Brita filters are known for their ability to remove impurities and chemicals from water. But some people like to take things one step further, by making their water more alkaline. So, will a Brita filter change the pH of the water?
Brita filters might lower the pH of the water, to make it more acidic. This is because it uses hydrogen ions to neutralize calcium ions, which are responsible for mineral build-up on household appliances. Often, these effects tend to be fairly mild.
The pH level of the water might have an impact on your health. Because of this, some people aim to create alkaline water. Keep reading to learn how your Brita will impact the pH of the water and how that can affect your health.
Read my article: What Does a Brita Filter Remove – Is Your Drinking Water Safe?
Table of Contents
How Do Brita Filters Affect Water pH?
To understand how Brita filters impact the water pH, we first need to know a little about the way that they work. They push the water through the filter to remove the contaminants and harmful chemicals.
This doesn’t have any impact on the pH of the water. But it also helps to remove the calcium ions from the water. This is to reduce the hardness of the water. The calcium ions are responsible for the white scale that builds up in kettles and coffee machines.
However, to combat this, the filter will release hydrogen ions, to replace calcium ions. As a result, the Brita water might be slightly more acidic. The best way to see this effect is by running a pH test and comparing the results of tap water to those of filtered water. When this test is performed, you might find that Brita water has a lower pH score than tap water.
In some locations, the results can be surprising. During one test, the tap water had a pH range of 6.75 to 7, while the Brita water had a range of 5.75 to 6. Remember, that in pH tests, 7 is neutral. Anything below 7 is acidic and anything above is alkaline.
It’s important to remember that the results of this test will depend on where you live. Because of this, you might want to get a pH test from your local hardware store. Then, you can compare the results for yourself.
What Affects The pH Of Water?
It should be noted that the Brita filter isn’t the only thing that has an impact on the pH levels of your water. Some of these factors can include:
- Tap water. This is the biggest element that will impact the pH levels of your water. You can test this through a pH test from your hardware store. The US average for tap water is slightly alkaline, coming in at around 7.5.
- The chemical composition of the water will often have a significant role. By removing some chemicals, Brita might be making the water more acidic.
- As the water gets hotter, the amount of carbon dioxide in the water will decrease. As a result, it will become more alkaline.
Because of this, the pH of the water might fluctuate a little throughout the day. But these changes tend to be fairly mild.
What pH Range Is Healthy for Water?
Though there might be a slightly acidic tone to the water, you usually don’t need to worry about this. According to the EPA, the safe drinking water range is between 6.5 to 8.5. If your water is lower than 6 or higher than 8.5, you might want to consider adding some elements to the water to adjust the pH levels.
If your tap water is already acidic, using a Brita filter might tip it to a dangerously acidic range. The good news is that there is a fairly easy way to solve this problem. You just need to make your water more alkaline. We’ll discuss some ways that you can do this a little later.
Is Alkaline Water Better for Your Health?
Increasingly, people have been extolling the benefits that alkaline water can have on your health. This is said to combat the acidic foods that you eat throughout the day. Some of the benefits that alkaline water can provide include:
- Preventing heart disease
- Lowering cancer risk
- Slowing bone loss
- Controlling high blood pressure
- Controlling diabetes
- Minimizing acid reflux
- Slowing the aging process
It should be noted that the effects of this type of water are still being studied by science. At present, there is little evidence to support any of these claims.
How To Make Your Water More Alkaline?
Currently, some other water filter brands have the technology that allows them to add alkalinity to filtered water. But Brita doesn’t have this capability. Because of this, you will need to focus on other ways that you can make your water more alkaline. There are a few ways you can do this.
Using Baking Soda
The best option is to add some baking soda to the water. Here are the steps you will need to follow to do this:
- Use your Brita to filter a gallon of water, removing any impurities and chemicals
- Add half a teaspoon of baking soda
- Shake it vigorously to mix it in
It should be noted that there are a few potential problems with this approach. First, you shouldn’t use baking soda if you take medication, as it lowers stomach acid production. It can also raise your daily sodium consumption.
Using pH Drops
As an alternative, you might want to consider using pH drops. It’s best to choose ones that are mineral based. You can then add a few drops to your drinking water to make it more acidic. You just need to read the instructions on the packaging carefully. You don’t want to add too many drops and make the water too alkaline.
Regardless of which method you choose, it’s a good idea to get some pH strips and test your water. This ensures that you haven’t accidentally made it too alkaline, over 8.5 on the pH scale. If you have hit this limit, you will need to add more filtered water, to dissolve the effect of the alkalinity solution.
Final Thoughts
Though it sounds odd, Brita filters might make your water more acidic. The good news is that this effect is often fairly minor, changing the pH by half to three-quarters of a point. If you already have acidic tap water, though, this can cause problems. Because of this, you might want to consider taking some measures to increase alkalinity.