- Use a clean plastic bottle at least 16 oz. (500 ml) in volume. This is enough for three saturated paste tests and a water test.
- Rinse the bottle and cap 3 times with the water to be tested.
- A plastic water bottle works well for this if it is thick enough to not break in the mail.
- No glass.
- Sample your water
- If sampling municipal water from a hose, let it run long enough to clean out the hose.
- Samples from creeks should be from running water.
- Samples from ponds should be from various depths, collected while in use for irrigation.
- Samples from wells should be taken after pumping at least 1 hour.
- Fill the bottle
- Fill the bottle to the top and squeeze out the air.
- Cap tightly. Tape the lid.
- Ship to the lab within 24 hours, or else refrigerate the sample.
- Ship the sample
- Label the bottle with the sample name, your name and email address.
- Pack tightly so it can’t move in the box.
- If you are shipping at a time when the bottle might freeze, consider waiting for warmer weather.
- It’s okay to ship in the same box with your soil samples.
