Tennessee Well Water Test Kit: Independent Certified Lab Analysis (53 Contaminants)

Well water test kit for Tennessee private-well households, covering 53 EPA-relevant contaminants including iron, manganese, sulfate and hardness, plus lead, total coliform, E. coli, and pH, processed by an ISO/IEC 17025-accredited lab in SimpleLab's network, with lab results about 5 business days after the lab receives the sample. An independent certified-lab mail-in well water test kit for Tennessee private-well households, covering 53 EPA-relevant contaminants (heavy metals at parts-per-billion ICP-MS detection, total coliform and E. coli bacteria, pH, hardness, iron, manganese, arsenic, lead, uranium, nitrate, fluoride, sulfate, chloride, and the full primary and secondary EPA panel), processed by an independent, ISO/IEC 17025-accredited lab in SimpleLab's network, delivered with a free expert phone consultation to interpret your results. The kit ships to your Tennessee address with color-coded sample bottles pre-loaded with the correct preservatives, an instruction sheet, a chain-of-custody form, and a pre-paid return shipping label. You collect 250 to 500 mL of cold water from your kitchen tap (the whole process takes 5 to 10 minutes), seal the bottles in the included sample bag, and drop the package at your carrier. SimpleLab routes the specimen to an ISO/IEC 17025-accredited partner laboratory in its network, which runs the full 53-analyte panel using EPA-method ICP-MS, ion chromatography, and IDEXX Colilert bacteria methods. Total turnaround from order to results is usually 2 to 4 weeks. Watch our complete 2026 well water test kit walkthrough on YouTube: Best Well Water Test Kit (2026): 53 Contaminants, Certified Lab, which covers exactly what is in the kit, how to collect a clean sample, what the lab measures, and how the Tap Score dashboard presents results against EPA Maximum Contaminant Levels. Once your Tennessee results come back, the companion video Your Well Water Test Results Explained walks through how to read the report line by line. Free expert consultation is included with every kit. After your lab results are delivered, call Aidan at 800-460-5810 (7 days a week, 8 AM to 5 PM Eastern) and he will interpret the report line by line, flag anything above EPA limits, recommend treatment if it is warranted, or simply tell you the water is fine and no equipment is needed. There is no upsell and no commission on the consultation. Mid Atlantic Water is an online-only national ecommerce business shipping to all 50 states; the consultation is delivered remotely by phone, regardless of where in Tennessee you live. Roughly two thirds of Tennessee sits on karst limestone, sinkholes, caves, and springs that put wells under direct surface-water influence, so bacteria and pathogens travel fast and far, with septic tanks a leading documented cause of private well contamination. TDEC's own list of the state's common treatable well problems reads: bacteria, iron and iron bacteria, sulfur odor, hard water, and sediment, and the health department adds radon-linked testing advice. The cheap county test answers only the bacteria question. The 53-contaminant panel covers the full bacteria panel, iron, manganese, sulfate, hardness, pH, turbidity, arsenic and lead at parts-per-billion ICP-MS detection, and the general chemistry needed to characterize a Tennessee karst, valley, or Highland Rim well. This kit catches what test strips cannot. Colorimetric test strips are a useful field-screening tool for a handful of parameters (free chlorine, total hardness, pH at coarse resolution), but their detection thresholds are typically two to three orders of magnitude higher than what an EPA-method ICP-MS lab measurement returns. Strips cannot detect lead at the EPA action level of 15 parts per billion, cannot quantify arsenic at the 10 ppb MCL, cannot identify uranium or selenium at all, and cannot run the IDEXX Colilert bacteria assay that confirms or rules out E. coli and total coliform. The lab-grade panel is the right tool when the answer needs to be defensible, when treatment design depends on the result, or when a home is being purchased. Common contaminants tested include: arsenic, lead, mercury, cadmium, chromium (total), copper, uranium, aluminum, antimony, barium, beryllium, nickel, selenium, thallium, zinc, silver, iron, manganese, calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, strontium, chloride, fluoride, nitrate as N, nitrite as N, sulfate, boron, phosphorus, silica, pH, total hardness, alkalinity, total dissolved solids, turbidity, conductivity, Langelier saturation index, total coliform bacteria, and E. coli bacteria. Detects lead at the same parts-per-billion threshold the EPA uses to set its action level (15 ppb), revealing lead leaching from your service line, well pump components, or older interior plumbing solder that field test strips cannot detect at the household tap. Tests for E. coli and Total Coliform bacteria using IDEXX Colilert, the gold-standard 24-hour colorimetric MPN method used by state drinking-water labs, returning a defensible presence/absence result rather than the unreliable visual color match of a field strip. Quantifies arsenic and uranium at parts-per-billion using EPA Method 200.8 ICP-MS, chemistry no Tennessee county bacteria test can see. Profiles 18 heavy and trace metals in a single ICP-MS run, so the same sample tells you about lead, arsenic, uranium, chromium, copper, manganese, and iron simultaneously rather than forcing you to buy a separate single-analyte test for each metal of concern. Measures nitrate as nitrogen by EPA Method 300.0 ion chromatography, worth confirming in Tennessee's karst farm valleys where surface water moves into wells quickly, against the EPA MCL of 10 mg/L (the level at which infant methemoglobinemia risk begins). Reports results on an interactive Tap Score dashboard with EPA MCL benchmarks and color-coded health and aesthetic scores, so you do not need to memorize regulatory limits