SimplexHealth Metals 10-in-1 review
SimplexHealth Metals 10-in-1 Well & Ground Water (Laboratory Test)
By Tom Calder
Key specs
The maker's figures.
- What it tests
- 10 metals: arsenic, boron, cadmium, chromium
- Format
- Postal sample kit
- Tests included
- Private well, borehole and spring water
- Results in
- 10–12 working days from lab receipt
A genuine UK lab test for the metals that matter in private water supplies, including lead and arsenic — a real step up from indicator strips, though it's the lab's microbiology work that carries UKAS accreditation, not this metals panel. Useful as a screening check, not a substitute for your local authority's statutory compliance sampling. Worth it if you own the supply and want a real answer; not something a mains-water household needs.
- Best for
- Owners of a well, borehole or spring who need a genuine lab-verified metals reading, not a DIY indicator strip.
- Skip it if
- You're on a mains water supply
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Researched, not used. We haven't used this product. This review is built from the maker's specifications, owner reports and our own sizing.
What we like
- Genuine UK laboratory analysis of your water sample, not a home colour-strip guess
- Covers the 10 metals most relevant to wells, boreholes and springs, including lead and arsenic
- Simple postal sample kit — no plumber or site visit needed
Worth knowing
- A serious outlay for a single test next to indicator strips
- No interpretation of the lab report is included — you may need to pay separately for expert advice on what the numbers mean
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Our review
A ten-metal laboratory screen for water drawn from a well, borehole or spring: lead, arsenic, mercury, cadmium, chromium, copper, boron, iron, manganese and magnesium from a single posted bottle. SimplexHealth built it around the source rather than the house, so it suits an owner whose plumbing is modern and whose question is what the ground is adding. The figures are measured, not accredited.
What the ten metals are
SimplexHealth built this panel around metals it says occur naturally in groundwater: arsenic, boron, cadmium, chromium, copper, iron, lead, mercury, manganese and magnesium, each reported in mg/l or µg/l. The DWI's list of likely sources says arsenic is present in some groundwaters, iron and manganese occur naturally in some surface and ground waters, and lead can be present naturally as well as leaching from pipes. The maker does not interpret the report.
What is missing is as telling. Nickel and zinc, which SimplexHealth groups with lead and copper as plumbing metals on its tap-water panel, are not here, and nor is any bacteria, nitrate or pH line. Bear in mind the DWI also traces lead, copper, cadmium and chromium to pipes and plated fittings, so a high reading from a kitchen tap may be the plumbing rather than the ground.
On a private supply
About 1% of people in England and Wales draw water from a private supply, by the DWI's figure, and the council rather than a water company regulates it. For a supply serving a single home with no commercial use, the Private Water Supplies (England) Regulations 2016 say the local authority must risk-assess and monitor the supply if the owner or occupier requests it, and may monitor it anyway; it can charge a fee for that work. A posted metals panel sits alongside those council checks as one you control the timing of, after a new pump or a change in taste. The DWI adds that private testing should use an accredited method and a trained individual, a standard a home-collected bottle analysed outside the laboratory's accredited scope does not fully meet.
How it compares
The Metals 12-in-1 is the same ten metals plus nickel and zinc on the same turnaround, the better buy where old fittings are part of the question. The Water Suite 12-in-1 Well & Ground Water test covers the other half of a private supply, bacteria, nitrate, fluoride, hardness, pH, chloride and sulphate, sharing only arsenic, iron, manganese, magnesium and mercury with this panel; it has no lead. For both halves in one post, see the maker's 27-in-1 on the water testing kits comparison, though its published list has no arsenic, mercury, cadmium, chromium or boron. For lead alone, the lead-only laboratory test is quicker at 5 to 6 working days and is the analysis sold as UKAS-certified.
Living with it
The box holds one bottle, instructions and pre-paid courier return. Fill the bottle and post it the same day, Monday to Thursday only; if ice packs are in the box, freeze them the night before. The maker asks for the sample back within six weeks of despatch on one of its shop pages and seven on the other, so treat six as the rule. A short-filled or wrongly taken bottle is not refunded, and a late sample is reported as possibly compromised. Results come by email 10 to 12 working days after the laboratory receives the bottle. UK customers only, and people in the Outer Hebrides, Isle of Wight, Isle of Man and Cornwall are asked to confirm overnight return is available first. SimplexHealth allows 14 days to cancel unused goods at your own postage cost.
