Service
Lead in Water & Soil Testing
Lab testing for lead in drinking water and in soil around foundations, play areas, and gardens. Two of the most overlooked sources of lead exposure in older homes — and the most common add-ons to a comprehensive lead paint inspection. Results in 48–72 hours.
Why test water and soil for lead
When most people think about lead in an older home, they think about lead paint. But lead also shows up in drinking water (from old plumbing and service lines) and in soil (from weathered exterior paint, leaded gasoline residue, or past industrial activity). Both pathways are major contributors to childhood lead exposure — and both are completely undetectable without a lab test.
We perform water and soil testing as standalone services and as common add-ons to lead paint inspections. Combining them in a single visit is significantly more efficient than scheduling separate appointments.
Lead in Water Testing
Why it matters
Even when your municipal water leaves the treatment plant lead-free, it can pick up lead on the way to your tap from:
- Lead service lines connecting your home to the municipal main
- Lead solder used in copper plumbing (common in homes built or plumbed before 1986)
- Brass faucets and fixtures (older brass often contained lead)
- Galvanized pipes that may have accumulated lead deposits over time
Children under 6 are at the highest risk — even small amounts of lead in drinking water can affect cognitive development.
Who should test their water
- Owners of pre-1986 homes (lead solder was widely used in plumbing until banned that year)
- Anyone with a known or suspected lead service line
- Families with young children or pregnant women
- Landlords adding water-safety documentation to their compliance file
- Buyers of older properties during due-diligence
How the water test works
Our inspector collects water samples directly from your taps using EPA-specified sample bottles and protocols. Two standard sample types:
- First-draw sample: Collected after water has been sitting in the plumbing for at least 6 hours. Shows the highest possible lead levels.
- Flushed sample: Collected after running the tap for 30 seconds. Shows whether lead is coming from the service line or main, rather than from inside the home.
Samples go to an EPA-certified laboratory. Results come back within 48–72 hours and are reported in parts per billion (ppb). Anything over 15 ppb triggers the EPA action level.
Lead in Soil Testing
Why it matters
Soil is one of the most underestimated sources of lead exposure for children. Lead doesn’t break down naturally, so once it enters the soil it stays there indefinitely. The most common ways lead ends up in residential soil:
- Exterior paint weathering — chips and dust from lead-painted exterior surfaces accumulate around the foundation
- Leaded gasoline residue from decades of vehicle exhaust before 1996
- Industrial activity — properties near former factories, smelters, or rail yards
- Past use of lead arsenate pesticides in agricultural soils and older orchard properties
Children playing outdoors in contaminated soil — or tracking it into the house — are at significant risk of elevated blood-lead levels.
Who should test their soil
- Families with young children in any pre-1978 property
- Anyone with a backyard play area or sandbox in an older home
- Gardeners growing vegetables or fruit (lead transfers from soil into edible crops)
- Daycares and childcare facilities with outdoor play areas
- Homebuyers of pre-1978 properties during due diligence
- Anyone whose home is near a former industrial site, busy roadway, or known contamination area
How the soil test works
Our inspector collects soil samples from multiple locations around the property using a composite sampling technique. Typical sample areas include:
- The “drip zone” within 3 feet of the foundation on all sides (highest risk for paint-contamination)
- Children’s play areas, sandboxes, and outdoor toy storage areas
- Vegetable gardens and fruit-growing areas
- Areas near driveways and roadway frontage
- Bare-soil areas where children commonly play
Soil is collected from the top 1–2 inches (the layer children most often contact) and combined into a composite sample. Samples go to an EPA-certified lab. Results come back within 48–72 hours, reported in parts per million (ppm).
Better together: If you’re already scheduling a lead paint inspection, adding water and soil testing to the same visit is significantly more efficient than separate appointments. Most comprehensive inspections — especially for new homebuyers, families with young children, and daycares — include all three.
What if water or soil comes back positive
For water contamination
- Lead service line — replacement by your municipality or licensed plumber. Many cities now offer subsidized or free replacement programs.
- Internal plumbing (lead solder, brass fixtures) — replacement of affected sections, or installation of a certified point-of-use water filter (NSF/ANSI 53 certified for lead removal).
- Interim measures — run cold water for 30 seconds before drinking or cooking, use bottled water for infant formula, never use hot tap water for drinking or cooking.
For soil contamination
- Cover bare soil with mulch, grass, ground cover, or clean topsoil
- Relocate play areas and sandboxes away from contaminated zones
- Use raised garden beds with clean imported soil if you want to grow vegetables in a contaminated area
- Wash children’s hands and toys frequently after outdoor play
- Remove and replace contaminated soil for severely contaminated play areas
We don’t perform remediation ourselves, but we can recommend qualified plumbers, water-filter installers, and soil remediation contractors. We can also re-test after remediation to confirm the work was effective.
Get a quote
Pricing depends on how many sample points you want analyzed (water taps, soil locations) and whether the testing is standalone or combined with a lead paint inspection. Combining tests in a single visit is significantly more efficient than separate appointments.
Call (215) 284-0086 or fill out our quote form and we’ll get back to you within one business hour with a fixed quote for your property.
Frequently asked questions
Doesn’t my municipal water supplier already test for lead?
Yes — but they test at the treatment plant and at a small sample of homes in their service area. They don’t test YOUR house specifically. Lead picked up from your service line or internal plumbing won’t show up in their tests, only in yours.
Can I use a store-bought lead test strip instead?
Test strips can detect very high lead levels but aren’t accurate at the low-but-still-dangerous range that matters for health. EPA-certified lab testing is the only reliable way to get an accurate number.
How is water testing different from a lead paint inspection?
They test for lead in different places. A paint inspection looks for lead in paint and dust in your home. A water test looks for lead in your drinking water from pipes, solder, and service lines. A soil test looks for lead in the ground around your home. All three are sources of lead exposure — comprehensive inspections often include all three.
What if my home was built after 1986?
Lead solder was banned in 1986, so newer homes are much less likely to have lead in internal plumbing. However, if your home is connected to a lead service line (determined by the municipality, not the home’s age), you can still have lead in your water regardless of how new the house is.
Can I grow vegetables in soil that tested positive for lead?
Generally not directly in the contaminated soil. Lead transfers into plants through their roots, with leafy greens (lettuce, kale, spinach) and root vegetables (carrots, potatoes, beets) absorbing the most. The safe approach is raised beds with clean imported soil, plus a physical barrier between the bed and the underlying contaminated ground.
How long do water and soil test results stay valid?
There’s no expiration date, but results reflect conditions at the time of sampling. For water: if your plumbing changes, you replace fixtures, or the city does work on your service line, retest. For soil: contamination doesn’t go away on its own, so a clean result stays valid as long as no new contamination source is introduced.
Worried about lead in your water or soil?
The only way to know what’s actually in your water and the ground around your home is a lab test. We can have a sample kit at your property within a few days and lab results back to you within the week.