to interpret your own report. Includes a free post-results phone consultation with a non-commissioned water-treatment expert who will tell you the water is fine if it is fine, recommend the smallest adequate treatment if it is not, and never charge for the call. Specifications Test Type: mail-in independent certified laboratory water analysis (SimpleLab Tap Score panel) Water Source: private well water (groundwater, household tap) Contaminants Tested: 53 analytes covering EPA primary and secondary drinking water standards Bacteria Panel: E. coli and Total Coliform (presence/absence) Heavy Metals Panel: 18 heavy and trace metals including arsenic, lead, mercury, cadmium, chromium, copper, uranium, selenium, antimony, barium, beryllium, cobalt, molybdenum, nickel, silver, thallium, tin, vanadium Minerals and Treatment Indicators: iron, manganese, calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, strontium Water Properties Panel: pH, total hardness, alkalinity, total dissolved solids (TDS), turbidity, conductivity, Langelier saturation index Inorganics Panel: chloride, fluoride, nitrate as N, nitrite as N, sulfate, boron, phosphorus, silica Detection Method: EPA 200.8 ICP-MS for metals, EPA 300.0 ion chromatography for anions, IDEXX Colilert for bacteria, electrometric for pH and conductivity Detection Limit: parts-per-billion (ppb) for heavy metals, parts-per-million (ppm) for minerals, MPN/100mL for bacteria Lab Accreditation: ISO/IEC 17025-accredited laboratory in SimpleLab's network of more than 200 accredited labs Kit Contents: color-coded sample collection bottles with required preservatives, instruction sheet, chain-of-custody form, pre-paid return shipping label, sample collection bag Sample Volume Required: approximately 250 to 500 mL collected from the kitchen cold-water tap Sample Collection Time: 5 to 10 minutes at the kitchen sink Return Shipping: pre-paid carrier label included; customer drops package at carrier or schedules pickup Lab Turnaround: about 5 business days after the lab receives the sample; order to results usually 2 to 4 weeks, counting shipping both ways Results Format: PDF report plus interactive online Tap Score dashboard with EPA MCL benchmarks, color-coded health and aesthetic scores, and per-contaminant explanations Results Delivery: email notification with link to online dashboard; PDF downloadable; results retained in customer account Expert Interpretation Included: yes; free phone consultation with Aidan at 800-460-5810 to interpret results and recommend treatment after lab report is delivered Equipment Recommendation Bias: lab analysis is fully independent of any equipment sale; expert recommendation is non-commissioned Geographic Coverage: all 50 United States; SimpleLab routes each sample to an accredited lab in its network Customer Privacy: results are confidential; customer owns the report Recommended Testing Frequency: annually for total coliform bacteria and nitrate; every 2 to 3 years for the full panel; immediately after a flood, well work, new home purchase, or noticed change in taste, odor, or color Best Used For: baseline TN well water characterization, home-buyer due diligence, sizing and configuring whole-house water treatment, post-treatment verification, troubleshooting taste, odor, staining, or skin irritation Not For: legal/regulatory compliance testing requiring chain-of-custody by a state-certified sampler, real-time field testing, drinking-water lead-only screening for an older lead-service-line home (a dedicated first-draw lead profile may be preferred there) Replacement For Test Strips: yes; ICP-MS lab analysis is two to three orders of magnitude more accurate than colorimetric strips and detects contaminants strips cannot (arsenic, uranium, lead at ppb levels, individual metals) Brand: Mid Atlantic Water Test Kit, powered by SimpleLab Tap Score Warranty: kit replacement if collection materials arrive damaged; lab analysis quality controlled under ISO/IEC 17025 Support Phone: 800-460-5810, 7 days a week, 8 AM to 5 PM Eastern Support Email: support@midatlanticwater.net Recommended testing frequency and best uses. Run the full 53-contaminant panel every 2 to 3 years as your routine baseline, and run a coliform-and-nitrate spot check annually. Test immediately after any of the following: a new home purchase or pre-purchase inspection, well drilling, pump replacement, or any other well work, a flood or surface-water intrusion event, a boil-water notice from your county, a noticeable change in taste, odor, or color at the tap, the birth of an infant who will be drinking the water, or the start of pregnancy. The kit is the right tool for baseline characterization of a TN private well, sizing whole-house treatment equipment, verifying that an installed treatment system is doing what it is supposed to do, and troubleshooting issues like staining, scale, slime, or skin irritation. Honest limitations. Not for: legal or regulatory compliance testing that requires a state-certified sampler with a documented chain of custody, real-time field testing where you need an answer in minutes, or under-sink RO-only screening (the kit measures whole-tap water, not the post-RO permeate). For comprehensive private-well baseline characterization in Tennessee, this is the right tool. For chain-of-custody legal water sampling (for example, a real-estate dispute or a regulatory enforcement action), contact a TDEC-approved commercial laboratory. Warranty and kit support. If your collection materials arrive damaged, call or email and we replace the kit at no charge. Lab analysis is quality controlled under the ISO/IEC 17025 standard, including method blanks, duplicates, matrix spikes, and certified reference materials. Reach support 7 days a week at 800-460-5810 from 8 AM to 5 PM Eastern, or email support@midatlanticwater.net any time. Sample-bottle preservatives have a printed expiration; if a kit sits in your home longer than the printed window, request a replacement before collecting your sample.