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Test Kits

Water Testing

Chlorine & pH Test Kits

Chlorine Testing

If you use Chlorine (bleach or solid) to disinfect your catchment system it can be difficult to know if you have enough chlorine in your tank to kill the bacteria and viruses. The correct amount of chlorine to have in your tank is between 0.2 parts per million (PPM) and 1.0 ppm. The department of health has recommended 1.0 ppm so that you will have a residual amount of chlorine in your tank to handle contaminants as they enter the system.

It is difficult to find a test for Chlorine that measures acurately at this low level. Swimming pool kits often measure higher concentrations. We found some simple test strips by HF Scientific called "Chlorine Micro Check" which measure low concentrations of Chlorine.

These test strips can be found in chemical supply stores.

pH testing

pH measures how acidic or basic your water is.  You can buy pH test kits at most swimming pool supply stores.  Normally, rainwater is acidic (low pH), and here on the Big Island, our rain may be extra acidic because of our active volcano.  While acidic rain is not considered a health problem, it can leach copper from pipes and turns tubs and sinks blue/green.  It can also leach lead from old pipes and other metal roofing materials into the rainwater catchment.