No products in the cart.
Demo Report
NEWS
Canada's Premier At-Home Water Testing & Reporting Solution
Tap

Frequently Asked Questions

Please reach us at info@mywaterquality.ca if you cannot find an answer to your question.


Why should I sample my drinking water?
You should be sampling your drinking water for various reasons as it concerns your health and the health of your family. In addition to illness, a variety of less serious problems, such as taste, colour, and odour are signs of possible water quality issues.
If your water comes from a private water well, you are solely responsible for assuring it is safe. For this reason, routine testing for the parameters covered in the Advanced Well Test is highly recommended. Even if you currently have a safe, clean water supply, regular testing can be valuable to establish a record of water quality. Having an understanding of your historical and current water quality may be helpful in solving any potential future problems and obtaining compensation if someone damages your water supply.
If you are purchasing your water from a public/municipal water system, your water will be monitored at the source of treatment. These results will be publicly available from your local municipality. However, the water quality can change as the water travels through the pipes to your tap, including contaminants such as lead.

My municipality/health unit will complete water sampling for free. Why should I pay to have my water sampled?
Municipalities or local health units will analyze your drinking water if it is from a private surface water, groundwater or cistern source. However, testing is limited to E. coli, total coliforms and potentially nitrate. Although these are important health related parameters to test for, they do not provide a complete picture of the quality of your water.

If your only concern is bacteria and/or nitrate, the free services are a great option.

Some water treatment companies provide sampling services for free? Do they sample for the same parameters as mywaterquality.ca?
Very few water treatment companies rely on an accredited and licensed laboratory to perform the free water testing. Typically, tests are completed with portable water quality meters or test strips for specific parameters that may not provide sufficient information about your water quality to allow for an interpretation of the water type and source of issues, if any. The precision and accuracy of the results can not compare to those analyzed by an accredited and licensed laboratory.

In addition, My Water Quality does not sell water treatment systems. Our only mission is to provide knowledge to those who would like to understand what is in their drinking water. My Water Quality will provide a water report card that provides each homeowner with the complete water quality results from the accredited and licensed laboratory along with a water "score" based on the Canadian Water Quality Index for three water quality categories: all heath, aesthetic, and operational guidelines for the parameters tested. Guidance is provided on what could treatment options could be utilized to improve the water quality.

There are other at home testing kits you can buy online. What is the difference between these kits and the services provided by mywaterquality.ca?
The majority of home testing kits use test strips to determine the general water quality. These test strips can serve as an initial screening tool, but do not provide the level of accuracy or precision to effectively compare concentrations to legislative guidelines. These test strips will give a range of results rather than a specific number. For example, a test strip for lead may have a minimum detection limit of 0.015 mg/L but the Ontario Drinking Water Objective for lead is 0.01 mg/L. Therefore, this test strip only detects lead if it is 50% higher than the health-related guideline.

My Water Quality's laboratory accurately measures a variety of water quality parameters to determine water quality. This approach allows for an improved understanding of any potential water quality issues and aids in ensuring the correct treatment options are considered.

How often should I test my drinking water?
You should test your water annually for the parameters in the Advanced Well Test and bacteria (Add-on Package A, or through your health unit) to ensure that there have been no changes in your drinking water quality over time. More advanced chemical testing, such as parameters in the industrial and agricultural packages can be done less frequently.

If I purchase a water sampling package from mywaterquality.ca, how long before I see the results?
You will receive notification that your results are available on mywaterquality.ca within ten (10) to fifteen (15) business days. Your results will remain in your profile for future reference.

Supporting Water First's Drinking Water Internship

$5 of every water quality package purchased through mywaterquality.ca will go to Water First.

Learn more

Join Our Newsletter