Water testing for dummies

[waterbear]

I've always used one of those plastic bottles with a narrow spout that is used to apply hair color (guess it's because I'm still a licensed Barber and Cosmetologist and have a lot around) The ones with the black tip by Clairol work really great because the opening in the tip is very narrow and you have very precise control of how much water comes out. (you can find them at a beauty supply store and sometimes in drugstores) My brother uses one of those red plastic ketchup squeeze bottles that you fill yourself (like you see sometimes in restaurants). It works great also. I do my water testing in the garage right next to the utility sink on the counter so I can just pour everything down the drain when I'm finished. I'm on septic also but I don't think the tiny quantities are going to have any effect on the system. A LOT more DPD goes down the drain if you wash hair color off your head in the shower! (DPD is also one of the dyes used in permenant haircolor along with other deriviatives of phenylene diamine) As a side note, some of the water test kits for my aquariums came with syringes for dispensing the water when you test to make it easier to get an accurate sample.