Understand Your Water in Seconds
Free, instant water quality analysis for Canadian homeowners. No signup required.
How Hard Is My City Water?
Find out your water hardness instantly based on your city's municipal data.
Look up my city →Analyze My Well Water Test
Upload your lab report or enter your numbers for a plain-English analysis.
Analyze my test →What's in Your Water?
Canadian tap water is generally safe, but "safe to drink" doesn't mean "free of issues." Most Canadian homes have water that creates some kind of day-to-day problem — scale on fixtures, dry skin, orange staining, bad taste — and some have contaminants worth testing for. Here's what matters:
Hardness
Calcium and magnesium. Causes scale, dry skin, and appliance damage. Very common across Canada.
Iron
Causes orange/brown staining on fixtures and laundry. Common in well water and some municipalities.
pH
Acidic water corrodes copper pipes. Alkaline water leaves chalky deposits. Ideal range: 6.5–8.5.
Chlorine
Used by municipalities to disinfect water. Causes pool-like taste and dry skin. Easily filtered.
TDS
Total dissolved solids. Higher TDS affects taste and can indicate mineral-heavy water.
Bacteria
Coliform and E. coli. Should never be present — requires UV sterilization if detected.
Nitrates
Agricultural runoff contaminant. Dangerous for infants above 10 mg/L as NO3-N.
Sulphur
Hydrogen sulphide gas creates rotten-egg smell. Common in deep wells.
Water Quality Across Canada
Water quality varies enormously across the country. Our database covers over 500 Canadian cities.
Very hard water (10+ GPG)
Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge, Guelph, Brampton, Barrie, and most of southern Ontario's limestone belt. Also Calgary, Edmonton, Lethbridge, Regina, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Yorkton, and much of the Prairie region. Softener makes a major difference.
Moderately hard (3.5–10 GPG)
Most of the Greater Toronto Area, Ottawa, Hamilton, London, Windsor, Montreal, Quebec City, and many mid-sized Atlantic Canada cities. Treatment optional but often worthwhile.
Soft water (under 3.5 GPG)
Most of British Columbia (Vancouver, Victoria, Surrey, Burnaby), Halifax and most of Nova Scotia, St. John's and most of Newfoundland, and smaller Canadian Shield communities. Very little scale buildup, but soft water can be corrosive to older plumbing.
How CheckMyWater Works
Tell us about your water
Choose city water (look up by location) or well water (upload your lab report or enter your numbers).
Get instant analysis
In seconds, see a plain-English breakdown of every parameter, colour-coded by severity — green, yellow, orange, red.
See what fits your home
If treatment is needed, see specific equipment recommendations sized for your household. No pressure, no upselling.
City Water vs Well Water — Which Am I On?
If you live in a subdivision, town, or city, you're almost certainly on municipal (city) water. You pay a water bill to your city and the water is treated before it reaches your tap.
If you live on a rural property or acreage, you likely have a private well. Your water comes directly from groundwater under your property — no municipal treatment, no regular testing unless you do it yourself.
Not sure? Check your property tax bill or recent utility bills. If you see a water/sewer charge from your municipality, you're on city water. If you don't see one, you're probably on a well.
Common Questions
Is this really free?
Yes. No fees, no subscription, no credit card. You can get an instant analysis and email yourself a detailed report at no cost.
How accurate is the city water lookup?
City water is reasonably consistent across a city because it's treated centrally. Our lookup uses published municipal water quality data and is typically accurate within a small range. For exact numbers at your specific tap, a professional water test is always best.
Do I need a water test report to use this?
Not for city water — just your location. For well water, you do need a lab test. Well water varies too much from property to property to estimate. If you're in our Ontario service area, we offer free in-home water testing.
Do you sell water treatment equipment?
If treatment is recommended based on your results, we'll show you specific Purisoft equipment sized for your home. You can request a quote or continue on your own — no pressure.
Is my data private?
Yes. Uploaded test reports are analyzed instantly and never stored. Your email is only used to send your report if you request one. We never share or sell your information. Learn more.
Who's Behind This
CheckMyWater.ca is built and maintained by Purisoft Water Solutions, a family-owned Canadian water treatment company serving Ontario since 2011. We built this tool because we believe everyone deserves to understand their water — not just the people in our service area. Learn more about us →