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Nestwell
Pesticides Water Test
9
Lab markers
10
Days until results

Pesticides Water Test

Water lab test kit

Price

$296

Whether farm and lawn chemicals have reached your water — herbicides, insecticides and the plasticizers that travel with them.

  • 30-day money-back guarantee
  • Free shipping in 3-5 business days

What’s included

  • All sampling materials
  • Easy-to-follow instructions
  • Full contaminant details for your address
  • Prepaid 2-day return shipping
  • Accredited lab network
  • Regulatory analytical methods
  • Per-location results
  • Scored against EPA + CDC standards
  • HSA/FSA eligible via TrueMed

It’s worth testing for if…

  • You are on a well surrounded by cropland or orchards
  • Spraying season lines up with a change in your water
  • You draw from a shallow well where runoff arrives fast

What is in your water?

9 measurements
Pesticides Water Test

Agricultural chemicals reach water by running off fields during rain and by leaching down through soil into shallow groundwater. Herbicides tend to be the most mobile — atrazine and its relatives are found in surface water across the corn belt every spring — while insecticides bind harder to soil and arrive more slowly. The plasticizers on this panel travel with them, from irrigation pipe and equipment. Timing matters more here than for most panels: concentrations peak in the weeks after application.

How to Test

Fill the bottles from the tap you drink from, first thing in the morning before anyone has run the water. That first draw is the water that has been sitting in your own pipes overnight, which is where lead and copper show up.

Supports concern around

The brain and nervous system, fertility and reproduction, short-term toxic effects at high doses, allergies and skin irritation, cancer.

All 9 substances this kit measures have a hazard classification on file.

Every measurement, explained

At Nestwell, we provide science backed ranges for all the exposures in your home, allowing for personalized suggestions of in home remediation.

9 measures across 5 groups, 7 of them written up by our advisors. Open a group to read what it covers.

  • Herbicides

    Alachlor

    Hazardous

    What it is

    A widely used herbicide for controlling weeds in corn and soybean fields that can wash into water supplies.

    Can be linked to

    • Cancer
    • The brain and nervous system
    • Short-term toxic effects at high doses
    • Allergies and skin irritation
    • Blood and bone marrow

    Classified as a probable carcinogen; long-term exposure may increase the risk of eye, liver, kidney, and spleen problems.

    detects to 0.02 ppb

  • Herbicides

    Atrazine

    Hazardous

    What it is

    One of the most commonly used herbicides in U.S. agriculture, frequently found in drinking water in farming regions.

    Can be linked to

    • The brain and nervous system
    • Fertility and reproduction
    • Short-term toxic effects at high doses
    • Allergies and skin irritation

    May disrupt hormones, and long-term exposure is linked to cardiovascular and reproductive problems; classified as a possible carcinogen.

    detects to 0.03 ppb

  • Herbicides

    Simazine

    Hazardous

    What it is

    An herbicide used on crops and for weed control along roads and railroads that can contaminate groundwater.

    Can be linked to

    • Cancer
    • The brain and nervous system
    • Fertility and reproduction
    • Short-term toxic effects at high doses
    • Allergies and skin irritation
    • Blood and bone marrow

    May disrupt hormones and affect the blood and kidneys; classified as a possible carcinogen.

    detects to 0.02 ppb

  • Pesticides

    Hexachlorobenzene

    Hazardous

    What it is

    A banned fungicide and industrial chemical that persists in the environment and can contaminate water.

    Can be linked to

    • Cancer
    • The brain and nervous system
    • Fertility and reproduction
    • Development in children
    • Short-term toxic effects at high doses
    • The liver

    A probable carcinogen — long-term exposure can damage the liver, kidneys, and immune system, and cause skin lesions.

    detects to 0.02 ppb

  • Pesticides

    Methoxychlor

    Hazardous

    What it is

    A banned pesticide once used as a replacement for DDT on crops, gardens, and livestock.

    Can be linked to

    • The brain and nervous system
    • Fertility and reproduction
    • Development in children
    • Short-term toxic effects at high doses

    An endocrine disruptor that affects reproductive hormones; long-term exposure can damage the liver, kidneys, and nervous system.

    detects to 0.07 ppb

  • Fuel and petroleum compounds

    Benzo(a)pyrene

    Hazardous

    What it is

    A cancer-causing chemical that enters water from coal tar linings in old water storage tanks and from industrial pollution.

    Can be linked to

    • Cancer
    • The brain and nervous system
    • Fertility and reproduction
    • Development in children
    • Allergies and skin irritation

    A known human carcinogen — long-term exposure increases the risk of stomach, liver, and other cancers, and can cause reproductive issues.

    detects to 0.01 ppb

  • Semi-volatile compounds (SVOCs)

    Hexachlorocyclopentadiene

    Hazardous

    What it is

    An industrial chemical used in making pesticides, flame retardants, and resins.

    Can be linked to

    • The brain and nervous system
    • Short-term toxic effects at high doses
    • Allergies and skin irritation
    • The digestive system

    Can cause kidney and stomach damage with long-term exposure; may also affect the liver and nervous system.

    detects to 0.02 ppb

Also measured

Bis(2-ethylhexyl) adipate · Bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate

“Detects to” is the method detection limit — the lowest concentration this kit's method can distinguish from zero. The lab may substitute an equivalent or updated method, in which case its limit may differ from the one shown.

