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How to Protect Yourself Against Cheating on Water Bacteria Tests - Advice for home buyers, home owners, home inspectors InspectAPedia®  -     How to detect and protect against someone cheating on water tests or septic tests Cheating on Water Tests Cheating on Septic Tests How to Catch Dishonest Water or Septic Testing How to Avoid Water Test & Septic Test Cheating Problems What to Do About Questionable Water Test Results

This article explains why people might do something that prevents you from obtaining an accurate water test, how to detect this bad behavior, and what to do about it. Cheating on drinking water tests may come as a surprise to most folks - who would do such a thing, and why? Also see Choices of Water Tests & Fees: A Summary of Types of Water Tests, Degrees of Comprehensive Water Testing, Details of Water Test Parameters. and Water Testing Advice based on information from Cornell University of Maryland with extensive edits, text additions, and additional references.

CHEATING ON How to Avoid Well Water Test Cheats & Septic Test Dishonesty

Most people we've dealt with in the last 40 years of construction and building diagnosis & repair have been honest and decent. But on occasion the "pressure of the deal" or just downright dishonesty lead some folks to try to fool the buyers or occupants of a property, regardless of the possible consequences for their health or their wallet. Here are some things you can do to avoid tripping up over the bad apples:

• Requests to Realtors/Sellers: ask that no "special" water treatment and no septic system work of any kind be performed in the two weeks before an inspection and test are scheduled.
• Examine equipment supplying and treating water in the building. Note if a chlorinator, water softener, UV light system, or other "water purification" equipment is installed or has been installed (such as noting an equipment hookup or footprint even if the equipment has been removed).
• Water sampling strategy: might include collecting water samples from both before and after any water treatment equipment, but beware that dirty un-used faucets such as at a basement water tank or outdoors could be a point source of bacterial contamination of the water test.
• How to avoid being duped by duplicitous well shockers: if we are collecting a water sample for bacterial testing we always conduct a Hach Test™ for chlorine before collecting my water sample.
  
  Some inspectors use swimming pool test kits for this purpose. Unfortunately those tests are much less accurate in detection of low levels of chlorine that may be residual after a cheating well-shock and flush-out procedure.
  
  In inspecting properties in the Northeastern U.S., particularly in the remote country in areas of bad soils, we find that someone has subverted our water test perhaps 5 or 10 times a year.
  
  The subversion by bleach ("well shocking") may have been done in ignorance, out of anxiety that a problem might be present, or out of an actual wish to hide a known issue. We don't need to figure out motives, but it's wise to avoid a false "OK" on a water coliform test when a well has been shocked, or might have been.

How to Test the Water Supply or Septic Effluent for Evidence of the Presence of Chlorine

When to re-test a well that has been shocked with chlorine, Clorox(TM) or other disinfectants: This question is explained at" When to re-test a well that has been shocked with chlorine bleach or some other disinfectant". Watch out! Testing too soon or testing water improperly after chlorine or other disinfectants have been in use is likely to give false results.

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CHEATING ON WATER TESTS
  Disappearing Septic Dye
  How much bleach to cheat
  Sources of chlorine in water
  How to avoid test dishonesty
  Re Testing Water

• Thanks to Craig Young, Environmental Health Officer, Government of Newfoundland & Labrador, Canada, for noting page format snafu 3 Jan 2008

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More Information on Building Diagnostic Inspections and Repairs

• Drinking Water Contamination and Pollution How to Detect, Test, Correct, and Prevent Well Water Contamination - US EPA - Groundwater
• Interpreting & Acting On Drinking Water Test Results what the results mean and what to do about them
• Correcting Unsatisfactory Water what to do, when to do it, treatment alternatives, equipment, filters,
• Water Treatment for Contamination, Hardness, Odors, Sediment, Etc: choices of systems, recommendations
• When and How to Shock or Chlorinate a Well - Procedure for Shocking a Well to (temporarily or maybe longer) "Correct" Bacterial Contamination


• Drinking Water testing, contamination, correction - all topics
• Drinking Water Testing Advice for home buyers home owners home inspectors
• Choices of Water Tests & Fees: A Summary of Types of Water Tests, Degrees of Comprehensive Water Testing, Details of Water Test Parameters
• Cheating on water tests: Testing Water for Real Estate Transactions - make sure your water test is valid
• General water testing and corrective measure advice: contact your local health department.
• How to Interpret Drinking Water Test Results and How to Correct Unsatisfactory Water
• Drinking Water Contaminant Levels - Maximum Allowed
• Drinking Water Contamination and Pollution How to Detect, Test, Correct, and Prevent Well Water Contamination - US EPA - Groundwater
• How to Reduce Lead Contamination in Drinking Water: how to test & correction lead in drinking water
• Extreme Lead Poisoning Symptoms Suggested by Feb 2006 NY Times Article on Kosovo Roma Camps
• When and How to Shock or Chlorinate a Well - Procedure for Shocking a Well to (temporarily or maybe longer) "Correct" Bacterial Contamination
• Water and Waste Water Test Methods, US EPA
• Water Requirements, Home & Outdoor Living
• ATSDR: Nitrate/Nitrite Toxicity [Big, Slow-Loading File] U.S. Government ATSDR Science Corner - 2.5MB PDF
• Water Supply & Drain Piping, Wells, Pumps, Water Supply Equipment
• The Septic System Information Website - Extensive, Detailed Consumer and Industry Information on Septic System Inspection, Testing, Maintenance, Alternatives for on-site waste disposal
• Sewage or Septic contamination in buildings - Investigation, Testing and Remediation

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