Enhancing Surveys with The Water Professor’s Water Testing
At Novello Chartered Surveyors, we pride ourselves on not only offering services that add value to our clients but that also goes beyond the conventional property survey. For this reason, Novello partnered with The Water Professor, a leading expert in water quality analysis. This collaboration allows us to enhance our surveying services with advanced water testing, providing unparalleled value to our clients.
In this article, we showcase how this partnership works, the innovative testing process, and the significant benefits for property buyers and homeowners.
Why is Water Testing Important?
In today’s market, homebuyers are increasingly aware of environmental factors affecting health and safety, with water quality being a critical yet often overlooked concern. By incorporating advanced water testing into our surveys, Novello ensures comprehensive, client-focused solutions while staying ahead of industry trends.
Hidden Risks in Household Water:
Water may carry contaminants invisible to the eye. While utility-supplied water meets safety standards, ageing plumbing can degrade its quality.
- Lead Pipes: Common in older homes, lead pipes pose serious health risks, especially for children and pregnant women.
- Corroded Steel Pipes: Found in pre-1960s homes, these pipes can release metals, degrade water quality, and lead to costly repairs.
- Nickel and Other Metals: Modern fixtures can leach nickel and other metals, potentially causing allergic reactions and health issues.
How this Service Works
Through our partnership with The Water Professor, we’ve integrated a straightforward and efficient process for water quality testing into our services:
The process is as follows:
- Sample Collection
Each of our surveyors is equipped with sample bottles provided by The Water Professor. We are given pre-paid return envelopes with these bottles so that we can submit them quickly and easily. - Customer Offering
During the property survey, our surveyors will offer our clients the chance to test the quality of the water. This hassle-free add-on service is quick and easy, with no disruption to the survey, this provides an added layer of insight into their potential investment. - Sample Submission
Once the sample is collected, it’s mailed to The Water Professor’s state-of-the-art lab. Upon receipt, the sample is logged, and an account is created on the reporting site (No direct contact details are used to ensure our client’s privacy). - Results and Reporting
Results are typically ready within ten working days, often sooner and are sent back via a secure online platform. We are then able to log in to give our client a detailed analysis of the property’s water quality, complete with actionable insights.
The Benefits of Water Testing
Conducting water testing during the survey process can uncover hidden issues, offering a clearer understanding of the property’s condition and any necessary remediation. This valuable information provides especially buyers with several critical advantages. By integrating water testing into our surveys, we deliver a significant edge when assessing or purchasing a property.
Here’s how:
- Identify Issues Early
- Water quality testing can reveal hidden problems, such as lead contamination from outdated piping. Armed with this information allows clients the opportunity to address these concerns before purchasing, potentially negotiating a lower price or avoiding costly post-purchase repairs.
- Non-Invasive Assessment
Testing offers a quick and non-invasive way to evaluate piping quality, saving time and money on physical inspections. It’s an easy way to gain valuable insights without disrupting your property survey. - Leading Expert Insights
The Water Professor provides us with a detailed analysis to ensure that we can pass this on to our clients fully understand the results. - Peace of Mind
Knowing that their potential home’s water supply is safe and compliant with legal standards gives buyers confidence in their investment.
What Happens If Issues Are Found?
Discovering problems like lead contamination or high nickel levels during water testing can be concerning, but don’t panic solutions are readily available:
Pipe Replacement: Upgrade old lead or corroded steel pipes with safer, modern materials like copper or plastic.
Filtration Systems: Install point-of-use or whole-house filtration systems to effectively remove contaminants.
Negotiation Leverage: If the property you are purchasing test reveals significant issues, you can use the results to negotiate with the seller. For instance, you might request a reduction in the sale price to cover the cost of replacing lead pipes or installing a filtration system.
How We Collaborate with The Water Professor
Our partnership with The Water Professor extends beyond the testing process. We work closely to ensure every client query is addressed, particularly those requiring in-depth scientific expertise. This collaboration ensures that our clients receive the best service, from sample collection to results interpretation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What contaminants will the water test check for?
A: The tests cover a wide range of analytes, including physical properties such as hardness and ph, character analytes such as calcium and magnesium, water nutrients that are good for health such as strontium and iron, but perhaps most importantly, toxic metals such as lead, nickel, and arsenic.
In total our tests provide a numerical result on 25 different parameters, rating each with a good, elevated, or high marker to easily alert you to any results that are irregular.
Q: Why is water testing important when buying a house?
A: Water testing is a crucial step when buying a house because it ensures the safety and quality of the water you and your family will use every day. Contaminants such as lead, bacteria, nitrates, or arsenic can pose health risks, and issues like discoloured water or corrosion could signal underlying plumbing problems.
Q: What happens if the test reveals contaminants?
A: Discovering contaminants in your water can be concerning, but it’s also an opportunity to take action. The Water Professor will provide us with detailed results so we can offer guidance on how to address the issues. Whether it’s replacing old lead pipes, installing water treatment systems, or understanding local water quality regulations.
Q: What are the signs of bad water quality in a house?
A: Sometimes, water quality problems are obvious. Discoloured water, such as brown or yellow hues, can indicate rust or sediment in the supply. Odours, like a rotten egg smell, may signal bacterial contamination or sulfur compounds. Another common sign is blue staining behind taps, often caused by corrosive water reacting with copper pipes.
However, many serious contaminants, such as arsenic or lead, have no visible or detectable signs. This is why a laboratory-quality water test is essential – it can identify hidden issues and provide you with the confidence that your water is safe to use.
Q: How sensitive is the testing method?
A: The Water Professor uses the state-of-the-art Inductively-Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) equipment in their labs to perform the testing of metals – ICP-MS is considered the gold standard for this type of analysis.
ICP-MS is one of the most advanced and sensitive methods available for metal testing, providing results accurate down to the parts per billion (ppb) level. This is particularly important for low-level legal limits of toxic metals such as lead (10 ppb in the UK) and is much more sensitive than test strips which often provide inconclusive results.
Q: Who performs the analysis?
A: All water samples are analysed in The Water Professor’s state-of-the-art laboratory by a qualified team of technicians with years of experience in the field and extensive knowledge of UK drinking water. They have multiple quality controls on their testing procedures, allowing them to provide us with trustworthy and accurate results.
Q: Do I only need to buy a test if the house is old?
A: No, water tests are not just applicable to old houses. It is certainly true that the use of lead piping in new properties was banned in the UK in the 1970s, but there are other sources of lead and other contaminants than just the piping.
If no work has been done to the piping in an old property, then it is likely there could be lead piping somewhere in the system. In newer houses that don’t have lead piping, contaminants such as lead and nickel can leach from lower-quality brass where those metals are used to change the properties of the material (make it more malleable in the case of lead). Lead has also been found to be present in some lower quality solders to join pipes. Both these sources can lead to a high level of lead or nickel, despite there being no lead piping present.
Q: What if I have questions about the results?
A: Our partnership ensures that both Novello and The Water Professor are available to answer any questions you might have about your water quality report.
