Dip-and-read strips for total water hardness, to see whether boiling is likely to do much for your water.
Price & availability: $21.65 for 50 strips at lab-supply retailers such as Forestry Suppliers on September 26, 2026; Hach quotes its own price on request.
Read the full guide: Does boiling water remove microplastics? What works outside the lab →
This is a manufacturer-document review of a test kit, not a lab comparison. Hach lists a 0 to 425 mg/L range for total hardness, and a retailer’s listing shows six color steps across it. That is enough to tell soft water from hard water, which is the question that matters for boiling.
If your utility’s water quality report already gives a hardness number, you don’t need the strips.
Write down what your current item fails to do. If it still suits you, a shopping list can wait.
Make your first change →These cards link to our research notes. Any enabled affiliate shopping link on a reviewed page is labelled and may earn us a commission. Disclosure
A countertop reverse-osmosis option to investigate before choosing a water filter.
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water A single-wall steel bottle with no paint or coating, and a cap that is steel on the drink side.
See the evidence & tradeoffs
One practical change, the study behind it, and the tradeoffs. Short and free.
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