The 7 Best Pool Testing Kits
Updated by · How we research
Drop kits, strips and salt kits for pools, compared on chlorine accuracy and coverage. The Taylor K-2006 leads because it reads chlorine right after a shock. When users buy our independently chosen editorial choices, we may earn commissions to help fund the Wiki.
Most pool test kits can read chlorine, but many can't tell fresh chlorine from the used-up kind, and some go blank right after you shock the water. That gap decides whether you're fixing a cloudy pool or guessing. This list is for home pool and hot tub owners choosing between quick strips for weekly checks and drop kits for troubleshooting.
Editor's Notes
November 1, 2026, by Ezvid Wiki Editors:
We put the Taylor K-2006 first for one reason: its chlorine test counts drops instead of matching colors, so it stays right after you shock the pool, when a color kit can go clear and read zero. Pool trade guides and the Trouble Free Pool forum treat that drop-count method as the home standard, and Taylor's own test lists backed up what each kit covers.
We added the Taylor K-2005, the Taylor K-1004, the AquaChek Yellow 4-Way and the Taylor K-2006-SALT. The AquaChek 7-Way and the Poolmaster 5-Way stay. The K-2005 tests the same things as the K-2006 for only a little less money right now, which is why the strips sit above it.
Both LaMotte ColorQ readers and the HTH 6-Way strips have dropped out of stock with no return date. The Pentair 2-in-1 and the Valterra Blue Devil were dropped for doing less than the Poolmaster, and the Poolmaster 6-Way strips overlapped the AquaChek ones. We passed on a best-selling bargain strip brand because Swim University warns that cheap online-only strips give bad readings. If your chlorine comes from tablets, see our guide to pool chlorine tablets.
Earlier notes
May 2, 2019, by Brett Dvoretz:
There is no doubt about it, maintaining a pool can be costly. It gets even more costly if you can't test you water yourself and instead rely on the recommendations of your local pool store about which chemicals you need and how much. The LaMotte ColorQ Pro 2058 and LaMotte ColorQ Pro 7 2056 offer the most accuracy you can find in a testing kit, since they are both digital and give a definitive readout, rather than relying on color matching. Of course, these are also somewhat expensive, so if you don't run a commercial pool service or aren't overly concerned if your levels are off a little bit, they may not be a worthwhile investment. For the home user who wants to be able to test both free and available chlorine, we recommend the Taylor Technologies Complete K-2006. Unlike many other options, it relies on FAS-DPD powder for testing chlorine levels, which are more accurate than liquid reagents. The Poolmaster Basic Collection and Valterra Blue Devil are both reasonable choices for the home owner who doesn't want to spend a lot of money, but still wants to be able to keep abreast of five chemical factors in their pool water. While we feel liquid reagents are a better option than test strips, some people just don't want to deal with trying to figure out how to use them. For those people we have included the AquaChek 7-Way and Poolmaster 6-Way 22212.
Special Honors
TF Test Kits TF-100 The TF-100 is a FAS-DPD drop kit sold only by TF Test Kits, the shop tied to the Trouble Free Pool community. Taylor makes its reagents, and the bottles are larger than in most retail kits, so refills come less often. A salt version and a pro version with a stirrer are also sold, along with yearly refill sets. tftestkits.com
LaMotte ColorQ LaMotte's ColorQ readers are handheld photometers that read the color of a treated sample digitally, so there's no shade matching. They suit people who struggle with color charts. They cost several times more than a drop kit, and none was available on Amazon when we checked, so buy from LaMotte or a pool dealer. lamotte.com
Drops, Strips Or A Digital Reader
The cheapest use OTO, a yellow dye that shows total chlorine only.
Liquid drop kits come in three kinds, and the chlorine test is what separates them. The cheapest use OTO, a yellow dye that shows total chlorine only. It can't tell free chlorine, the part that sanitizes, from combined chlorine, the used-up part, and it tops out around 5 parts per million (ppm). Swim University recommends skipping OTO kits for that reason.
