What is the difference between a mail-in test and an in-office test?

Mail-in tests involve collecting your water samples and sending them off to a company or laboratory to obtain your water testing results. These tests often include water vials, return shipping labels, and packages to send your samples back to a lab. An added benefit of mail-in tests is third-party authentication and having your results stored by the laboratory for your reference. Here are the three most common mail-in tests:

Flow Cytometry
R2A
Simplate

In-office tests are similar to mail-in except after you collect the water samples – you let them incubate in your office until they are ready to be measured and recorded. The added benefit to in-office testing is you get to conduct your waterline test in the comfort of your own office! It is important to note that when using an in-office test, you will need to manually document your water testing results in case you ever need to reference them in the future. The most common in-office testing method is QuickPass.

The most popular in-office tests are made of three primary components: a paddle with a grid (which will display the results), a sample vial (to house the water), and germicidal neutralization (which may be included with the paddle, like QuickPass®, or may need to be added to the sample vial to ensure accurate results.)

Give our team a call at 888-843-3343 if you have any questions!