i have one, and have never tried using it with anything but mix water. even for that, i find a properly calibrated refractometer is just as fast and easy.
why not just buy a TDS meter? i have three in-line on my RO/DI system, one before the membrane, one after the membrane, one after the DI chamber. the one before the membrane is really cheap, it just flashes a light when TDS are above some level, so i know the membrane needs flushing (embarassing, but i don't know the level). the one after the membrane tells me when it needs replacement, the one after the DI crystals tell me when they need replacement.
if you just want a periodic test, pen TDS meters are really really cheap, like $15.