15-in-1 JNW Direct Drinking Water Test Kit

Easy to use

Got this to test some drinking water for a project. The strips respond fast, just dip it in the water for 2 seconds pull it out and shake off any extra water and then you can read the results in about 10 seconds. The colors can be a little hard to read (that's what made it a 4 star) but you can pretty much figure it out. Took samples of the same water a few times and got consistent results so that was a good sign. Helped to identify a hard water issue.

Many useful tests for household drinking water, quick and easy to read and interpret.Doesn't test for bacteria, fungus, or microbes, but those tests are MUCH more expensive.

Easy to use and I hope readings are correct.

I received this on 9/14/17. I used to use a competitor's test strip but in seeking a cheaper test strip I found this. In the 2 tests I have done so far, on 2 fish tanks, the nitrate readings were 20 mg/l lower than the competitor's version but I am not sure if this one is off or not. The pH and nitrite matched the competitor's readings. I noticed the colors tend to run in between the color blocks. I may try dipping it in the water horizontally next time to avoid one color from trying to mix with another between the color blocks. Other than that, it seems to do the job well. I have 148 more test strips to use before it expires in 2 years so I will provide an update sometime before then.Update 7/20/18. I cannot trust this product. I just downgraded it from 4 stars to 1. I can measure new water, different fish tank water (new and old), and all the readings have about the same levels of nitrite and nitrate in it. In one case, it should show higher nitrate levels. I also compared 2 leading brand test strips today against this one and this one gives false nitrite and nitrate readings. I will continue to make comparisons for a while longer but if I make no more entries here, that means I threw the rest of this product away and deem it NOT TRUSTWORTHY.

Kit for water sample to take at home of optimal quality, I recommend it

If un opened they last 2 years but once opened you have 90 days to use up! I guess I will be passing them out to neighbors and strangers 😞 that said they are easily used

I had a Kinetico water system installed a few months ago - ridiculously expensive - and I wasn't sure it was working, so I bought this kit to check it. I checked the kitchen hot and cold (let both run for quite some time), the bathroom, the outside tap, and some bottled water I use for drinking. Water softeners are supposed to condition all the water in the house except the kitchen cold tap and the outside tap.As you can see by the photo, the results are the same across the board except for the bottled water I used as a sort of control (I refill my bottles from Watermill Express). Las Vegas has hard water - it runs usually around 16.5 grains. The problem with the test strips is that hardness is measured at 0, 25, 50, 120, 250, 425 ppm. After a bit of research, I found that you have to take ppm and divide it by 17.1 to figure out what the grains come to. It looks like mine is running between 120-250, which correlates to 7-15 grains, but it doesn't tell me really where it is. It does tell me that, if the strips are accurate, my system isn't doing a damned thing to the water, so there's some value in that.The strips are really easy to use. Just dip them in the water for 2 seconds, then lay them flat for 10-30 seconds to let them fully develop. The packaging is excellent - no more than you really need, and the jar they come in is easy open/easy close. Even someone with arthritis should be able to handle it. I just made a small hole in the foil cover and shook out what I needed. The chart is pretty clear, though I'm definitely keeping the jar in the dark so the colors don't fade out. They also include a little e-book that gives more detail about each of the tests and what it means.For basic information, this test kit is okay. For detailed hardness testing, not so much. But it's worth what I paid, and it's easy to use.