Water approach

[bcrawfo2]

I'm just getting into the water aspect of brewing and am trying to understand the best approach. My water company's water report is lacking in some of the key data fields. I know I have the option of buying my own test kit, or sending it off, but that doesn't take into account seasonal variation.
Instead of spending the money on a test kit so I can do regular testing, does it make sense to just bite the bullet and RO my water so I can have a clean slate? Is there a need for a test kit after that?
I know a PH meter is in my future, but I'm talking about sodium, calcium, chloride, etc.

 

[mabrungard]

Sure, moving to a RO system is one way to provide yourself with a nearly blank slate. But what if your tap water is already at somewhat low ionic content? Then you will have wasted your money on something you didn't need (RO machine). One way of figuring out if your water is excellent or a train-wreck, is to send it off for testing. Unless you feel your water tastes bad and you don't want to brew with it anyhow, sending a sample for testing is pretty economical.