An Overview of Taylor Test Kits & Some common Testing Errors

Taylor Technologies is the leading manufacturer of Pool Test Kits and they make a variety of different kits. I discuss some of the products that Taylor makes with Wayne Ivusich who is the Director of Education at Taylor Technologies. We go over some of Taylor's more common test kits as well as their advanced testers.



For most pool service professionals the Taylor K-2006 or K-2005 are the go to test kits. The test factors in each kit are extensive and will be pretty much all you will need for your day to day testing. Taylor also makes a K-1000 series of test kits for the homeowner. Whichever test kit you select for your pool route or home, you can rest assured that a Taylor product will give you the most accurate test results.




I have been using the Taylor Test kits almost from day one when I started pool service back in the late 1980's and early 90's. One thing that sets Taylor apart from many other kits is the number of test factors their K-2000 kits can preform. You can do Free Chlorine & Combined Chlorine, Total Alkalinity, pH with acid demand and base demand, Calcium Hardness and Cyanuric Acid. You can learn more about these test kits from the videos below:

Taylor Test Kit (K-1006 - K-2150): http://youtu.be/AMe0rJJli8A
Taylor Complete FAS-DPD Pool Water Test Kit K-2006: http://youtu.be/vYBEt1rzkeU

There are many variations on the exact levels for a balanced pool but here is a general area that most of manufacturers and pool professionals adhere to.

pH: 7.2 – 7.8
Alkalinity: 80 – 120 ppm.
Calcium Hardness: 180 – 220 ppm.
Chlorine: 1-3 ppm.
Bromine: 3-5 ppm.
Cyanuric Acid: 30 – 50 ppm.

I personally prefer the pH at 7.6-7.8 and I prefer the chlorine level at 3.0 ppm or higher especially in the Summer months. But to balance your pool water you want the reading in these ranges or as close to these levels as possible. It is near impossible to keep your pool at these ideal levels week to week so that is why testing the water each week is vital.

I suggest testing the pool water at least once a week and to avoid errors in your readings try to avoid these testing mistakes:

Makes sure your reagents are not expired. They do not last forever and you should replace them every season if you don't use them all up during the year. The refills are affordable and will insure accurate test results.

Try to take the water sample from the middle of the pool about elbow deep. Make sure you fill the tubes to the exact mark and do the reagent drop test right away.

Make sure the tubes are clean especially if you service pools for a living, you don't want the last test results to interfere with your current one.

With the swirl tests try to get a good wrist movement to mix the reagent up properly. If you struggle with this check out this helpful product that does the swirling for you:

Taylor SpeedStir 9265 Magnetic Stirrer: https://youtu.be/IRofeofrlCs

Keep the tubes at eye level and look directly at the color and not down into it. I prefer doing the reading outside in natural light. Remove your sunglasses for a more accurate color match.

If you follow these steps you will get very accurate reading when you do your water testing. To learn more about the line up of Taylor Technologies testing products you can visit their website here:


You can also order the test kits directly from my website:




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