If you’re tuned into social media, especially TikTok, you may have seen videos of different people testing their tap water and comparing it to filtered and bottled water. Some of them use portable meters and others use test strips that reveal their results in colored bands.
In the videos featuring small, portable meters, the individuals in the videos insert the meter in glasses containing tap, filtered and/or bottled water samples. They press a button on the meter and a window displays a number related to the purity or non-purity of the water. But what does this number tell you? The people in these videos don’t explain what that result means and whether or not it’s actually revealing a problem.
What Is TDS and Is It a Problem in Your Drinking Water?
These little meters often have labels that say that they test “TDS and EC.” TDS stands for Total Dissolved Solids. (We’ll get to EC in a moment.) The TDS number is a measure of the total quantity of all inorganic and organic substances dissolved in water. Inorganic ingredients would include:
- Calcium
- Magnesium
- Potassium
- Sodium
- Bicarbonates
- Chlorides
- Sulfates
- Nitrates
TDS could also include metals:
- Iron
- Manganese
- Lead
- Arsenic
The other possibility is dissolved organic compounds from soil, decaying plants, or pollution.
Some of these components are essential for good-tasting, healthful water. Others, obviously, are highly undesirable! The TDS meter only gives you a measure of the total volume of all these dissolved substances, harmful or not. There is no differentiation between calcium (healthful) and arsenic (definitely not healthful). Getting a real understanding of the quality of your water takes more than just a quick dip with a low-priced, portable meter. So a high TDS number could be harmless or very harmful (no one wants lead in their drinking water!).
Why Do These Little Meters Also Check EC and What Is That?
EC is short for Electrical Conductivity. Water that has a high electrical conductivity typically contains a high concentration of dissolved minerals that carry an electrical charge, such as calcium, magnesium, sodium, chloride, sulfate, and bicarbonate. This little meter is actually just measuring TDS and then converting the measurement into EC through a mathematical formula.
Why might you care about electrical conductivity? A high measurement means that your water-using appliances will probably develop mineral buildup inside their pipes and jets. Sinks and other fixtures will show mineral deposits. The water may taste salty or bitter, depending on which minerals are present. And some of the minerals or contaminants, like nitrates, sulfates and heavy metals, are harmful to health.
The Problem with Water Test Strips
Other social media videos show people analyzing their water with test strips. They dip the test strip in tap water, bottled water and filtered water and look at the colors that develop on the strip. These strips provide slightly more analysis of what their water contains, but here too, these results won’t tell you very much.
These strips typically look for between eight and 20 different water contaminants or qualities. You might see results for nitrates, nitrites, copper, chlorine, lead, or sulfites. Carbonates and bicarbonates that get added to water as it passes over limestone might also be detected. These test strips only give you a general peek at your water quality with little accuracy or understanding of what kind of harm might occur from drinking this water.
Should You Trust These Test Results?
Unfortunately, these tests don’t really tell you much that is valuable. Healthy, fresh-tasting water should not measure ZERO on a TDS meter! The ideal measure for drinking water is between 100 and 300 TDS. Of course, the substances in the water should only be the good-tasting and healthful minerals like calcium, potassium, magnesium, and bicarbonate.
Drinking distilled water because it measures almost zero TDS will deprive you not only of good-tasting water but also the minerals you need to be healthy. Water treated with a reverse osmosis (RO) system will also have a low TDS. You may want to add minerals back to distilled or RO-treated water to give it a better taste.
How to Really Find Out What’s In Your Water
Professional water testing labs have sophisticated and advanced water testing equipment that provides extremely detailed and accurate information on the contents of water samples. This equipment is constantly monitored and maintained for the highest accuracy. If you really want to know what’s in your water, testing by professional water testing labs is detailed, accurate and can be quite affordable.
ETR Laboratories Can Quickly Provide You with Detailed Results
ETR Laboratories completes thousands of water tests every month for private well owners, municipalities, real estate agents and homeowners who want to know if they should install filtration. The Basic Water Test checks for 53 substances and provides an exact measurement for each one. Your report will also include information on the limits for each substance set by the Environmental Protection Agency (if applicable). Order your Basic Water Test today and get an accurate look at your water quality!
