Step 11 min
Collect 100 mL of water
Fill the jar almost to the top with the water you're testing. It holds about 100 mL (3.5 oz). Leave room for the 1 mL vial you add next. Results are reported per 100 mL, so use the full jar.
Instructions
Test your water for microplastics
One sample at a time. Most of the 30 minutes is waiting after you add the vial.
1.Collect 100 mL of water
1 minFill the jar almost to the top with the water you're testing. It holds about 100 mL (3.5 oz). Leave room for the 1 mL vial you add next. Results are reported per 100 mL, so use the full jar.
2.Add the vial and wait
15–20 min waitAdd the vial, swirl gently, and wait 15–20 minutes. Longer is better; the dye needs time to bind.
Cover the jar while you wait. Dust from the air lands in an open jar and gets counted.
3.Put the filter in the holder
1 minUnscrew the holder, set the round filter membrane inside, and screw it back together.
Open the holder, drop the filter in, twist it shut
4.Attach the holder to the syringe
1 minTwist the assembled filter holder onto the syringe tip until it's snug.
Twist the holder onto the syringe tip until snug
5.Fill the syringe
1 minPour the prepared water into the top of the syringe. It holds 60 mL, so you'll fill and push it about twice.
Why you push twice
Older kits shipped a 100 mL vial, which went through in one pass. The kit now ships a 60 mL syringe, so a 100 mL sample takes two pushes: fill, push, fill again, push the rest. Keep going until the jar is empty. It all goes through the same filter.
Unscrew the filter holder before you pull the plunger back for the second fill. Pulling against the filter can damage it.
6.Push the water through
Right awayPush the water through right away; don't let it sit.
7.Retrieve the filter
1 minUnscrew the holder and take out the filter. Keep the side that faced the water pointing up. That's the side you read.
8.Put the filter in the imaging box
1 minPlace the filter inside the imaging box, collection side up.
9.Put the glass on the lid
1 minSet the glass on the box lid — it rests in the square indentation.
10.Add the flashlight
1 minSlide the flashlight into the rectangular hole on the top-left of the box.
11.Take the photo
1 minOpen your camera app, rest the phone flat on the box with the lens over the glass, tap the glowing filter to focus, then shoot.
🌙 Turn on Night Sight. No exceptions.
Without it, the camera won't pick up the glow and your count will be useless. Takes 5 seconds.
12.Upload your photo
1 minUpload the photo you just took. Our particle counter reads it on the spot — your microplastic count appears right here, and a verified report follows by email within 24 hours.