13 Best Pool Test Kits of 2019 | Reviews & Buyer’s Guide
Chicken fights, floating races, and finding coins at the bottom— there are many fun activities that one can partake in when they have a pool. Having a pool is like having a great instant getaway spot in one’s homes for recreation and relaxing. Having a pool and using it to spend quality time with your loved ones makes your home feel like paradise on earth. To make the pool such a happening spot, you need to consider an important thing: pool cleaning.
Every owner needs to use certain chemicals to make sure their swimming pools are filled with water that doesn’t pose any health risk. However, you just can’t throw those chemicals in the pool whenever you like it. These chemicals are added in a certain ratio and that’s where pool test kits will come in handy.
A range of different test kits to gauge the quality of water exists. However, the ones designed for home users are the simplest ones that don’t require you to be a professional chemist. These test kits often comprise reagents that are added to the sample of pool water. Different reagents give different colors after reacting with the water sample to indicate the presence of a chemical or the lack of it.
In short, by using pool test kits you keep yourself updated regarding the chemical composition of the pool and can change it accordingly as per the prescribed range. If you haven’t bought and used a pool test kit before, rest assured that this article will be enough to provide all the necessary things you need to know about their shopping and use.
First, we will review 13 of the best pool test kits available in the market right now. Then, we will also put down a brief buying guide so that you can get your hands on the best test kit. Stay tuned.
Best Pool Test Kits
1. Poolmaster 22260 – Complete Pool Test Kit for Residential Users
- Offers five different tests
- Comes in a polyethylene casing
- An Amazon’s Choice product
As the title suggests, this pool test kit entails testing of five different parameters to determine the ‘wellbeing’ of your pool water. Poolmaster 22260 has the reagents to test chlorine, bromine, and pH levels. It also includes chemical to find out acid demand and total alkalinity of the specimen.
All these tests are enough for you to know what chemicals need to be added to the pool. Apart from giving a complete set of solutions, Poolmaster has also provided a sturdy clear-view test block comprising of two vials. The vials are further integrated with color chips on sides to let you do accurate color matching.
In order to maintain the precision of tests over a period of time, the manufacturer has also coated the color chips with UV-resistant material so that their hues don’t fade away under the sunlight to give you any false-positive or false-negative test results.
We also like the thick polyethylene casing of this test kit. It makes sure you can store the chemical reagents safely. Although using this Poolmaster kit is pretty easy and you also get a manual to conduct those tests, some users may get confused between two reagents labeled as “Phenol Red” and “#2 Phenol Red”.
Barring this confusion and ensuing inconvenience, Poolmaster 22260 is a complete pool test kit that comes at a really reasonable price. Taylor Technologies is a well-known name among the companies that offer pool and spa-related chemicals and accessories. Its INC K-2006 is a pool test kit particularly designed for homeowners who want to make sure their pools remain in a healthy chemical state. This Taylor Technologies package comprises of different reagents that offer five different chemical tests.
With the help of this kit, you can determine the chlorine, pH, calcium hardness, cyanuric acid, and alkalinity levels of your pool water. Again, these tests are more than enough to give you a clear picture of the health of the pool water. The most impressive thing about this pool kit is that the manufacturer has packed enough quantity of reagents so you can keep conducting tests for one season from the single test kit. The 0.75-fluid ounce packaging of reagents is enough for several numbers of tests. The other valuable feature of this test kit is that it involves titration-based tests that give you more accurate results. Moreover, it also doesn’t give you a color-matching headache. This test kit is considered ideal for determining chlorine levels in the pool water. Unlike the majority of test kits available in the market, Taylor Technologies INC K-2006 makes a distinction between free available chlorine and total chlorine to give more precise results. As mentioned earlier, the majority of pool kits available for residential users give results through colors. Although determining a test result by color transformations is quite convenient for regular folks who are not proficient in chemistry, they involve a higher degree of error. LaMotte has taken this important factor into account while designing its testing kit.
