Drinking Water Testing

[sixgun95]

Do you offer drinking water testing?

What tests do you have performed?

Has offering this been a good business decision for you?

[Mark P]

I've never heard of a HI providing this service.

[Scottpat]

Just stay with home inspections, you will make more money over the long run and have less headaches.

[Chad Fabry]

Do you offer drinking water testing?

Yes

What tests do you have performed?

I ask for a drink of water on occassion

Has offering this been a good business decision for you?

I neither charge for nor report on my taste test. Chemistry is outside my scope of experience and education. I try to stick only with things I know something about and that eliminates just about every ancillary service for me.

[kurt]

I've offered the service years ago. It is useful for folks on private wells.

But, it is similar to testing smoke alarms; the better advice is to educate your buyer to the idea that they should test their water regularly, and not be narcotized into the idea that everything is fine because one guy did a test, that may, or may not, be accurate.

Tell your customers to test their water regularly.

[MMustola]

That is the minimum testing you would want to conduct. You could also offer testing for other things like arsenic if you know that is a problem in your area.

If you start tested water there will be an expectation that you also inspected and tested the operation of the well and pumping equipment.

In my area it is coming for the HI inspector to test the well and water, 70% of the houses I inspect have privater wells and septic systems.

[Steven Hockstein]

I used to do it but now NJ has a well water testing requirement when transfering home ownership if there is a private well water supply. There are specific tests needed and some of them are time sensitive. The well also has to be identified with a GPS location device. I don't know any home inspection company that does it themselves. I give my clients a few names of certified testing labs.

The test results have to be reported to the state.

It is a way for the state to determine the quality of the underground water supply and have buyers and sellers of real estate pay for this testing so the state can save the expense.

[MMustola]

My post did not come out complete. The first paragraph stated that the EPA recommends that all private wells be tested anually for total coliform bateria, E Coli., and Nitrates.

[ghentjr]

Yes, we test both city and well water. City water for lead content and well water, well, the sky is the limit. First, you have to understand that Home Inspection is a business. Water testing is a profitable part of that business. In Connecticut we test wells for many things, but the average well test without radon in water was about $120 fee with a $50 cost. Radon in water was additional, lead in water was additional. We also provided mirror tests, when we found well water treatment, we offered testing before the equipment and after. We found many systems that were not working because the tests were the same. Needless to say, offer anything related to health and safety, quality of life, etc. and they will usually buy it.

[slinger2k]

Yes...markup is usually 300% over lab costs. Helps alleviate the cost of diesel! LOL