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Cheating on Water Tests: Detection & Prevention
How to
Detect Chlorine in Drinking Water
or Septic Effluent
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InspectAPedia tolerates no conflicts of interest. We have no relationship with advertisers, products, or services discussed at this website.
Why people try to manipulate water test results: cheating on water tests: 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?
Green links show where you are. © Copyright 2013 InspectAPedia.com, All Rights Reserved. Author Daniel Friedman.
Sources of chlorine in drinking water from private wells and public water supplies
This article continues the subject of water or septic test manipulation that we began at CHEATING ON WATER TESTS.
Readers should be sure to see CHLORINE IN DRINKING WATER. 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 see
Water Testing Advice based on information from Cornell University of Maryland with extensive edits, text additions, and
additional references.
If your property has a private septic system, the same folks who poured chlorine into a well (to cheat on a water test) may by that means or other steps, also have sent bleach or chlorine into the septic system - possibly harming the system and possibly subverting a septic loading and dye test - see CHLORINE IN SEPTIC WASTEWATER and see CHEATING ON WATER TESTS.
Chlorine in private well water? From what cause or what source do we find chlorine in water? One would not expect to find chlorine in well water from a private residence except for a few conditions, most of which indicate a concern for the sanitation of the water supply.
- Chlorine from municipal water supply: If your water smells
like chlorine, first let's find out if your water is supplied by a private well or by a municipal water system and it is chlorine that you smell.
Chlorine is quite volatile and doesn't stick around in water - if you run water from a tap into a pitcher and let it sit, the
chlorine will dissipate pretty quickly. People who want to avoid chlorine in their water can install a treatment system
such as charcoal filtering to remove it.
Municipal water supplied: The water may not be from a private well - you may have misunderstood or been misinformed. Community water supplies often contain chlorinated water.
Old wells and complete water supply systems are sometimes left in place after a home is connected to a municipal water supply.
Most municipalities are careful to be certain that the homeowner has no physical plumbing connections between the well water system
and the municipal system, as they don't want to risk back-contamination of their supply. An old well might be kept working, for example, to water laws or wash cars.
Follow the pipes in your building to the point where water service is provided to be sure you know where water is entering and from what source it arrives.
- Well Water Chlorinator may be Installed: (photo at left) The water supply may be known to be unsanitary, and a chlorine injection system may be installed. If post-processing of the
chlorinated water is not properly adjusted, odors of chlorine may be present at fixtures, or may be detected by testing with a Hach or similar test kit.
If a drinking water treatment system is installed, you can find it, make sure it's working, test the well to determine what's really needed, and be sure that the treatment system is properly maintained. If your home water smells like chlorine and you have a chlorinator installed for water disinfection, make sure the equipment is properly adjusted.
- If someone has just shocked or sanitized the water well to try to correct a bacteria problem (a step which is ineffective if there is a persistent bacteria source - See WELL CHLORINATION SHOCKING PROCEDURE) it is possible that you have not run enough water to flush out all of that chlorine (bleach).
- Recent well shock treatment after work on the well, well piping, or submersible well pump: the well may have been shocked as normal good procedure following work on and removal/replacement of a submersible pump or piping in the well itself. Chlorine from this or any well shock treatment
is left in place (typically for 24 hours at the proper concentration of chlorine), then flushed from the well quite thoroughly in order to avoid giving the occupants chlorine to drink or to accidentally bleach their clothes.
- If you have just sanitized your water softener it is possible that you have not run enough water to flush out all of that chlorine (bleach).
So unless a well shock for a legitimate reason
is virtually in process at the time of an independent test that detects chlorine, we'd suspect something darker, discussed in the next bullet. [Thanks to SGP Rich for this tip -- DJF 5.2006]
- Recent well shock treatment to Hide a Problem: The well supplying the building may have been recently "shocked" with bleach either in a attempt (questionable) to correct a known
bacterial contamination problem, or in a attempt to disguise a known contamination situation (highly dishonest and dangerous).
