Which tests does my home need?
Era, heating, water, symptoms in — your flagged tests out, in 30 seconds.
Run the screener →
Heat & energy
Air
Water & moisture
Your city, read like an auditor
70 Canadian cities, each with its climate, housing age and 16 local audit and testing services.
All 70 cities →
Across Canada
Ontario region guides
Gear guide · Water & moisture · updated October 2, 2026
Start with what's free: Public Health Ontario tests private well samples for E. coli and total coliforms at no charge. Paid kits earn their keep on what the free test doesn't cover — nitrates, metals like lead and arsenic, hardness, and city-water questions like lead service lines in pre-1960 neighbourhoods.
Not sure this category applies to your home? The 30-second screener flags it if so, and the well water guide covers the testing side.
The lab-grade answer
Mail-in kits analyzed at accredited labs with a readable report — choose the well panel (nitrates, metals, minerals) or the city panel (lead, chlorine by-products). The serious option when you need numbers you'd act on.
The screening strips
DIY strips for nitrate/nitrite, hardness, pH, iron and a bacteria presence test — a between-lab-tests screen, not a substitute for one.
The lead question
Lab-verified single-issue kit for the pre-1960 city-home question: is there lead in this tap's water? Worth running on any older home with original plumbing.
Some links here are affiliate links — as an Amazon Associate, AuditYourHome earns from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you. Picks are chosen on merit; no manufacturer pays for placement, and prices shown are planning bands, not quotes.
Gear works best inside a plan: the planner reads your home's era, heating, and symptoms, flags the tests that matter, and puts the right categories on your list.
Also in gear guides: Radon monitors & test kits · Indoor air quality monitors · Air purifiers (HEPA)