NH Water Testing
It is important to get your water tested in NH when you are buying a home. Most home inspectors offer this service while they do a general home inspection.
So much of the State is rural and people do not have city water. When you don’t have city water you will be on a well and nobody is monitoring that water quality and that is why it is so important.
Footprint Property Inspections offers water testing during your home inspection and we get you results very quickly.
Why test your New Hampshire water
There are many reasons to test your water. Contaminates in drinking water come from all kinds of sources they can be natural and man-caused.
Your health
Just because your water looks and smells ok does not mean that it is good to drink. Contaminates can cause all kinds of health issues especially for infants and the elderly!
One thing I see a lot in water tests is high arsenic. You don’t want to have high levels of arsenic it could affect your health.
Home purchase requirement
Your lender might require a test of the water if you are financing FHA/VA or Rural Development.
They require the basic test with a few extra tests that they require. They tend to look out for the person that is purchasing a home.
Water pipes
Just the PH in your water can affect the pipes and cause corrosion. The PH can affect the copper. If you are purchasing an old home it can also clog pipes like galvanized and cast pipes.
Maybe you not on a well but you have city water. City water can have lead pipes that service your home. Doing a water test will let you know if you have lead in your drinking water.
Types of water wells in NH
There are a few different types of well that you will commonly see in NH. Let’s go over what well might be at the property that you are going to purchase.
Artesian well
This is the type of well that you want if you buying a home. This is a drilled well that goes to the bedrock.
I have drilled many wells when I built homes. It is always a bit of a mystery how deep they will have to drill to hit the water.
Typically a hole is drilled down and then a metal casing is put down the hole to the bedrock. After the bedrock is hit that becomes the pipe for the water.
The biggest benefit of an artesian well is that the water is not surface water that you will find with a dug well.
Dug well
This is a very common well also and found in a lot of older homes. Sometimes a home will have a drilled well but an old dug well is still on the property and possibly abandoned.
The only advantage I can see for a dug well is that they are cheap to install. Really the goal is to dig a hole that surface water will seep into.
The biggest disadvantage of a dug well is water contamination. The well is gathering water from the surface and surface water can have all kinds of things in it.
Surface water can have fertilizers, salts chemicals, etc. As water works its way through the ground the dirt acts as a filter and really helps clear the water in a drilled well not a dug well.
Types of NH water tests
Standard Water Test
Includes Total Coliform & E.coli Bacteria, Nitrate, Iron, Manganese, Hardness, pH, Sodium, Chloride
Comprehensive Water Test
Includes Total Coliform & E.coli Bacteria, Nitrate, Nitrite, Iron, Manganese, Hardness, pH, Sodium, Chloride, Arsenic, Flouride, Copper, Lead, Conductivity, Alkalinity)
Comprehensive Water with Radon Test
FHA/VA/RD Water Test
Includes Total Coliform & E.coli Bacteria, Nitrate, Nitrite, Lead, Iron, Manganese, Sodium, Chloride, pH, Hardness
MTBE
NH water testing labs
When you get a home inspection your home inspector is going to bring your sample to a local lab for testing. I bring all the water tests I do at inspections to Nelson water lab in Manchester NH.
As you can see it is really important to test your water when you are getting a home inspection in NH.
We offer the service and you can find our pricing page. Don’t invest a ton of money into a home purchase and have no idea of the drinking water quality.
Inspection Request
Call us or fill out the form. After you fill out the form we will be in touch almost immediately to give you an accurate quote and go over scheduling and availability.