Reading the result
Schedule 1 of the private supplies regulations sets lead 10 µg/l, arsenic 10 µg/l, mercury 1 µg/l, cadmium 5 µg/l, chromium 50 µg/l, manganese 50 µg/l, iron 200 µg/l, copper 2 mg/l and boron 1 mg/l; magnesium has no prescribed value. Iron and manganese sit in the national requirements alongside colour, taste and odour; arsenic, lead, cadmium and mercury are the lines to take to the council promptly if a figure is over. The accreditation footnote covers bacteria and legionella analysis, not this metals work, so a figure near a limit is a reason to ask the council for its monitoring visit rather than a verdict in itself.
Our verdict
Buy it if you run a well, borehole or spring with modern plumbing and want to know what the ground is contributing, particularly where arsenic, iron or manganese are known locally, and you have the council's assessment in hand or on order. Step up to the 12-in-1 if the house has old fittings, and to the Water Suite or 27-in-1 if nobody has checked the supply for bacteria. On mains water the usual metals question is lead, and the lead-only test answers it faster with an accredited result. Our guide to tap water has the detail.
A researched review, built from the maker's specs, manual and UK listings; facts checked 21 Oct 2026. Sources: Watersafe UK — Metals 10-in-1 Well & Ground Water (Laboratory Test), product page (read 21 October 2026); SimplexHealth — Metals 10-in-1 Well & Ground Water (Laboratory Test), product page (read 21 October 2026); SimplexHealth — Metals 10-in-1 Tap Water (Laboratory Test), plumbing-metals panel (read 21 October 2026); SimplexHealth — Returns policy (read 21 October 2026); The Private Water Supplies (England) Regulations 2016, Schedule 1 — prescribed concentrations and values; The Private Water Supplies (England) Regulations 2016, regulation 6 — risk assessment; The Private Water Supplies (England) Regulations 2016, regulation 10 — monitoring of other private supplies; The Private Water Supplies (England) Regulations 2016, Schedule 5 — fees; Drinking Water Inspectorate — Private water supplies, consumer page (read 21 October 2026); Drinking Water Inspectorate — Possible risks and their sources (read 21 October 2026); Drinking Water Inspectorate — Water testing (read 21 October 2026).
Who shouldn't buy this
Don't buy this if you're on a mains water supply — your water company already tests to DWI standards and publishes results; this kit is for private supplies (wells, boreholes, springs), or as a secondary check on tap water if you have a specific metals concern such as old lead pipework — not a general household check.
This is a Researched review: we haven't used this product. We check every specification against at least two independent sources, re-check the UK price on a schedule where we can track it automatically, and say plainly who it isn't for. Commissions never change a rating.
If this isn’t the one
Best for Owners of a private well, borehole or spring wanting a broad lab panel with UKAS-accredited bacteria results, or buyers vetting a private supply before a house purchase.
Best for Homeowners with pre-1970 lead pipework, or anyone on a private supply (borehole, spring, well) who needs a definitive lead reading rather than an indicative guess.
Read the review →Best for Landlords or employers needing evidence for a Legionella risk assessment, spa or hydropool owners, and systems that have sat unused (holiday homes, stored hot water tanks, empty rental properties).
in stock when checkedQuestions
Does the SimplexHealth Metals 10-in-1 test for lead and arsenic?
Yes. Both are in the ten, alongside boron, cadmium, chromium, copper, iron, mercury, manganese and magnesium, and each is reported in a unit you can set against the UK limit, 10 µg/l for either metal.
Is the Metals 10-in-1 Well & Ground Water test UKAS accredited?
The laboratory is UKAS-accredited to ISO 17025, but the maker's footnote lists that scope as bacteria analysis, such as coliform/E. coli and enterococci, plus legionella. The metals in this panel are not named within it, so treat the report as screening.
How long does the Metals 10-in-1 take?
SimplexHealth says 10 to 12 working days from the laboratory receiving the sample. Allow three to four weeks in all once free delivery of the kit and the courier return are counted.
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