Up your game with a mail-in lab test. Companies like Tap Score or My Water Lab will send you a sterile collection kit, you fill it up (with specific instructions, please), and ship it back to a certified lab. Total cost: $30–$150. Worth every penny if you’re a hypochondriac like me.
How to Test Lead in Water: A Complete Homeowner’s Guide - LeadFree NYC
The best part? You get a detailed report with exact lead levels in parts per billion (PPB). The EPA’s “action level” is 15 PPB—but let’s be honest, zero is the only safe number. Your kid’s brain development doesn’t do “maybe safe.” These labs also check for other nasties like copper, chlorine, and bacteria, so it’s a two-for-one deal.
Spoiler alert: my test came back at 12 PPB. Not quite the red alert, but closer than I’d like. That’s when I started shopping for water filters like a man possessed.
