Contrary to most sitcoms and romance novels' insistence, you don't need a pool boy to take care of your swimming pool. Do it yourself instead! Choose from the best pool water test strips—there's a wide variety, and they help check the water chemistry in your spa or hot tub as well. Test strips like our staff pick from Poolmaster are a great way to teach yourself what to look for in water quality and clarity.
The main four parameters you need to track in chlorinated pools are free chlorine, bromine, alkalinity, and pH. Poolmaster's strips will show you all four levels. You dip them in, compare the colors to the key on the bottle, and you're done. Saltwater pools need monitoring as well, and strips do exist to measure sodium chloride in parts-per-million. I chose options capable of testing pools, spas, and hot tubs alike, so peruse these possibilities below and bring out your inner chemist.
Poolmaster 4-way swimming pool and spa water chemistry test strips
Evaluates water in several ways
Pool ownership demands specific maintenance techniques, and since 1958 Poolmaster's been helping spa and swimming pool owners do it themselves.
Pros:
- Accurate, bleed-free strips
- Instant results when dipped
- 50-strip kit
- Saltwater strips also available
Cons:
- Only tests for four chemicals: free chlorine, bromine, alkalinity, and pH
- Must not store in sunlight and intense heat
Maintenance can feel daunting for first-time pool or spa owners, but it's easier than you'd think. Poolmaster's 4-way pool water test strips are a foolproof way to fine-tune your water chemistry. For example, too much chlorine can irritate eyes and skin, but too little can encourage algae bloom and other impurities to take over. These strips give you an instant reading after you've dipped it into your pool, and the results are readily understood thanks to the color spectrum key on the packaging tube. Not every pool is chlorinated, however; what if you need to fine-tune sodium chloride levels in a saltwater pool? Thankfully, Poolmaster makes those test strips as well, so you can check sodium chloride levels 2-3 times a month as recommended. Be sure to store both sorts of test strips out of excessive heat and direct sunlight, and they'll last much longer.
AquaChek yellow test strips - free chlorine
Checks for stabilizers too
Combat UV ray damage and chlorine degradation with AquaChek's stabilizer-calibrated pool water test strips.
Pros:
- Tests for cyanuric acid levels
- 30-second results
- Four results, one dip
Cons:
- Doesn't test bromine levels
- Heat severely affects efficacy
Did you know that UV rays can throw off your pool's water chemistry over time by degrading stabilizer levels? Keep track of fluctuating cyanuric acid levels and ward off impurities in outdoor swimming pools with AquaChek's pool water test strips. They're handy for clearing up cloudy water, commonly caused by insufficient chlorine and excessive cyanuric acid. A downside is that AquaChek's strips measure free chlorine only and entirely skip bromide, leaving you wondering about the total chlorine present in your pool. If you need a more accurate reading, I'd recommend strips that test up to six or seven chemicals. On the plus side, if your pool is indoors and never exposed to sunlight, you won't need to worry about cyanuric acid.
JNW Direct 6-in-1 spa test strips for hot tubs
Keep your hot tub squeaky clean
Stay on top of your hot tub's water purity with JNW Direct's six-parameter spa test strips and complementary tracking app.
Pros:
- App tracking for iOS and Android
- 100 strips per tube
- 15-second results
- Tests for six criteria
Cons:
- Geared toward spas and hot tubs only
Clean, safe water is imperative for any Jacuzzi or hot tub, but it's harder to maintain due to its temperature. Heated water provides a more hospitable environment for bacterial overgrowth, so you should always have test strips like these from JNW Direct on hand. After 15 seconds, you'll get accurate readings for total hardness, bromine, free chlorine, total chlorine, pH and total alkalinity levels. Hard water can cause mineral deposits over time, so it's advantageous to have strips that test for it. JNW Direct also includes a free eBook with suggested ppm levels for each chemical and an app to track test strip results over time and identify trends.
Clorox Pool & Spa pool water test strips
Track pH over time
Everyone knows Clorox for bleach products, but they've branched out into pool care, too, with their app-compatible Pool & Spa water test strips.
Pros:
- Clorox Pool App scans strips
- Six-way test strip
- Tests for total alkalinity
- Treatment instructions included
Cons:
- Must dip the strip in all the way to your elbow (seems excessive?)
- Doesn't test for bromine
- Expiration date
It feels like Clorox has been around forever as a household care brand. They're synonymous with cleanliness, so it makes sense that over time they'd find new ways to help us sanitize more than just our home. Clorox's Pool & Spa collection of pool water test strips is a modern product right out of the gate. They launched it with an app that helps you interpret the test strip's results and record your readings and establish a maintenance trend over time. These strips test for total alkalinity and water hardness, among the other standard parameters for chlorine, stabilizer, etc. A bromine pad is missing on these strips, but the app makes up for that by providing personalized treatment plans to bring your pool back to a crystal-clear state.
BENICCI 7-in-1 pool and spa test strips
Tests every single parameter
Thorough, informative testing is made simple with BENICCI's 7-in-1 pool and spa water test strips.
Pros:
- 100 strips, rather than just 50
- Seven parameters to test
- Vibrantly colored, easily read key
- Results in 60 seconds
Cons:
- Doesn't test for metals
- Must dip strip for 5 seconds to get accurate readout
If you feel like all of the preceding strips on this list are lacking, then go straight to BENICCI's 7-in-1 pool water test strips. Not only do you get double the amount of strips that most brands provide, but you can test for total hardness, free and total chlorine, pH and alkalinity, free bromine, and stabilizing cyanuric acid. Dunk the strip in your pool or spa for 5 seconds, then remove and wait 60 seconds for the most accurate readout possible. The back of the storage bottle also has a highly legible, color-coded key to your test strip's results. So it's simple to read and accurately diagnose your water woes.
Bottom line
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As you can see, the best pool water test strips can come in many forms; it all depends on exactly what you need to adjust in your pool's chemistry. Our best overall strips from Poolmaster are available for standard chlorinated pools as well as saltwater ones. Also, its 50-count container provides enough strips to test weekly for just shy of an entire year. You can obtain readings for the four basic pool and spa chemicals—free chlorine, bromine, alkalinity, and pH.
If you'd prefer to test for every possible impurity or imbalance, then choosing a 7-in-1 strip is your best bet. BENICCI's pool water test strips provide double the strips and three additional testing parameters: total chlorine, cyanuric acid, and water hardness. Those three extra bits of information are crucial to look into, especially if your pool is exposed to sunlight regularly or if you live in a place with well water.
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