LaMotte 2056 ColorQ also uses reagents to give those color-based results. However, you are not required to undergo the color guessing game here. The kit comes with a photometer that determines the results digitally and gives you an undisputed numeric reading. A chart is given from where you can match the results of your pool water with the prescribed values of those chemicals. Like any other top-of-the-line pool test kit, LaMotte 2056 also conducts several tests. By using the reagents available in this kit, you can find out the value of total and free chlorine in the water. Similarly, you can also use the reagents and photometer to get the accurate results of calcium hardness, pH, alkalinity, and cyanuric acid. Besides cyanuric acid tests that are conducted through tablets, all other tests are performed through liquid reagents. While offering such ease-of-use with its digital photometer, LaMotte 2056 comes with a downside i.e. the shelf life of reagents is not that long and you may not be able to use them for the same accuracy in the next season (except cyanuric acid that uses tablets that give accurate results for 3 years). We also like the water-resistant carrying case of this kit. If you are looking for more value at a lesser price, then consider this pool test kit of Taylor Technologies. Like any test kit from the manufacturer, it also offers a range of tests pertaining to the health of pool water. However, there is a reason why this pool test kit has been titled “Deluxe”.
Taylor Deluxe K-2005 offers nine different chemical tests. You can find out free and total chlorine, bromine, calcium hardness, acid and base demand, total alkalinity, pH, and cyanuric acid. You won’t find such detailed water testing in the majority of pool test kits available in the market. Besides offering this extended number of tests, Taylor has also designed a comprehensive printed color chart, offering accurate color matches to give reliable test results. The color standard card is so detailed that you can use it to determine six different levels of pH, chlorine, and bromine. The other impressive functional feature of this deluxe kit is that it provides large quantities of tests. After getting the deluxe kit, you may not need to buy a pool testing kit for a long time. On top of that, the reagents have a longer shelf life so you don’t need to worry if you are left with considerable quantities. You can use them in the next season. Due to such great functional features, Taylor Deluxe kit is quite popular among public pool operators and pool technicians. Hth is the subsidiary of Lonza— a leading manufacturer of water treatment chemicals. So, it is pretty clear that the Hth pool test kit is one of the best available in the market right now. Like any other top-quality pool test kit, this one also offers testing of several chemicals.
You can determine pH, total hardness, chlorine, bromine, cyanuric acid, and total alkalinity of the pool water with the single Hth kit. The other great thing about this pool test kit is its extended use. With a single purchase of this Hth product, you can conduct up to100 tests. This means a single kit is enough for the entire summer season even if you conduct daily water tests. This usability makes Hth water kit a great choice for commercial pools as well. Moreover, in case a reagent runs out, you can conveniently order it online. Overall, this pool test kit proves to be more cost-effective than many of the similar Taylor products. Hth also stands apart among its competitors because it also offers a mobile app so you can make the most of the obtained results. You can find out the pertinent recommendations and measures by entering your water results in the app. It also offers you valuable information on the upkeep of swimming pools. Amid all such valuable features, the color chart that comes with the kit seems underwhelming. Similarly, the instructions are also not well-written. Here is yet another Taylor pool test kit on our list. This one has carved up its place among the best pool test kits due to some of its unique and valuable features. For instance, the reagents in the kit come in big 2-ounce bottles that make sure you don’t need to buy another kit before the end of the reason. It is important to mention here that the majority of test kits include reagent bottles that have less than one-ounce capacity.
Taylor Service K-2006C also stands apart among other pool test kits because it also offers the testing of stabilizers along with pH, free and total chlorine, bromine, and acid/base demand. You can also determine the calcium harness of pool water from the same kit. The idea of designing this particular kit by Taylor is making sure that you are not over-treating your pool. Some people are so conscious of the water they are serving in the pool that they sometimes get overboard with the use of chemicals. The use of Taylor Service K-2006C will help all those users to keep their chemical use in check. Along with reagents, you will get a bundle of items that makes it a wholesome pool test kit. You get a printed color comparator, waterproof instructions, a toned-down chemistry guide, and a treatment chart. All these accessories make sure anyone with zero know-how of chemistry can successfully run their pool water tests. As mentioned earlier, Taylor Technologies is the leading manufacturer of pool test kits. It is covering all different bases of pool owners with its varied products. Case in point: K-2005-SALT Test Kit. It is actually a pool test kit that is particularly designed for saltwater pools.
