Sometimes water doesn’t look, smell, or feel quite right, but it’s hard to tell what that really means for your health, your home, or your plants. When it comes out of the tap or well, you just want to know: “Is this OK, and if not, what should I do about it?”

This page is here for exactly that. We help you figure out what your water is “saying” by running targeted tests and turning the results into plain language and practical options. No scare tactics, no jargon—just clear answers you can use to make decisions that fit your budget and your goals.

“Because everyone’s situation is different, we don’t just hand you a long list of tests and leave you to sort it out. Our growing Water Testing Guide Library has simple, plain-language articles organized by what you’re noticing—staining, odd smells, older wells, aging pipes, or general health concerns. From there, you can pick the scenario that sounds most like yours and see which types of tests are most useful before you send in a sample or ask us to come out.

 Get a clean container

• Use a sterile glass jar or hard plastic bottle with a tight-fitting lid.
• It must be completely clean and free of any soap or residue.
• The best option is a container that has been rinsed with a dilute acid (like dilute hydrochloric acid) to strip away lingering minerals or cleaner films, then thoroughly rinsed with purified water.
• If you’re not sure about your container, let us know and we can provide specific instructions or a sample container.

2. Collecting from a tap (indoor)

• Turn on the tap you’ll be sampling from and let the water run for about 5 minutes.
• This helps flush out water that has been sitting in the pipes and gives a more representative sample.
• After 5 minutes, carefully fill your clean container without touching the inside of the lid or mouth of the container.
• Seal the container immediately.

3. Collecting from an outdoor source (pond, stream, etc.)

• Submerge the container below the surface, facing it into the flow if it’s a stream, and let it fill.
• Avoid scooping up obvious debris like big leaves or clumps of mud; a little suspended sediment is normal.
• Seal the container right away.

4. Label and send

• Clearly label the container sample information.
• Follow the mailing instructions we provide (including any timing or temperature notes), and send it in so we can get to work on the analysis.