How much do you know about your drinking water?

Discussion in 'Serious Discussion' started by Michaela Joy, Sep 30, 2016.

  1. MS_User

    MS_User MDL Guru

    Nov 30, 2014
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    my point is that does companies selling bottle water should not sell a bad product to the public, knowing that is doesnt pass the test.
     
  2. PointZero

    PointZero MDL Member

    Oct 5, 2011
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    That video is only showing the pH levels of those waters. That has nothing to do with contaminates or poisons. The EPA has standards for pH levels in drinking water and its range is 6.5-8.5: https://www.epa.gov/dwstandardsregu...g-water-standards-guidance-nuisance-chemicals

    Some of those waters shown look like they may be a little lower than 6.5, but do you realize that Coca-Cola has a pH level of 2.5? https://www.sheltondentistry.com/patient-information/ph-values-common-drinks/

    Cola drinks and most energy drinks are much more acidic than any of those waters.


    -----------
    I have a question for Yen (or anybody else that may know): does higher pH level water "degrade" back to a more neutral level over time?

    I posted a while back that the alkaline water I had bought from the water store tested at 7 (neutral) with my pH test strips. But that water had been sitting around for a couple weeks since I stopped drinking it. When I purchased the water, the water store owner put dark plastic bags around my 5-gallon jugs to protect them from UV exposure, so that got me thinking that it may degrade over time.

    I mentioned my test on his water the next time I went in to the water store and he got a bit defensive and brought out his own test kit that did show his water was a pH level of 9 (what the machine was set for). I even brought my test strips and he encouraged me to test it and I also showed it was 9. So I wonder if the water I had previously had just sat around too long which allowed to pH level to drop??
     
  3. WindowsGeek

    WindowsGeek MDL Expert

    Jun 30, 2015
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    I would not drink that water if i know PH levels are so high on it and dont drink sodas thats also poison.
     
  4. Michaela Joy

    Michaela Joy MDL Crazy Lady

    Jul 26, 2012
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    @MS_User: If you drink a lot of bottled water, you'd probably be better off getting a filter for the sink and a glass carry-bottle.
    Where I live, bottled water is $1.00 per bottle. (As much as a soda pop :eek:)

    @WindowsGeek: Yup. High Fructose Corn Syrup and Phosphoric acid. Not to mention Brominated Vegetable oil, an additive for Mountain Dew, Gatorade and a few other beverages.

    These are only meant to be drank on the rare occasion. Not every day, as I see so many people doing.

    Look here:
    http://articles.mercola.com/sites/a...1/11/brominated-vegetable-oil-in-us-soda.aspx
     
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  5. MS_User

    MS_User MDL Guru

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    did u watch the whole video to the end....she tested her tap water last and it pass the test....her tap water was cleaner than all the brand bottle water that fail the test....that is alarming and disturbing....and when it comes to sodas of course thats garbage is manufacture synthetic product...that can kill u to...can turn u into a diabetic and obese vegetable..not counting high levels of sugar makes your brain retarded.
     
  6. PointZero

    PointZero MDL Member

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    They're only measuring pH levels, not how clean/pure it is.
     
  7. MS_User

    MS_User MDL Guru

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    i would not drink a water so high acid levels.
     
  8. R29k

    R29k MDL GLaDOS

    Feb 13, 2011
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    Do you drink coke or pepsi ?
     
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  9. MS_User

    MS_User MDL Guru

    Nov 30, 2014
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    no
     
  10. Yen

    Yen Admin
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    May 6, 2007
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    Since you do not know the pH from it when it was ‘fresh’ we can only guess.

    There is no pH change without chemical reaction.
    That means there must have been some chemical reactions with the water itself and/or contents of the water and or the material of the jugs.
    A classic one that decreases pH of alkaline solutions is uptake of CO2 from atmosphere.
    Another one is that a compound has left the balance - in other words it either has participated, then there must be a residue (participate) on bottom of the jugs, or it outgassed.

    To store water in a dark and cold place has rather microbiological aspects.

    Your assessment of the video is right. It's 'only' about pH and moreover a misinterpretation of results.
    The author of the video (impressive pH colors of waters) is lacking of scientific background. She comes to false conclusions and the kid in the background learns nothing but to be scared of water by unreasonable ‘scientific’ black and white statements (yellow color means bad water) or if something is not 'neutral' it must be unnatural=unhealthy.

    It is visually impressive to attract attention, but useless concerning statements about impact on healthiness.

    People do isolate pH value without to consider buffer capacity and do forget that pH value has a logarithmic scale. This means anything within pH 6 to 8 is nothing of a difference compared to the stomach acid. Moreover a one color solution is not suitable to obtain pH values within a narrow range (6-8), one needs multiple color stripes or even better a pH meter.

    People forget that stomach acid has a pH value of 1 and the bowels are alkaline.
    Buffer capacity means: The higher the capacity the more acid or base you can add until the pH value changes.

    In other words: Water changes its pH value quicker if it’s not buffered and vice versa. Buffered water which is slightly alkaline or acidic needs more counterpart to be neutral again

    Judging with the author’s interest that means: Buffered water that is pH8 can be physiologically more off than unbuffered water that has pH8.5

    When you choose water that has a high amount of minerals then you can presume it’s buffered more than water that has a low amount of minerals.
    And if you really want to compare then by pH value you need multi-color test stripes or even a pH meter and you should also consider the capacity. Means testing how much acid or base you need to add until it comes to pH7 again.

