Moving? Water Quality Checklist
Questions to ask, signs to check, and tests to request before buying or renting a Tennessee home.
Water quality is easy to overlook during a move, but it can affect comfort, appliances, plumbing, and your first week in the home. Use this checklist before closing, before renting, or during your home inspection walkthrough.
Before You Buy or Rent
- Ask whether the home uses public water, private well, or shared well.
- If public water: request the utility name and review the most recent Consumer Confidence Report.
- If private well: ask for recent lab results, well depth, well age, pump / pressure tank age, and any treatment equipment.
- Ask whether a water softener, reverse osmosis system, UV unit, sediment filter, carbon filter, or neutralizer is installed.
- Ask for service records, filter replacement dates, and manuals for any existing systems.
During Inspection
- Run cold water from multiple faucets and note odor, color, cloudiness, pressure, and taste.
- Check sinks, tubs, toilets, and laundry areas for orange/brown, black, blue-green, or white staining.
- Look at showerheads, glass doors, dishwashers, faucets, and water heater for scale or sediment signs.
- Inspect the water heater age, condition, noise, drain pan, and leak history.
- For older homes, ask about lead service line/materials and plumbing replacement history.
After Move-In
- Schedule a water screening to understand hardness, chlorine/chloramine, pH, TDS, iron, and other common indicators.
- For a well, schedule certified lab testing for bacteria and nitrate if recent results are not available.
- Replace filters if the previous maintenance date is unknown or overdue.
- Set calendar reminders for filter changes, salt checks, annual service, and well testing.
Real Estate Note
Some lenders, buyers, or inspectors may require certified lab testing for wells. A home screening is helpful, but it may not replace a lender-required or health-based lab test.
Sources and Tennessee Accuracy Notes
EPA - CCR Information for Consumers: community water systems provide annual water quality reports by July 1.
CDC - Guidelines for Testing Well Water.
Tennessee Department of Health - Well Water Testing: test kit steps and interpretation, local resources.
Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation - Lead and Copper.
EPA - Contact Information for Certification Programs and Certified Laboratories for Drinking Water.
Important Disclaimer
This guide is educational. For health-based drinking water decisions, use your local utility report, your local/state health department, or a state-certified laboratory. A free in-home screening can help identify common issues and guide the next step, but it is not the same as a certified lab analysis for every regulated parameter.
Ready to understand your water? Schedule a free in-home water test with Pure H2O.
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