Your Questions, Answered

We count and size microplastic particles in your tap water using Nile Red fluorescence — a peer-reviewed lab method published in the Journal of Hazardous Materials Letters (2022). You get a particle count, size breakdown, and a severity rating for your specific tap.

The expensive tests use instruments that cost $200K+ to identify the exact type of plastic (polyethylene vs polypropylene, etc.). Our test tells you how many particles are in your water and how big they are — which is what actually matters if you're trying to decide whether to get a filter.

Same particles detected, fraction of the price.

Traditional tests cost $600+ because they analyze polymer types, which adds complexity most people don't need.

We focus on the core question: is microplastic present? By simplifying the method and scaling with lab partners, we reduce cost without compromising the integrity of the results.

We do. We're a lab, not a middleman. Your sample is processed in-house using a locked protocol with quality controls on every batch. We cross-validate with the Moore Institute for Plastic Pollution Research, an ELAB-accredited lab in Long Beach.

Every batch includes a procedural blank — a control sample processed identically to yours but with no water. If any contamination enters during processing, the blank catches it and we subtract it from your results.

We also periodically send samples to the Moore Institute for FTIR cross-validation against gold-standard instruments. This keeps our method honest.

We use a hydrogen peroxide digestion step that breaks down biological material like algae and biofilms. The procedural blank catches any airborne contamination from the lab environment. And Nile Red physically cannot stain minerals or dissolved salts — it's hydrophobic, so it only binds to plastic-like particles.

Nile Red can pick up some non-plastic hydrophobic organics (like coal particles or carbon black), but the H₂O₂ digestion step eliminates most of these. No consumer-level test is 100% perfect — but our method is peer-reviewed, published, and cross-validated against gold-standard instruments.

Particles smaller than 10 microns (nanoplastics) and certain hydrophilic plastics. No consumer test on the market detects nanoplastics — that requires equipment costing hundreds of thousands of dollars. Our test captures the same particle range as most research-grade methods.

Very likely, yes. If your house was re-piped anytime in the last 20 years, there is a high likelihood a plumber used PEX — Poly Ethylene Crosslink — to do the job. It's the industry standard for residential plumbing in the LA, Orange County, and San Diego areas. Most homeowners have no idea their “new pipes” are plastic.

Even if your house hasn't been re-piped, older homes may have PVC or CPVC supply lines, which are also plastic. Copper is the main non-plastic alternative, but it's significantly more expensive and less common in modern re-pipes.

According to plumbing professionals working in the LA area, hot water can significantly accelerate PEX pipe degradation compared to cold water. If your home has a hot water recirculating pump (common in larger homes), the effect may be even greater — water is constantly cycling through the plastic pipes 24/7.

This is why some customers order two kits: one for cold tap, one for hot. The difference can be dramatic.

Chlorine and chloramine in municipal water can contribute to the long-term degradation of some plastic plumbing materials. Over time, this chemical exposure may cause the pipe to break down and release microscopic particles into your water. Plumbers in the LA area report seeing frequent pinhole leaks in PEX piping — and if the pipe is degrading enough to leak, it may also be releasing plastic particles.

Yes. Plumbing professionals recommend a catalytic carbon filter with KDF media installed at the point of entry to your home. This removes the oxidants (chlorine, chloramine) before they reach your pipes, which may help slow degradation.

For drinking water specifically, a reverse osmosis (RO) filter at the tap is highly effective at catching particles that have already been released. Our data consistently shows RO-filtered samples coming back with significantly lower particle counts.

A single test is a snapshot of your water on that day. It's a strong starting point — especially if your count is high. For a more complete picture, two tests about 30 days apart gives you a reliable baseline. If you're installing a filter, testing before and after is the move.

Even on the same municipal supply, results vary house to house. Pipe age, plumbing material, whether you have a whole-home system, and even time of day all affect your count. That's actually the whole point — municipal averages don't tell you what's coming out of YOUR faucet.

Particle counts represent the number of fluorescing (suspected microplastic) particles found in your 100ml sample. We classify results into the following tiers:

• Low (0–5 particles) — Among the cleanest samples in our dataset. Looking good.
• Moderate (6–15 particles) — Some particles detected. Filtration can help.
• High (16–50 particles) — Higher than most samples we've tested. Worth looking into filtration.
• Very High (50+ particles) — Way above most samples in our dataset. Filtration strongly recommended.

These tiers are relative benchmarks based on our dataset. No federal standard exists yet.

A high count doesn't necessarily mean your water is unsafe — we just don't know yet. But there are practical steps:

• Point-of-use RO filter — our data consistently shows reverse osmosis filters significantly reduce particle counts
• Whole-house catalytic carbon filter — removes the chlorine that degrades your pipes in the first place
• Run cold water for 30 seconds before drinking — flushes water that's been sitting in contact with your pipes
• Avoid drinking hot tap water — hot water accelerates plastic pipe degradation

Right now, each pin represents an individual test result. As we collect more data, we'll layer in averages and confidence levels per area. Think of early pins as: “Here's what one household found.” The map gets smarter with every test.

Absolutely — that's one of the most valuable things you can do. A before/after comparison shows you exactly what your filter is (and isn't) catching. Some filters that claim to remove microplastics don't perform as advertised.

Tiny fragments of plastic smaller than 5mm. The ones we detect in tap water are typically much smaller — often 50x thinner than a human hair. They come from degrading plastic pipes, containers, textiles, and other sources. They're invisible to the naked eye and undetectable by consumer water testing kits.

Microplastics have been found in human blood, liver, kidneys, placenta, breast milk, and arterial plaque (New England Journal of Medicine, 2024). A 2025 study in Science Advances linked bloodstream microplastics to cerebral thrombosis and neurobehavioral abnormalities.

This isn't theoretical anymore — it's in peer-reviewed medical journals. The question is how much is in your water specifically.

Municipal utilities test for regulated contaminants like lead, bacteria, and chlorine. Microplastics are not currently regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act, so there's no requirement to test for them.

Not yet. The EPA has no enforceable limits. But California passed SB 1422, which requires major utilities to start testing treated tap water by Fall 2026. New Jersey, Virginia, and Illinois have passed similar laws. Regulation is coming — we let you get ahead of it.

You can't fix what you can't measure. There's no affordable way for a normal person to find out what's in their tap water — especially for microplastics, which aren't covered by any federal standard. We built the test we wanted to exist.

We work with researchers at UCLA and cross-validate our results with the Moore Institute for Plastic Pollution Research (ELAB-accredited, Long Beach). Our method is based on published academic research, not something we invented in a garage.

Your individual results are private. Anonymized, neighborhood-level data feeds The Water Map — a free public tool showing microplastic contamination by neighborhood. We never share your exact address. The more people test, the more useful the map becomes for everyone.