pump, just passthrough. I don't believe they provide any filtration, just reaction mass/catalyst. I can take a picture tomorrow if you're curious.