PUR acidic!

[JannaM]

I just bought a pack of pH strips the other day and decided to test my tap water. I had just finished filling my PUR Ultimate filter water dispenser and decided to test the water from that, too. My tap water tested 6.5 - slightly acidic, but not too bad. Then I tested the filtered water, and it came out at 5.5 - more acidic than my tap water! What a shock! I had been drinking the filtered water thinking I was doing myself a favor. I repeated the test two more times over the next couple days just to be sure, and the results were the same.
I emailed the PUR company and asked why the filtered water was more acidic than my tap water, and received the following response:
"Water that is filtered through our filtration system will slightly elevate the
pH level in the water
due to the filtration process that takes part within the filter. The exact
amount is dependent upon the current
pH level in your water.
I hope this information is helpful. Thanks again for getting in touch."
Not really an informative response. I was looking for a more scientific answer.
But I thought I'd post this, since I would imagine that I'm not the only one who thought filtered water would be better for my bladder than tap water. The pH difference isn't huge, but if your tap water is kind of borderline for your bladder to begin with, filtering it could make it intolerable.

[lalarainbow]

Hi,
That is strange. We have iron in our water so I use a Brita for our drinking water. I have had thoughts that it might be affecting me...hummmmmm.. I would like to know more about that...
If you find anymore info could you let us know or pm me. Thanks
Love, Pam

[Piddle Girl]

Wow. I'm currently using a Brita too. I hope that isn't the case for everything. What are we suppose to take Prelief just to drink water now too. That's the only thing I drink, ever. We can't drink our tap water because they are constantly bleeding the hydrants and hitting watermains. Do you think it's the same if you buy Poland Springs or Aquafina or something like that? Janna that is a great idea, using the test strips. Thanks for letting us all know.

[JannaM]

I bought my pH test strips at a local health food store for about $7 for a pack of 80. They are very easy to use. I don't know but I am guessing the pH of commercially bottled water varies. I have read discussions on these forums that state Evian is pH balanced, and it seems that many bottled waters are safe altho some are better than others. I intend to do a pH test on the bottled waters that I commonly drink just to be safe.
It is frustrating, when water seems the only safe beverage for us, that we have to be so careful of it, too!

[erinaj1997]

I found a web site that gives you the pH of bottled water. It doesn't have them all, but there's the biggies. Deer Park actually has a higherpH than Evian! I thought Evian was supposed to be the best!?

Here's the Site:http://www.bottledwaterweb.com/industerms.html

[sunshine_77us]

I have the Pur and I have not had any flares. I drink tons of water every day.

[porphgoddess]

I just learned a valuable lesson this week. I was drinking bottled water (zepherhills) and switched to evian when I found this site. In one day the burning pain was reduced. My old bottled water was acidic!@! Who knew????!!!@#!!

[Zebra15]

Re: PUR and acidity.

I talked to a man in a company that sells a device that takes acid out of coffee. He happened to tell me to buy pH strips, but he said it came in a roll and was packaged in silver foil. He said it was the one to buy.

I talked to pharmacists and they all told me that was the one to get because it is the "accurate" one. I would say the name, but do not want to get in trouble in case it is considered a product name.

It costs more than the tiny package that costs around $7.

Anyway, the high acidity reading may be because the strips were not the ones in the 'silver foil roll'.

Hope this helps.

[Zebra15]

Just realized it would be okay to mention the name, as see PUR and BRITA are mentioned.

The name of the pH roll that pharmacists told me is accurate is "Nitrazine" and costs $35. But it would last a long time, I think.

[havingsuccess]

I have also tested the PH of many waters. I don't know if I can mention brands here. I guess I'll find out if it gets bleeped. wink
Anyway, I tested all the bottled water available in my area and of course evian was the best, it even says on the bottle what the PH is and aquafina was the second which is what I drink. I have never tried a filter, but for those who drink bottled water I hope this helps. If it bleeps the names out and you want the info you can PM me.

Success

[mhwatters]

Here is the best site I have seen that you can check the PH of bottled water. It is for bottled waters all around the world.

http://www.mineralwaters.org

You will notice that Deer Park from the Pennsylvania sources have a PH of 5.5 where the Deer Park from the Deer Park, Maryland source is the only source that has the PH of 8.05. A PH of 5.5 is 500 times more acidic than 8.05, so beware.

Hope this site helps!

Mike

[boukie]

It's expensive bu Figi water has a ph of 7.5 it's considered to be the best water. Dasani is the worst. Also Evian is 7.0. It says on the bottle, and I noticed not all water bottles have a ph number on it.

[Julie B]

maybe this will help

The reason filtered water is more acidic is that the minerals in water contribute to the alkalinity of water, so when they are filtered out (or water is distilled) the minerals are taken out and the pH drops.

That being said, in most cases, IC patients can drink distilled and filtered water without problem. Dasani and some other waters have more than just an acidic problem........they add all sorts of stuff to it them can be problematic to IC bladders.

[glassd18]

I met a fellow ICer at the hair salon I go to, and I couldn't believe she was drinking Dasani. When I questioned her she said that she does fine with Dasani, and flares from Aquafina. I was doubtful. I drink my culligan RO water, and have been wondering if it is flaring me a bit. I usually drink Evian, Fiji or Aquafina. Anyhow all this water talk is making me feel like P-ing.

[steve333]

The reason filtered water is more acidic is that the minerals in water contribute to the alkalinity of water, so when they are filtered out (or water is distilled) the minerals are taken out and the pH drops.

That being said, in most cases, IC patients can drink distilled and filtered water without problem. Dasani and some other waters have more than just an acidic problem........they add all sorts of stuff to it them can be problematic to IC bladders.

I'm surprised aquafina would test alkaline since they use reverse osmosis which takes almost all the minerals out.
Dasani adds Potassium chloride-a definite no-no!

P.S. ph strips designed to test saliva and urine do not work on water, you need a different test strip for that.