How to Say No to a Free Water Test

Have you stumbled into an advertisement for a free water test? Chances are that someone just wants to get in your home.

Water treatment companies know that the easiest way to sell you $5,000+ worth of water treatment equipment is to begin by sending a salesperson in through your front door with a “free water testing kit.”

The trouble is that these sales people and their water testing briefcases are designed to look fancy and ultimately sell you on purchasing an expensive water treatment product (with a maintenance plan.) Despite appearances, these free water tests hardly perform any more analysis on your water than a wet finger in the wind.

The Free Water Test

Signing up for one of these free water tests is easy (of course). You enter in your contact information online and shortly thereafter a sales rep will call you to set up a visit at your home.

A nice person arrives at your front door, takes samples of your tap water into a jar, adds a few drops of chemical, swirls this concoction around and with great color-changing effect proclaims the bad news to you:

“Your water quality is not good. You’re at risk of dangerous chloramines and your TDS levels are high. You really should be doing some treatment here.”

Sadly, this fear tactic works nationwide. And all too often, it pushes unwary homeowners into spending way too much money on expensive water treatment equipment without necessarily improving water quality. Some of these people become our customers and find that they've overspent on water treatment technology before really getting details on what to treat for. 

Of course, water treatment companies need to sell water treatment products, but they are obviously conflicted when it comes to testing and reporting on your water quality.

Don’t Get Duped!

The truth is that a lot of people already have great water quality at home and do not need the expensive treatment equipment. Furthermore, many homes can readily improve their water quality by spending less than 98% of the cost of these expensive brands (e.g. the cost of a $5,000 system that does the same work as a $100 filter–ask us for more details!).

We often serve clients who come to us after hearing a murky sales pitch for one of these $7,000 treatment products. We send sampling materials, quickly analyze the water in a proper lab setting and produce our unique Tap Score Report. Most of the time no treatment is necessary, but if folks need or want it, then we provide a personalized and unbiased list of treatment options certified by NSF and WQA–available at low cost through Amazon or major hardware stores near you.

Why Is There No Free Water Test?

Simply put, free water tests don’t exist because proper laboratory testing entails very expensive laboratory equipment and operation by trained professional technicians.

When an environmental testing laboratory receives your water samples, vials are carefully received and documented by professionals who prepare the water for analysis via EPA approved and industry standard testing methodologies. These testing methods have often been agreed upon by thousands of labs nationwide and include strict guidelines to ensure that water test results are accurate.

Hours of professional time and hours of expensive machine operation don’t happen for free.

Therefore, if someone is offering you a free water test, be very suspicious, as it is highly likely that these are the same people trying to sell you a water treatment product or bottled water subscription.

Disclosure: We Perform Unbiased Water Testing

We provide homeowners and renters nationwide with a reliable and affordable water testing service, called Tap Score. Unlike traditional environmental testing laboratories, we serve families and small businesses rather than large industrial clients.

Tap Score is designed to be economical at smaller testing quantities

Tap Score is tailored to the needs of residential customers and families who do not want to purchase hundreds of tests at a time in order to achieve lower wholesale testing costs. We spent thousands of hours building a logistics system that makes this possible.

Tap Score includes detailed water health analysis

After your sample is tested, you receive a detailed water quality report that explains each chemical found in your water, where it likely comes from, and what it’s known health effects are.

Tap Score includes personalized and unbiased treatment matching

For folks who do not like the taste of their water, or for those who detect a dangerous contaminant at elevated concentrations, we provide an unbiased list of NSF and WQA certified treatment products from a variety of vendors that are matched to your water quality issue, allowing you to affordably treat your water at home.

Tap Score includes helpful and professional support

We do not expect you to be a chemical engineer or water professional. Our staff on UC Berkeley campus is trained in water chemistry and water health. We will give you ongoing support in understanding your water quality issues until you find a suitable solution.