Air and Water Quality Test (Auburn, Belgrade: 2015, house, to buy)

[TerryDactyls]

We are pretty new to Maine (2014 relocation from Texas) and we have been in our house since the middle of 2015. Every year or so, we get an email from some guy saying it's time for our annual test. We had an Air and Water Quality test done when we bought the house but not by this guy. Is this some sort of scam or should we be getting an annual test?

[Northern Maine Land Man]

It is not a scam, but I have lived in this 1885 house for 35 years. My water tastes good. I have never had the well tested and the second owner who bought it in 1942 didn't either. The folks across the road had their well tested one time. It was perfect and I draw from the same aquifer.

[UpTheCreek]

We had an offer on our first home in Belgrade, over the maximum allowable arsenic level was discovered in the well water during inspection for which they had a filter in place. It's treatable but we decided to pass on that one. Would always would've been a concern to us.

You can buy test kits at the hardware store and have a go at it yourself if you have concerns.

We lived on Lake Auburn when I was a boy and took water directly from the lake, unfiltered. There was also a well on the property and my father had both water tested. They were both good, the lake water a bit better.

[Northern Maine Land Man]

We use water from the lake at camp. We have spring water in case anybody can't bring themselves to drink lake water. I change the water filter every spring when I put the pipe in the lake.

[svband76]

What is the average cost for such a water test, anyway? Personally I've really loved any well water from the various places in Maine I've stayed. Incredibly cold and refreshing.

[WhoFanMe]

Originally Posted by TerryDactyls

We are pretty new to Maine (2014 relocation from Texas) and we have been in our house since the middle of 2015. Every year or so, we get an email from some guy saying it's time for our annual test. We had an Air and Water Quality test done when we bought the house but not by this guy. Is this some sort of scam or should we be getting an annual test?

I wouldn't say it's a scam, but he is prospecting. He probably has access to a list of new Maine homeowners and you're on it. There is little or no money to be made by testing, so he's probably hoping that your water will need something after the test results are in. The presence of coliform bacteria is quite common (and easy to fix yourself). We are now testing for uranium and many home owners haven't tested for that before.

[WhoFanMe]

Originally Posted by zalewskimm

What is the average cost for such a water test, anyway? Personally I've really loved any well water from the various places in Maine I've stayed. Incredibly cold and refreshing.

With the labs that I use, it's usually between $100- $200 for most minerals and $150 or so for radon (they are tested separately). The equipment to mitigate (if the results are positive) can run into thousands of dollars up front with annual media/cartridge replacement and servicing each year. Often the cheapest equipment will cost you the most money in annual media/cartridge replacement. Remember when the computer hardware companies were giving away printers, but you had to buy a $30 ink cartridge for every 100 prints? It's similar.