It is the same test plus 60 volatile organic compounds. Both kits test the same 53 things: coliform bacteria and E. coli, 25 metals (including lead, arsenic and uranium), nitrate, fluoride, hardness, pH and the rest of the water chemistry. The metals list is the same on both.

The Advanced kit adds 60 volatile organic compounds by EPA Method 524.2: fuel compounds such as benzene and MTBE, solvents such as TCE and PCE, vinyl chloride, chlorination byproducts (trihalomethanes), and DBCP, a soil fumigant. Bought separately, the $199 Well Water Test Kit and our $169 VOC Water Test Kit cost $368; this kit tests both on one sample for $329.

For most wells the $199 kit is enough. Aidan tells callers the same: "The fifty-three is usually plenty."

Choose the Advanced kit when something could put fuel or chemicals into your groundwater: a gas station or gasoline tank, a dry cleaner, a landfill or an industrial site nearby, a spill, a flood, or a fuel or solvent smell in the water. In the 39 Advanced reports our customers have received since July 2026, 36 found none of the 60 compounds.

When in doubt, call Aidan and he will tell you honestly which one fits.

Only a few. Its volatile organic list includes DBCP, which EPA describes as a soil fumigant used on soybeans, cotton, pineapples and orchards, and 1,3-dichloropropene, which SimpleLab lists as a pesticide. It also tests ethylene dibromide (EDB).

It does not test herbicides or insecticides such as atrazine or glyphosate (Roundup). Our Roundup (Glyphosate) Water Test Kit ($199.99) tests glyphosate. EPA's limits for EDB (0.05 ppb) and DBCP (0.2 ppb) are also lower than most labs report, so a "not detected" on those two is not proof. If farm chemicals are your worry, text Aidan before you order.

No. Hydrogen sulfide is a gas that escapes from a sample on the way to the lab, so neither well kit tests it. The sulfate on the report is a different thing. Our Hydrogen Sulfide Water Test Kit ($139) tests for the gas. Tannins and iron bacteria are not on this kit either.

Uranium, yes: it is one of the 25 metals, on this kit and on the $199 kit. PFAS, radon, radium and gross alpha, no; they need different sampling and lab methods. Our PFAS Water Test Kit ($349) and Radon in Water Test Kit ($129) cover those.

The lab reports about 5 business days after it receives your sample. Counting the kit's trip to you, the day you sample and the overnight trip back, results usually come back 2 to 4 weeks after you order (17 days was the median on our customers' Advanced orders).

You get two emails: the lab's report, then our results page, which puts each number next to its EPA limit, where one exists, in plain words.

Aidan reviews your full 113-parameter report and builds a complete treatment plan: which contaminants need treatment, which systems in which order (sediment, iron, sulfur, softening, disinfection), what sizes, and what it will cost.

Absolutely. Call 800-460-5810 or text Aidan at 443-277-2204. He is available 7 days a week. If you are not sure whether you need this test, he can help you figure that out in a few minutes. No sales pitch, just straight answers. You can also email support@midatlanticwater.net.