Test strips are available with “Litmus test” technology. These are “dip & read” strips of paper that turn colours indicating levels of pH, alkalinity and chlorine in the pool. Some strips test hardness and cyanuric acid as well. Speciality pool test strips can test your water for minerals and metals, salt levels phosphates or bacteria. Test strips are fast and convenient; however, they are not as accurate as drop style pool test kits. Digital test strip readers improve accuracy by helping those who cannot easily discern between colour shading variations. Test strips are most useful for testing pool pH and chlorine levels quickly, but not entirely trustworthy for complete water balancing. They are suitable if you take a pool water sample somewhere monthly to be fully tested, but that’s inconvenient. A Taylor K2005 test kit is what the pool store uses – buy your own!