DPD kits, such as the Taylor K-2005 and K-1004, turn the sample pink and you match the shade to a scale. They read free chlorine, but The Pool Journals notes the color match gets unreliable above about 5 ppm, and after a shock the sample can bleach clear and read as zero. FAS-DPD kits, such as the Taylor K-2006, add a powder and count drops until the pink disappears. Each drop equals a fixed amount, so readings stay accurate to 20 ppm or more and free and combined chlorine come out separately.
Test strips trade precision for speed: one dip, about 15 seconds, and a chart on the bottle. Most strips read total hardness rather than calcium hardness, which matters for plaster pools. Digital photometers such as the LaMotte ColorQ take color judgment out of it, but they cost several times more, and testyourownpool.com found back-to-back readings that varied on the same water. A common plan is strips two or three times a week and a drop kit weekly or whenever something looks off.
The Five Numbers To Watch
A home pool needs five readings, and any kit you buy should cover them. The ranges below are the common residential targets from In The Swim; your pool builder or local health code may set different ones.
- Free chlorine: 2 to 4 ppm for most pools. This is the sanitizer actually working.
- pH: 7.4 to 7.6. Low pH stings eyes and eats metal; high pH makes chlorine weak and water cloudy.
- Total alkalinity: 80 to 120 ppm. It buffers pH, so fix alkalinity first.
- Calcium hardness: 200 to 400 ppm. Too low etches plaster; too high leaves scale.
- Cyanuric acid (stabilizer): 30 to 50 ppm. It shields chlorine from sunlight, but too much slows it down.
Stabilizer is the one people forget. Stabilized chlorine tablets add a little with every dose, so the level creeps up all season, and only draining some water brings it back down. If you use tablets, a kit or strip with a stabilizer test is worth having; our chlorine tablet guide covers the tablets themselves. Test at least once a week, and two or three times a week in hot weather, heavy use or after a storm.
Good Samples And Safe Storage
A test is only as good as the water in the tube. Swim University's advice: run the pump for an hour, then take the sample elbow deep, away from return jets, skimmers and floating chlorinators. Turn the sample bottle upside down, push it under, then flip it to fill. For strips, dip once, don't shake the strip, don't touch the pads, and read it in shade.
Reagents and strips go stale. The Pool Journals passes on Taylor's advice to replace liquid reagents once a year, and heat and sunlight age them faster, so store the kit indoors. Keep strip bottles capped tight; moisture ruins the pads.
The reagents are real chemicals, some of them acids. In 2025 Taylor recalled the reagent bottles in its K-1106 phosphate kit because they lacked child-resistant caps (CPSC). That recall doesn't cover any kit on this list, but the lesson applies: store kits out of children's reach, rinse the tubes after each test, pour used samples down a drain rather than back into the pool, and never let reagents touch pool chemicals.
How we researched this
We compared 19 pool test kits and strips, checked Taylor's own test lists for each Taylor kit, read pool trade guides from Swim University, The Pool Journals, In The Swim and testyourownpool.com, looked at long-term owner feedback and pool forum discussion, and checked every brand for recalls with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. No independent lab test of home pool kits exists, so accuracy notes come from how each test method works.
Sources (7)
Frequently asked questions
Do pool test strips work?
Yes, for routine checks. They're fast and good at showing whether chlorine and pH are in range, but they're less precise than drop kits and most read total hardness instead of calcium hardness. Many owners use strips during the week and a drop kit once a week.
Why does my chlorine test turn clear after I shock the pool?
Very high chlorine can bleach the pink dye in a DPD color test, so the sample looks clear and reads like zero. A FAS-DPD drop-count kit such as the Taylor K-2006 avoids this and reads well above shock levels.
Do I need a special test kit for a saltwater pool?
No. A saltwater pool still makes chlorine, so a standard kit covers it. Salt itself changes slowly, and most salt systems display a reading, so a salt test or meter is only needed a few times a year.
How long do pool test kits last?
Taylor recommends replacing liquid reagents once a year. Strips last about a year once opened if the cap stays tight. Heat, sunlight and moisture shorten both.
How often should I test my pool water?
At least once a week, and two or three times a week in hot weather, after heavy use or after a storm. Test pH and chlorine most often; hardness and stabilizer change slowly and can be checked monthly.