- If readers know of other reasons why we'd find chlorine in a private water supply, please let me know.
As we mention in the list above, people might shock a well or install a chlorine treatment system for sanitation or to remove an odor from water - for a legitimate reason. Finding out if this is the case is one step in determining if the building piping or well casing
have become soiled and contaminated or after actually doing work on the well pump or piping in the well itself.
Shocking a well with bleach will have only a temporary effect in reducing the bacteria level
in water if there is a persistent source of contamination in the water supply.
We discuss this water problem diagnosis procedure in detail at Interpreting Drinking Water Test Results and Correcting Unsatisfactory Drinking Water
and the details of well shocking with bleach are located there
HOW TO DETECT & PREVENT CHEATING ON Water TESTS - How to Avoid Well Water Test Cheats & Septic Test Dishonesty
 How to protect against cheating on water potability tests or other water tests: This article series 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.
This article is part of our series on CHEATING ON WATER TESTS. 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.
Most people we've dealt with in the last 45 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 of water test cheaters:
- 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
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Use of Hach™ water tests for chlorine are
inexpensive, are more sensitive to chlorine than the old pool chlorine test kit we tried first, and are readily available.
The Hach company sells various chemical reagents including water tests for chlorine in foil packets or as inexpensive test strips sensitive
down to 0.5 mg/L.
I prefer tests sensitive to 0.1 mg/L or less. See the Hach Corporation website (hach.com) or call them at 800-227-4224 (To preserve my objectivity we have absolutely no financial relationship with the company or with any other companies or products you
may see mentioned here).
I use the little Hach chemical packets (sensitivity is 0 - 3.5 mg/L) shown in the photograph here. The reagent is poured in to the water sample which is in a plastic tube provided by Hach (or any clean container of appropriate size). The Hach company provides good instruction manuals for each of their test procedures.
A suitable Hach test strip product for testing the level of Free and Total Chlorine in water is their Free & Total Chlorine Test Strips, 0-10 mg/L, 50 tests Hach Product #:2745050 - a larger set of 250 test strips is also available as Hach Product #2793944
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I've also used the AquaChek™ water test strips shown here. These strips do not have the same sensitivity as the Hach test but they have the advantage of ease of use.
Dip the strip into the water to be tested and compare it with the color chart on the test bottle.
The AquaChek™ water test procedure simultaneously tests for total chlorine, free chlorine, total hardness, total alkalinity, and pH of the water being sampled.
A supplier of these water test strips is Environmental Test Systems, Inc., PO Box 4659, Elkhart, Indiana 46514.
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 Here is a photo of the color comparison chart used with the AquaChek™ water testing strip.
The water test strip is simply aligned with the color chart on the bottle label. The colors of the wet test squares on the strip are compared with the range of colors in the chart to read the level of total chlorine, free chlorine, total hardness, total alkalinity, and pH of the water being tested.
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When to re-test a well that has been shocked with chlorine, Clorox™ 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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Technical Reviewers & References
Related Topics, found near the top of this page suggest articles closely related to this one.
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Thanks to Craig Young, Environmental Health Officer, Government of Newfoundland & Labrador, Canada, for noting page format snafu 3 Jan 2008
Books & Articles on Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, & Repair
 The Home Reference Book - the Encyclopedia of Homes, Carson Dunlop & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, 25th Ed., 2012, is a bound volume of more than 450 illustrated pages that assist home inspectors and home owners in the inspection and detection of problems on buildings. The text is intended as a reference guide to help building owners operate and maintain their home effectively. Field inspection worksheets are included at the back of the volume. Special Offer: For a 10% discount on any number of copies of the Home Reference Book purchased as a single order. Enter INSPECTAHRB in the order payment page "Promo/Redemption" space. InspectAPedia.com editor Daniel Friedman is a contributing author.
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