What these substances are linked to

Health effects that researchers have associated with the substances on this panel, from the EPA's CompTox database. This describes the substances themselves — not your home. Whether any of them are present, and at what level, is what the test is for.

  • The brain and nervous system8 of the 9 classified substances on this panel — including Atrazine, Alachlor and Benzo(a)pyrene
  • Fertility and reproduction7 of the 9 classified substances on this panel — including Atrazine, Benzo(a)pyrene and Bis(2-ethylhexyl) adipate
  • Short-term toxic effects at high doses6 of the 9 classified substances on this panel — including Atrazine, Alachlor and Hexachlorobenzene
  • Allergies and skin irritation5 of the 9 classified substances on this panel — including Atrazine, Alachlor and Benzo(a)pyrene
  • Cancer5 of the 9 classified substances on this panel — including Alachlor, Benzo(a)pyrene and Bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate

All 9 substances this kit measures have a hazard classification on file. A classification means a substance has been associated with an effect in published research — usually at doses well above what a home test would find. It is not a diagnosis, and it is not a prediction.

Designed To Understand Your Whole House

A single kit answers one question properly rather than several vaguely. Whichever you start with, it is the same lab, the same methods, and the same reporting — so results from one kit sit beside results from the next, in one place, on the same scale.

Accredited labs, regulatory methods

Every sample is analyzed by an accredited environmental lab with the same methods regulatory testing uses.

Numbers with regulatory context

Results come back as a measured value next to the standard it is judged against, not just a "detected".

One box, no home visit

Everything arrives at once and we tell you both where and how to sample, no outside home inspection needed.

How Nestwell Testing Works

How Collection Works

Understand the science –›

  1. Collect

    Fill the bottles from the tap you drink from, first thing in the morning before anyone has run the water. That first draw is the water that has been sitting in your own pipes overnight, which is where lead and copper show up.

  2. Mail

    Everything goes back in the same box with the prepaid return label. No appointment, nobody in your house, and easy to send back when convenient for you.

  3. Read

    Results land in your Nestwell dashboard in about 10 days, each scored against the standard that applies to it.

A sample bottle being filled at a kitchen tap
Wiping a surface to collect a sample
Nestwell kit boxes on a kitchen counter

Why Nestwell?

CapabilityNestwellHardware Store StripsIn Person Inspector
Samples from across your homeYesOne sample, one placeYes
Real exposure concentrationsYesPaper colour keySometimes
Accredited lab, regulatory methodsYesNoSometimes
Nobody has to come into your homeYesYesNo
Results tracked over time in one placeYesNoOne time result

A number is only useful next to its limit.

At Nestwell, we provide science backed ranges for all the exposures in your home, allowing for personalized suggestions of in home remediation.

Accredited labs only

Samples are analysed by accredited environmental laboratories using the analytical methods used for regulatory compliance work: the same reading a professional consultant would order.

Each result has a standard

A number on its own is not an answer. The EPA action level for lead in water is 15 ppb; the CDC states there is no safe level of lead exposure for children. Each finding is shown against the limit that applies to it.

Where there is no limit, we say so

The EPA sets no numeric limit for mold, and moisture control is the real remedy. Mold results are reported as what is growing and at what relative level, never as just a pass or a fail.

Medical advisors

Built with leading medical experts

Dr. Malathi Srinivasan

Dr. Malathi Srinivasan

Clinical Professor of Medicine, Primary Care and Population Health

Stanford University

“Our physical & home environment is a direct determinant of our health, and is immunoregulatory. In a year, we breathe about 6 million times, drink 250 gallons of liquid, and eat almost 2 tons of food, with hundreds of compounds interacting on our skin and immune systems. Small environmental changes make a big difference, especially in early childhood development and for vulnerable adults.”

Frequently Asked Questions

Have questions? Find answers to common customer concerns below.

What does the Pesticides Water Test actually measure?

The panel runs 9 measures, covering Herbicides, Plasticizers, Pesticides and Fuel and petroleum compounds. Every one is listed on this page with its detection limit, so you can check for a specific substance before you buy.

How do I take the sample?

Fill the bottles from the tap you drink from, first thing in the morning before anyone has run the water. That first draw is the water that has been sitting in your own pipes overnight, which is where lead and copper show up. It takes about 5 minutes, and everything you need comes in the box.

How long until I get results?

The kit reaches you in about 3 days. Once the lab receives your sample, results appear in your Nestwell account in about 10 days. Return shipping is prepaid and included.

Who analyses the sample?

An accredited environmental laboratory, using published analytical methods — the same methods and the same labs used for regulatory and commercial testing. Nestwell does not run the analysis itself.

Why do some substances on the panel have explanations and others do not?

Our advisors have written up 7 of the 9 measures on this panel so far. The rest are still measured, reported and held to the same detection limits — they are listed under "Also measured" until the write-up exists. We would rather show you the gap than fill it with something we have not checked.

What happens if something comes back high?

Your results are shown against the relevant reference values rather than as a bare number, so you can see which measures stand out and by how much. The lab reports what it measured; it does not diagnose, and a lab result is not medical advice.

Can I pay with an HSA or FSA?

Most Nestwell kits are HSA/FSA eligible through Truemed. Eligibility is shown on the kit page at checkout, and where it applies you can pay with pre-tax dollars.

Free. 3 minutes. No card required.

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$296