What Is Alkaline Water? pH 9.5 Explained, Plainly
Alkaline water is water with a pH above 7. Plain tap water sits close to neutral, around 6.5 to 8.5 depending on the city. Alkaline bottled water is usually between 8 and 9.5. Alkaid is bottled at 9.5 pH.
What pH actually measures
pH runs from 0 to 14. Below 7 is acidic: coffee is about 5, orange juice about 3.5. Above 7 is alkaline: baking soda in water is about 8.3, milk of magnesia about 10.5. The scale is logarithmic, so each whole number is ten times the one before it, and 9.5 pH water is roughly a hundred times less acidic than tap water at 7.5.
How alkaline water is made
There are three ways to get water above 7 pH, and the label usually tells you which one you are holding.
- Naturally alkaline spring water. Some springs run through limestone or other alkaline rock and pick up calcium and magnesium on the way. The water comes out of the ground already above 7. A label that says "naturally alkaline" means this.
- Purified water with minerals added. The water is filtered, usually by reverse osmosis, until almost nothing is left, then a measured blend of minerals and electrolytes is added back. This is how most alkaline bottled water, including Alkaid, is made. Reverse osmosis starts from a blank slate, so the pH and mineral content are the same in every bottle.
- Ionized (electrolyzed) water. A home machine passes tap water over charged plates and splits it into an alkaline stream and an acidic one. "Ionized alkaline water" and "alkaline water ionizer" refer to this. The pH can be high, but the water carries few minerals unless the tap water did.
What is in Alkaid
Ultra-purified water with minerals added for taste and electrolytes, bottled at 9.5 pH in 16.9 fl oz and 1-liter bottles, and in 5-gallon jugs for the cooler. It is bottled in Belleville, New Jersey by Blue Star Pure Water, the family company that has delivered water across North Jersey and New York since 2010.
Does 9.5 pH change the taste?
Yes. Minerals are most of what people describe as "smooth" or "clean" in a water. Highly purified water with nothing added tastes flat; putting calcium, magnesium and potassium back gives it body, and a slightly alkaline pH reads as less sharp than a neutral or acidic one.
Alkaline vs spring vs purified
| Spring | Purified | Alkaline | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Source | an underground spring | any source, then filtered | any source, then filtered |
| Minerals | whatever the spring carries | almost none | added back in a set blend |
| pH | usually 6.5 to 8 | often slightly below 7 | 8 to 9.5 |
| We deliver | Poland Spring, Saratoga, Grace Spring jugs | Blue Star Purified jugs | Alkaid cases and jugs |
The full comparison, with which water to use for coffee, formula and the cooler: spring vs purified vs alkaline.
How to read an alkaline water label
- pH. Look for the number, not the word. "Alkaline" with no number can mean 7.5.
- Source and method. "Purified water with minerals added" or "natural spring water" tells you how it was made.
- Electrolytes. Calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium. These are what you taste.
- Bottled where. Water is heavy. The closer the plant, the shorter the trip; Alkaid's is in Belleville.
Is it safe to drink every day?
Yes. Bottled water at 9.5 pH is well within the range the body handles without effort; stomach acid is around 1.5 to 3.5 pH and neutralizes whatever you drink within minutes. People with kidney disease or on a restricted-mineral diet should ask their doctor about any mineral-added water, alkaline or not. For a plain-language look at the health research, read what the research says about alkaline water.
Questions people ask
What pH is alkaline water?
Anything above 7. Most alkaline bottled water is 8 to 9.5 pH. Alkaid is bottled at 9.5.
Is alkaline water the same as ionized water?
No. Ionized water is made by a home electrolysis machine and gets its pH from the process rather than from minerals. Alkaline bottled water is usually purified water with minerals added, or naturally alkaline spring water.
Can I make water alkaline at home?
A pinch of baking soda raises pH but adds sodium and tastes like it. Alkaline pitcher filters and ionizer machines also work. Bottled alkaline water is the option that also controls which minerals go in.
What is high alkaline water?
There is no official cutoff. Water at 9 pH and above is commonly called high-alkaline; above 10 is unusual for a drinking water.
Does Alkaid deliver alkaline water?
Yes, by the case and the 5-gallon jug, across northern New Jersey and all five boroughs of New York City.