    But as mentioned compared to stomach acid and buffer capacity of bowels water that is pH6-8 has almost no different impact there.

    Actually you only can make statements about the quality of the water when you know what’s inside.


    BTW: Did you know that the pH value of water decreases by raising temperature?
    Water that is 30 degrees Celsius has a pH value of 6.92 already…and 60 degrees of Celsius 6.51…


    Another remark: The linked EPA Table of Secondary Standards has errors and has a populist touch.

    All the named noticeable effects are not precise.

    Aluminum Ions are EVER colorless and cannot lead to colored water.
    Neither chlorides nor sulfates alone (Anions alone) are responsible for taste.


    P.S.: I am sorry I appear to be very nitpicking when it comes to my profession….well I only be there where it is precondition…finally I am Gemini, lol.:)
    I actually teach all that pH stuff to my trainees/students every year.

    To understand "pH" rightly one needs to know what's the ion product of water and LMA, the pH definition and at least Arrhenius' idea of an acid.....:cool:;):)
     
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  11. Tiger-1

    Tiger-1 MDL Guru

    Oct 18, 2014
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    Hi Yen very interesting know that you are Teacher; this explain several things to me for some reason I ever think you are one teacher of something :):D
     
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  12. Yen

    Yen Admin
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    Actually I liked the challenge to make things 'better' than the 'bad' teachers I have had.
    But actually I am no teacher (profession). I am involved in training. It's a combination of practicum and theory... I do lead an own lab therefore...and I do support trainees for their exams and I support those who have their first weeks in a lab. :)

    It's nice to work with different young people every year.
    The company asked me if I want to become a trainer...and I said yes. I do that for more than 20 years already.
    My job actually is phytochemical drug research, though. My special subject is organic Chemistry, synthesis and natural compounds.


    Yeah I know. Many of my posts can have a touch of 'to teach' people....can be annoying for some.....but I like to take people with me. I never want agreement but reflection.:).
    And I can be very nitpicking there and somewhere else absolutely not at all...:D
     
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  13. Tiger-1

    Tiger-1 MDL Guru

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    #193 Tiger-1, Aug 3, 2017
    Last edited: Aug 3, 2017
    :D OK Yen haha I believe that is always good know something about members here :) and for me personally I don't think something is annoying but oposite lol, if you see my sig you can understand which I was speaking myself everyday learn something related to computers/softwares/programing etc and in another hand here in this section I learned a lot of thing that I never see or understand so this section for me is another side of coin as ever MDL for me is all trust me :D
     
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  14. PointZero

    PointZero MDL Member

    Oct 5, 2011
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    Thank you very much Yen for your detailed response! Your knowledge on this subject is impressive.

    The water being run through the machine is very pure, so that would make it unbuffered according to your info. The store has an elaborate filtration system that has carbon filters, reverse osmosis and several other processes to get to their final dispensed water. It's not distilled water, but very close in purity. I normally just buy their "regular" processed water, but have bought the alkaline water on a few occasions.

    The alkaline machine runs the purified water over electrically charged metal plates and changes the pH level through electrolysis. I thought maybe since it's done by charging ions, that the pH level may be more unstable compared to alkaline water created with chemicals like sodium bicarbonate added (and hence, return to a neutral level faster). But I don't know much about this.

    The funny thing is that the owner said my test strips were not the right thing to use to test water. He said my test strips were to be used on the tongue, lol. He used liquid drops, like shown in that video above. I think I'll buy a pH meter to get a more accurate reading next time.

    Thanks again Yen (and everybody else here) for sharing your knowledge.
     
  15. gorski

    gorski MDL Guru

    Oct 21, 2009
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    Yep, Yen, always good to see a pro at work!!! :)

    Now, if only the same thing could be seen when Philosophers do their thang... :p :D :p
     
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  16. Joe C

    Joe C MDL Guru

    Jan 12, 2012
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    They know about drinking healthy water too?
    or
    Are they trained to make pure water?
     
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  17. gorski

    gorski MDL Guru

    Oct 21, 2009
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    They are trained to help poor sods in becoming able to think - as in elementary logics like this... ^^^^ :D :p :D :p :D
     
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  18. Joe C

    Joe C MDL Guru

    Jan 12, 2012
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    Back onto the water subject if you please....
    I still like drinking distilled water, and I believe that I can get enough minerals and other stuff just by eating regular food here in the U.S.
    I bet a bowl of cereal probably has most of what one needs for healthy living
     
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  19. MS_User

    MS_User MDL Guru

    Nov 30, 2014
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    Yen sound like a real smart
    cereal is process garbage unless u spend like 9 dollars for natural whole wet cereal...... and i still will not drink water with high PH levels....some mite think thats not real contamiation...to me thats bad water.
     
  20. PointZero

    PointZero MDL Member

    Oct 5, 2011
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    Does anyone here have experience with home water distillers? Amazon sells small 4 liter water distillers that are inexpensive (<$100) and process a liter per hour.

    ---
    I posted earlier that the water store owner thought pH test strips should be used only on the tongue. To clarify, I thought it was funny because he's wrong- they work fine for water. After he said that, I realized he's just a guy trying to sell water and didn't question him further.

    I ordered a digital pH meter and a TDS (total dissolved solids) meter to measure for impurities. Will be interesting to try these once they arrive.