New water quality test kits launched

Simplex Health has introduced two simple, cost-effective kits that will quickly determine the quality of either tap water or private water supplies. Even with modern treatment facilities, water still poses a significant source of dangerous contaminants like chlorine, nitrates and bacteria and should be checked at least annually in both homes and businesses.

Director of Simplex Health, Carolin Pickering says: The Brits think nothing of avoiding tap water while abroad yet happily drink freely from home and work premises. And for the most part, thats perfectly fine but lead from old pipes can leach into drinking water, for instance, and lead to systemic and development problems in both adults and children.

And a report published in July 2011* by Defra revealed that one in four private water supplies like springs and wells were not fit for purpose, with 9.6 per cent of samples failing to comply with the EU Drinking Water Directive. And if this years drought forecast turns out to be accurate, a lot more people will be looking for alternative water supplies.

Our kits test for the most common water contaminants. The Watersafe 8-in-one kit tests urban/drinking water supplies while the Watersafe 10-in-one kit tests private supplies like boreholes and groundwater. They retail at under £20 and £25 respectively, says Carolin.

Signs that water quality may be affected include blue/green stains in the sink, white spots on glasses, discoloured laundry, unusual smells/taste and recurrent incidents of gastro-enteritis. Even knowing water hardness can have beneficial consequences in that remedial action can be taken to prolong life of domestic appliances.

Waterborne diseases and contaminants would have greatest impact on vulnerable groups like pregnant and lactating women, babies and young children and the elderly but they can affect anyone.

As we globally celebrate World Water Day this month (March 22), its worth reminding people of the objectives of the 2010 campaign; to raise the profile of water quality by encouraging governments, organizations, communities, and individuals around the world to actively engage in proactively addressing water quality, reminds Carolin.

She says that water authorities and governments do a fantastic job of maintaining water supplies but contamination can happen between source and table so getting into the habit of regularly monitoring domestic/commercial tap water or drinking fountains in local communities is no bad thing.

If you spend over £100 a year/per person buying bottled water for drinking because you dont like the taste or smell of your tap water it could be worth testing it for chlorine content. Just under £20 to test for that and other potential contaminants seems a great saving, suggests Carolin.

home-test kits will check for most common contaminants
test tap water, bottled water, private supplies like wells
celebrate World Water Day on March 22 by home testing
peace of mind for vulnerable groups like babies and the elderly
lab-quality results in just 10 minutes

Both test kits can be purchased from Simplex Health

bacteria test takes 48 hours
* Source: dwi.defra.gov.uk/about/annual-report/2010/private-england.pdf
Watersafe is a registered brand of Silver Lake Research Corp

ENDS

Notes for editors:
Simplex Health is the sole UK and European supplier of Watersafe Water test kits, as well as other cutting edge products. It sells primarily through its own online site, Amazon and ebay but is actively looking for resellers.

For more information contact:
Carolin Pickering at carolin@simplexhealth.co.uk
Or PR consultant, Jane Brodie on 01327 830625 or 07812 491954 or email jane@str8marketing.co.uk