Best pool water test kit

If you have a swimming pool or hot tub in your garden, it’s essential to check the water quality regularly. A pool water test kit will provide you with the measurements required so you can add the chemicals that keep the water hygienic while preventing oversaturation that might irritate skin and eyes. You can pick from kits with test strips or those that use tablets; we’ve included both in our selection. Take a look at our favourites.

This pool water test kit measures the chlorine level and the pH and alkalinity of your swimming pool or hot tub. It’s super simple to use with strips to dip into the water. After dipping, you’ll just need to hold the strip level for a speedy 15 seconds. There’s a colour chart on the pack, and I like the fact that reading the measurements is a piece of cake, so you can add chemicals as required. There are 25 strips in the pack, but you can opt for 50 if you prefer to stock up.

Since checking the water is a job you should do frequently, this pool water test kit's low cost could definitely appeal. The kit offers plenty of information, too. It checks pH, total chlorine, free chlorine, total alkalinity, and total hardness to keep the water clean, clear, and gentle on skin and eyes. It will let you know about cyanuric acid, too, so you can be sure the level is right to reduce the decomposition of chlorine by UV light. These strips are another of our picks that deliver results fast, taking about 15 seconds. You might find that the colours don’t always closely match up to those on the pack, though.

For maximum feedback on swimming pool and hot tub water, go for this water test kit. It will give you results for total hardness, free chlorine, total chlorine, cyanuric acid, total alkalinity and pH levels, plus bromine. The latter is a sanitiser you might be using as a chlorine substitute, especially if you have sensitive skin and, if that’s the case, you’ll need to check its level. The test strips promise that the colour won’t bleed, making them easy to read. Results take a little longer than some of our other selections, but since we’re only talking a 30-second wait once the strip is dipped, this shouldn’t be an issue. 

Whether you use chlorine or bromine as your water sanitiser, this pool water test kit will work. It also measures total alkalinity plus the pH level, allowing you to keep the water comfortable. The kit includes100 strips in total, although you will have to refill it once you’ve used up the first 50. The refills are sealed, though, to preserve them. I like the size of these strips; they are a bit larger than some other versions, making them easier to read. Like our other choices, this kit ensures water quality checks are a high-speed affair.

If chlorine is your chosen sanitiser for a hot tub or a garden swimming pool, this handy strip test kit could be all you need. It will check the pH, total alkalinity, and the chlorine stabiliser as well as the chlorine itself to help you keep the water hygienic and non-irritating. I like the pack, which has an easy-grip design plus a flip-top lid that dispenses one strip at a time to make testing a fuss-free procedure. Like many of our picks, these are quick to use with a wait time of just 15 seconds after dipping.

Our verdict

Opt for this pool water test kit, and you’ll get everything you need in a durable plastic box that stores the contents safely and tidily. Instead of putting a strip in the water, with this kit, there’s a container to put into the pool or hot tub. After that, it’s a matter of adding the tablets and waiting for the colour to develop, so you can compare it to the scale. I like the idea of just topping up on tablets when you need to and re-using the rest of the kit. On the downside, you might want to measure more than just chlorine and pH. 

A pool water test kit is essential for every swimming pool and hot tub owner, so water is clean and kind on skin and eyes. Our number one? The Clearwater CH0012 dip test strips; they detect chlorine, pH, and alkalinity, and are quick and easy to use.

If you prefer a kit that uses tablets rather than strips, take a look at the Palintest Pooltester. You can keep re-using its test block, store it in the plastic box, and top up on test tablets as you get through them.

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