Saltwater pools are quite popular among those who are sensitive to pure chlorine exposure. Moreover, many gyms and spas also use saltwater in their pools for its supposed health benefits. But with the presence of salt in the water, the regular test kits may not give accurate results. Taylor Technologies has factored in the salt factor in the making of reagents of this kit. K-2005 Test Kit gives accurate pH, bromine, chlorine, calcium hardness, cyanuric acid, and total alkalinity tests result for saltwater pools. Like other quality Taylor kits, this one also comes in a sturdy plastic box with waterproof instructions and printed color comparator. Moreover, 0.75-ounce bottles are used to keep the test kit handy and easy-to-use. It is important to mention here that the kit can also be used to conduct tests in regular pools as well. The price of this Taylor kit is a bit higher given that it features basic color comparator and small reagent bottles. However, the versatile use of the kit justifies its hefty price tag. This Pentair test kit probably offers the most comprehensive chlorine profiling of pool water. You can use it to determine free, total and combined levels of chlorine along with acid demand, pH and alkalinity levels in the given sample of pool water. The liquid reagents come in 1-ounce bottles that are enough to conduct tests all through the summer season.
We also like this test kit for its catchy storage box. The reagents come in a sturdy red plastic box that resembles an icebox. The box is designed for a lifetime use given that you keep getting the reagent refills. Moreover, its testing chamber is also worth mentioning. It actually comprises of one expanded platform that has two test cells: one for chlorine and one for acid/base/alkalinity testing. Integrated color charts are also given alongside the cells so you can determine the results then and there. Pentair has also designed the testing chamber by keeping in mind the lifetime use. So, the test cells are made of Lucite that doesn’t easily chip, crack and shatter like typical glass vials. Pentair Pool Test Kit is equally ideal for both residential and commercial users due to its assorted chemical tests and quantities of reagents. The price is also kept in the range where it doesn’t get expensive for homeowners and turn out as a budget option for commercial pool owners and technicians. LaMotte has improved on its ColorQ Pro 7 to give one of the most complete pool tests available on the block. ColorQ Pro 11 actually offers eleven different chemical tests that are unheard of in any commercially available pool test kit. Such wide assortment of tests is enough to conduct lab-grade tests of your pool water.
Apart from the regular tests of pH, chlorine, bromine, alkalinity, calcium hardness and cyanuric acid, ColorQ Pro 11 is able to determine the presence of iron, biguanide, and copper in the water sample. Among all the test kits we have reviewed so far, no one offers metallic testing. If you are wary of metallic traces in the water, then this LaMotte test kit will come in really useful. Besides this detailed water testing, this LaMotte product also stands apart among similar products from other manufacturers because it offers more hassle-free and precise results through its photometer. With the use of Pro 11, you don’t need to waste time comparing color charts with the obtained solutions. Just put the solution in the photometer and it will give you an accurate digital value corresponding to that color reading. We also like this pool test kit for its ergonomic briefcase-like box. Not only is it made of highly durable material, but it is also waterproof. You can keep it at the side of a splashing pool without worrying about its wear and tear. Blue Devil has designed a test kit for all pool owners who are just concerned with chlorine and pH levels of their pools. Blue Devil B7448 comprises of five tests. You can use it to determine the levels of chlorine, bromine, acid demand, pH and alkalinity of the given sample. These tests are enough to know what you need to add in your pool to keep its water crisp for swimming.
2. Taylor Technologies INC K-2006 – Best Test Kit for Home Pools
3. LaMotte 2056 ColorQ Pro 7 – Best Pool Test Kit with Digital Results
4. Taylor Deluxe K-2005 – Best Test Kit for Public Pools
5. HTH Pool Test Kit – Best Pool Test Kit for Everyday Testing
6. Taylor Service K-2006C – Best Test Kit for Commercial Pools
7. Taylor Technologies K-2005-SALT – Best Test Kit for Saltwater Pools
8. Pentair R151246 78DPD – Best Pool Test Kit for Holistic Chlorine Testing
9. LaMotte ColorQ Pro 11- Most Comprehensive Chemical Test Kit
10. Blue Devil B7448 5-Way OTO- A Basic and Effective Pool Test Kits
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