Can anyone recommend a kit for testing the lead level in water taken from the public water supply? Or is there a simple DIY way of measuring this?
There was a scare story about lead where I live (Dun Laoghaire, south of Dublin) on the news just now.
I see a number of test kits on Amazon, but am wondering if any experts can recommend a particular kit.
On a related note, our water supply runs through lead pipes between the stop tap in the road and the stop tap in the rising main. How much lead is likely to get into the drinking water? Is there any advantage in letting the water run for a few minutes after it has been standing in the pipe overnight, as my wife keeps nagging me to do?
If you live in a hard water area, none whatsoever. Over the years the pipes will have become lined with a deposit of lime scale, effectively sealing them from contact with the water. Any one of these links tells you about it
Not really.
The gold standard is ICP which will determine trace amounts of heavy metals in tapwater pretty easily but a lab will charge for it. Your water supplier should be able to tell you about local supply. Try
If you are in a soft water area then there might be something to worry about from lead pipes otherwise the limescale protects you.
None of the testing kits are really sensitive enough to be worthwhile.
There might be in a soft water area. Does your kettle fur up.
Might be worth asking this in sci.chem in case someone can think of a devious way to do a lead test at home on the cheap.
I was under the impression that Phosphoric acid dosing was compulsory [EU regs]
The final pH would not be an issue, even if the addition of phosphoric acid were to have a significant effect, a dollop of caustic would soon get one's pearly whites back in order :-)
One is inclined to wonder whether there is a link between meter installation and lead contamination. Pipes that have been undisturbed for years are not normally a contamination source.
Sadly mental problems due to water supplies are all too common, most of the UK are quite happy to throw ridiculous levels of money away to private speculators for what used to be their own rescource.
Now if you want to see them fighting for their share of the booty extracted from the people they robbed of their utility.......
AB
If you live in a soft water area, your wife is right. Easiest way is to flush the toilet first thing in a morning.
You can buy water filter kits, they have a cartridge of activated charcoal removes some of the lead. (Works better on any pesticides and herbicides residues in the water.)
Downside is,it also removes the chlorine so bacteria can grow (including legeonnairella)
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