Great kit! Good quality and easy to use!

A brief explanation of why I bought this and how I use it. I was told I had arsenic in my well water when I first bought my house. Not being able to afford an expensive filtration system, I've had water delivered ever since. But the jugs (for the water cooler) are heavy and I wanted to eliminate the frustration as well as the expense after years of delivery. Recently, I decided to research the topic once again to see if there were any affordable filtration options. I found the Berkey filter system, which seemed impressive, filtering & purifying nearly everything you can imagine. The primary filters that come with it last for about 6,000 gallons on most contaminants, however, when it comes to arsenic in particular, they say it likely stops filtering the arsenic "long before the life of the filter", but exactly how much sooner it stops working on arsenic seems to be unknown, although some articles guess it stops working on arsenic "perhaps after a few hundred gallons". They do offer an additional arsenic filter you can add on to the system, but for reasons I won't get into here I felt unsure of those types filters and have read mixed reviews. The point is, if the primary filters DO filter arsenic, I wanted to know how long the primary black filters ALONE would last for arsenic. So I decided to do my own experiment. I purchased the Berkey and I also purchased this kit. I had initial professional testing done at a lab on my water and my results were 0.014ppm, which exceeds the EPA recommended max of 0.010ppm (or 10 ppb), although not by much.So my plan is to use this kit to test my filtered water every month until I can determine approximately how long the filters will work for the arsenic until they need replacement. But I certainly can't afford professional lab testing monthly, so I was very happy to find this kit of 100 tests that I can do myself, at home. I feel a little like a mad scientist doing the test, you have to add this agent, then shake, add another, shake, wait. Add a third, wait, etc. After a few tests it becomes very easy but I STRONGLY recommend reading the instructions and the tips sections of the enclosed booklet thoroughly before you attempt to test, because you have a very limited time to get all the steps done.Luckily in my case, I had a known arsenic concentration in my tap water from the lab results, so that helped. When I got the kit I tested the UN-filtered tap water first, as a control. The kit includes a numbered color chart ranging from dark orange (high arsenic) to pale yellow (low arsenic) and of course white is no arsenic. But it was a little tough in my case, because my arsenic levels are fairly low, so it's tough to match the palest shades of yellow. And you only have 30 seconds to match the result strip to the color chart before it fades and that 30 seconds goes very fast! The low end of the chart ranges from 0ppb, then 5, then 10, 20 and so on up to 500+. So I expected my control sample to be darker than 10 but lighter than 20, since my lab results were 14. Anyway, my first test result was either 0 or 5, I couldn't be sure which, and my second test attempt seemed to be 5. I do realize arsenic levels in well water can vary with time, but this was still a bit confusing and I felt unsure of my results. I then tested my FILTERED water and got a very clear 0ppb result, it was white on the strip & result chart - meaning no detectable arsenic. I talked to a friend who happens to be a chemist, who suggested that I re-do the test outside instead of inside where I had artificial lighting. The manual does specify that "natural daylight" is ideal. I also read more of the manual and noticed that it states that the water temp is "very important" for proper results. It should be between 72 & 84 degrees F and if the water is too cool it could result in a "false low" reading. I suspected my sample may not have been warm enough.So the next day I redid the unfiltered water test. This time I let the water sit in the sun for a short time to ensure it was warmer. I don't have a special thermometer for liquids and my regular personal thermometer wouldn't read temps that low. So I had to guess, but generally I just made sure it was warmer to the touch than before. I also did this third test outdoors, not in direct sunlight but in the outdoor daylight. These two changes made a big difference in my result. This time the color (although still pale) was much easier to match to the chart and I got a clear reading of 10ppb. Possibly slightly darker, but very close to a perfect match for 10, and definitely lighter than 20. So this was right in line with my known lab results of 14. I tell this whole story to hopefully assist anyone else; both water temp and proper daylight lighting is important!My only complaint would be that a special thermometer really should be included in the kit, since proper water temp seems to be vital for proper results. But everything comes clearly labeled, and the directions are excellent as long as you take the time to read everything. The manual does include a general troubleshooting guide as well, with problems and then probable causes/solutions. I especially like the kit container, which contains it all neatly and is easy to store. Now that I've done a few trial runs, I have what I feel are accurate results, and I'm especially thrilled to see that the filter is in fact removing my arsenic, at least so far. Now I will continue to test with this kit every month until I can determine the life expectancy of my water filters.

I've worked as a chemist for many years. There were some rumors that some of the wells in the area were contaminated with arsenic, and I wanted to do a quick check of my water. The instructions for doing the test are easy to follow. I like the fact that the process used to prepare the sample converts both the arsenic oxidation states (+3, +5) into a single form. Other tests I have used in the past could only measure one or the other oxidation states. My only problem with the test system, is that it should have included a standard solution containing arsenic with a known concentration so you could confirm that you were running the test procedure correctly.