Well Water Test Kits: Choose the Test by the Question You Need Answered

What to test, and how often

Every agency starts with the same two tests: bacteria (total coliform and E. coli) and nitrate. They disagree on how often.

Routine well testing · by agency

Agency	Bacteria	Nitrate	Chemicals
US EPA	Every year	Every year	If you suspect them; ask your health department1
CDC	At least once a year	Every year	Ask your health department2
Health Canada	At least every 6 months	Ask public health	General parameters every 2 years3
Québec	At least twice a year	Twice a year if over 5 mg/L	At least once while you use the well4
British Columbia	At least once a year	Every year	When the well is finished, then every year5
Minnesota	Every year	Every other year	Arsenic and lead at least once6

Our take: test bacteria twice a year if you can (spring and fall), as Health Canada and Québec advise. It costs little and catches the seasons when contamination is most likely. Health Canada names early spring and fall, after heavy rain or a flood, and after a long period without use as the best times to sample³.

Test again, outside the schedule, when^1,2,3:

• the water’s taste, colour or smell changes;
• the well floods, or part of the system is repaired or replaced;
• someone in the home becomes pregnant, or a baby arrives;
• land use nearby changes: a new farm, construction, a gas station.

Buying a house with a well? NC State Extension lists coliform bacteria, nitrate, lead, iron, hardness, pH, sulfate, total dissolved solids and corrosivity, plus tests for nearby risks such as farms or mines⁷.

The health limits your report is compared to

Most lab reports compare your results with these values. The US and Canada agree on bacteria, nitrate and arsenic, and differ on the rest.

Drinking water limits · US EPA and Health Canada

Test	US EPA	Health Canada
E. coli and total coliform	Goal: zero8	None detectable per 100 mL9
Nitrate (as N)	10 ppm10 mg/L8	10 ppm10 mg/L9
Arsenic	0.01 ppm0.01 mg/L8	0.01 ppm0.01 mg/L9
Lead	Action level 0.01 ppm0.01 mg/L, 0.01 ppm0.01 mg/L from November 20278	0.01 ppm0.01 mg/L9
Uranium	30 µg/L8	20 µg/L9
Fluoride	4 ppm4 mg/L8	1.5 ppm1.5 mg/L9
Manganese	No enforceable limit; 0.05 ppm0.05 mg/L for taste and stains10	0.12 ppm0.12 mg/L health limit9

Three kinds of test, three questions

Which test answers which question

Your question	Test to get	What it can’t tell you
Is my water safe to drink right now?	Lab bacteria test (total coliform, E. coli) + nitrate	Arsenic, lead, uranium, iron
What’s in my well, for a house purchase, a baby, or to choose treatment?	Full lab panel	Bacteria next season: retest
Did the shock chlorination work? Is the filter still working?	Home kit or strip, as a screen	A reliable, certified result

A bacteria test from a lab or your province

In Canada, start with your province: Ontario tests private wells for bacteria for free through Public Health Ontario, with bottles from health units and results in 2 to 4 business days¹¹. Newfoundland and Labrador also tests bacteria in private wells with no fee¹². Other provinces use paid accredited labs; our testing labs guide lists them. In the US, your local health department may offer free private well testing¹.

Bacteria samples don’t travel well: Public Health Ontario must test them within 48 hours of collection¹¹, and Alberta does not test samples older than 24 hours¹³. Use a local lab or drop-off point for this test.

A full lab panel (US mail-in kits)

These two kits send a sample to a lab by mail. Both are for US addresses.

Full panel, named accredited lab

National Testing Laboratories WaterCheck Basic Well Water Test

No NSF/ANSI listing found

Measures

36 items: coliform, E. coli, arsenic, lead, uranium, nitrate, iron, manganese, pH, hardness…

Lab

NELAC/TNI and ISO/IEC 17025 (company statement)

Turnaround

about 7 business days; lab warns of delays (Nov 2026)

Return

next-day delivery, at your cost

Strengths

• Names its accredited lab and publishes a sample report
• Bacteria, nitrate, arsenic, uranium, lead and iron in one kit

Drawbacks

• Return shipping not included, and it must be next-day
• Free kit delivery only in the 48 contiguous states
• No VOCs or pesticides at this tier

Good fit: US well owners who want one accredited baseline before choosing any treatment.
Skip it if: you live in Canada, or you suspect fuel or solvent contamination (needs a VOC test).

Full panel with treatment advice

Tap Score Essential Well Water Test

No NSF/ANSI listing found

Measures

54 items, incl. coliform, E. coli, arsenic, lead, uranium, nitrate, sulfate

Hydrogen sulfide

home strip in the kit

Turnaround

5 business days at the lab

Return

prepaid label (US)

Strengths

• The widest list of the kits we catalogued
• Prepaid return label
• Report includes treatment suggestions

Drawbacks

• The partner lab is not named on the product page
• US only: Canadians are pointed to separate Canadian kits
• No PFAS or VOCs at this tier

Good fit: US well owners who want a broad first test and help reading it.
Skip it if: you need a named lab for a lender or health unit, or you live in Canada.

The NTL Problem Check, on our iron filters page, is the better pick when the question is stains rather than safety.

Home kits and strips: screens only

Health Canada is blunt: “Only tests done through an accredited laboratory or your local public health unit will be accurate and reliable”³. The research agrees for nitrate strips: in 102 homes, the lab found more nitrate than the strip in 81% of samples that contained nitrate, and the authors advise using strips only as a screening tool¹⁴. We found no North American agency that rates home kits for bacteria or arsenic.

Where a home kit earns its place is the re-check: after shock chlorination, after a flood, between lab tests.

Home bacteria screen

Watersafe Bacteria Water Test

No NSF/ANSI listing found

Detects

coliforms incl. E. coli, and other bacteria

Result

6 h (heavy contamination) to 48 h

Packs

1, 2, 4 or 12 tests

Lab

none: read at home

Strengths

• Cheap repeat checks between lab tests
• The maker ships outside the US

Drawbacks

• Does not separate E. coli from other bacteria
• Not a certified result: confirm any positive with a lab

Good fit: re-checking a well between lab tests, for example after shock chlorination.
Skip it if: you need a result a health unit, lender or buyer will accept.

Reading a bacteria result

Most labs report bacteria as present or absent. The University of Iowa’s State Hygienic Laboratory reads them this way¹⁵:

Presence/absence results · what they mean

Total coliform	E. coli	Meaning
Absent	Absent	Bacterially safe
Present	Absent	Unsafe, potential health hazard
Present	Present	Unsafe, serious health risk

Either one means there is probably a gap in the well system that lets contamination in¹⁵. A result only describes the water on the day you sampled it⁵. If either bacteria shows up, our coliform guide gives the next steps.