Why PH? Why Indeed? Part 3

How We Remediate Ph in Water

So, we’re back. If you’ve been reading and following my blog to date: thank you. If you’re new, and this is your first look-in, welcome. I have been writing about pH in water, what it means, how it affects health and to some degree how it’s perceived.  It’s a huge subject, very topical in nature and difficult to define in any kind of empirical structured way. Having spent some hours studying it I’ve come away with a hard “maybe” and equally: “maybe not”. But I’ve learned some stuff. 

The entire basis of my short treatise was to formally pursue pH in water in a way that directly reflects the questions I’m frequently asked and the conversations I regularly have in the store. And yes, there are areas I may not have written about or aspects I may have gone into with greater detail but I've tried to stay in my lane and cover material that is practically as close to the experiences I have dealing with customers in the store.  With that in mind, I’d have to say that if you’re enjoying alkaline water and your health is good and energy high well, stay the course.  As someone far wiser than I once said “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” and if alkaline water is working for you or you have information that leads you to believe it’s good for your health,  well then go for it: enjoy!  The same holds for non-alkalized or in our case: reverse osmosis water. If you’re happy and confident drinking reverse osmosis water, well then stay with it and enjoy. 

Remember too that this is Water Land, and we’re an old well-established store, with tons of history in water filtration so we’ve got a pretty big hand in this.  With over 20 years and some 4000 active customers, we’ve accumulated a significant, hard-earned knowledge base, founded in equal parts formal training and applied experience. I’ve been here for about 5 years and during that time I’ve watched 6 of our supposed competitors close down while our business has consistently grown; despite the pandemic. While we may on the surface appear to specialize solely in residential water filtration we do an awful lot more. We service residential, commercial, industrial and medical clients. We filter water, yes, and we also soften it, make it safe to drink or bathe in and we distill it.  We sell whole-home systems, specialized medical systems, systems that purify municipal water, lake water, and groundwater: everything from full reverse osmosis to handheld portable systems, even water bottles. And we’ve recently added a whole new line of top-quality all-natural nutritional supplements Yep, we’re in the water business right enough but we consider ourselves to be more like purveyors of overall good-health. We care, we’re fussy and we get the job done.  If we recommend something or point you in a certain direction it’s always based on experience and hard solid evidence. Our opinions are conservative and pragmatic, never based on conjecture or speculation.  

Now as we’re revamping and relaunching our new website we thought it’d be a good idea to share some of that information and experience by adding a blog. And yeah I’m the guy who gets to write it and in this case I chose to start with the effect of  pH value in water.  A very good but complex subject,: this is my third blog and I’m still on it, no small feat.  And I can tell you that studying and reporting on subjects that directly affect nutrition while trying to remain truly impartial forces one of necessity to walk a very fine line.  Because truly I’m not trying to sell you one way or the other, just objectively share what I’ve learned. I say all this because I want you to know that we care and review things very carefully before publishing them. 

So anyway the stuff I’m going to write here, about how we remediate ph in water shouldn’t necessarily imply a specific endorsement as such , more simple methods that over time we’ve found to be effective, or products we’ve found to be truly legitimate or suppliers that are reputable and reliable. And once again I’m going to begin by making it clear that I am not a medical professional on any level.  If you have any doubts or concerns about your health go see a professional. Nothing I write is meant to be taken as medical advice or should substitute for medical advice. I am not a doctor, just a guy.  A long-winded guy, an opinionated guy, but in finality just a guy. These blogs represent my opinions, ideas, thoughts or queries and as such, this is just an exchange of information. With that said let’s get started.

Adding ph to Water 

We carry a line of alkaline remediating products made by a company called Santevia. Their website in Canada is https://ca.santevia.com/  Santevia offers a variety of alkaline-related products, including home use and portable, and they are completely legitimate. We regularly sell their MINA water pitcher which offers very impressive filtration as well as alkaline remediation.  A MINA water pitcher actually reduces Lead 99% lead, Cadmium (98.2%), Copper (98.0%), Manganese (96.1%), Chloramine (98.2%) and Mercury (99.0%).   The filters last an average of 2 months between changes, additionally filter chlorine, add calcium, magnesium and other healthy trace minerals, and raise the pH level by up to +2.0.  

Not long ago I tested a new MINA filter when a client brought hers in to renew the filter.  While I didn’t video it or write the results down I do recall the MINA boosted the alkaline from around 7 to well past 8, I’m talking close to 9.  It was impressive. 

They also offer a pretty nifty bath filter, no installation is required it just hangs over the tap and allows cold or hot water to run through a satchel suspended underneath, catching the full water stream and providing a simple effective filtering solution. A lot of people have asked me if we carry anything that will reduce chlorine in bath water and short of filling the tub with water being run through a shower filter; before these came out the answer was basically no. The Santevia bath filter reduces up to 99% of chlorine while adding trace magnesium & zinc to nourish skin & hair, plus protecting even sensitive skin from irritation. It’s a great solution for bathing babies and young children and it lasts up to 2 months.   

Another product Santevia offers, that I personally really like is called the “Recovery Stick”. If you can imagine: it’s about the size of a magic marker and fits perfectly into another product Santevia offers called a “Tritan Water Bottle” which filters chlorine, and other contaminants while boosting pH to make true alkaline water. And they work equally well in any type of bottle, even an open-topped water glass. So, say you’re in a restaurant and all they have is tap water, well you just drop your handy-dandy recovery stick in and you’re away to the races, beautiful clear alkaline water. They make about 300, 500 mL bottles,  infuse the water with hydrogen, calcium, magnesium and other healthy minerals, significantly reduce chlorine and render just about any tap water fresh tasting and smooth. The combination of a Triton water bottle and a Recovery stick makes a great way to get clean healthy water, anywhere any time, and it’s a great gift idea.  Plus you can use the Recovery stick in any kind of bottle or glass. 

Those are the main Santevia products we offer in the store. As I said, experience has shown us that these are good effective ways to get the job done. In the recent past Santevia offered a complimentary book called “A Kick Start Guide to Alkalize Your Body” and we had a few of them to give away but we’re out now. While I’m not going to review it either way, and I’ve covered a lot of information regarding pH in water in my previous blogs, the book does offer a pretty comprehensive review, including recommendations and recipes, so if you find one it’ll be a good read. Keep in mind that you’ll also find a ton of good information on their website. Once again, on the subject of benefits of pH in water, for me, the jury is 100% out but if you do find a copy of the book I recommend reading it, or maybe spending some time on Santeria’s website.  

And then there’s reverse osmosis 

I will speculate and say here that reverse osmosis water has more written about it, more opinions expressed on it and more polarizing views than any other type of filtered water. Why, and exactly what constitutes reverse osmosis is a subject for another blog, but suffice it to say that it’s the cleanest, most minutely filtered water you can buy.  No other process, with the possible exception of distilled matches, reverse osmosis for sheer purity. In achieving that level of purification reverse osmosis also produces proportionately reduced pH values. For some people, that’s a concern.

I won’t speak to that here but just let you know that it’s quite easy to remediate R/O water back to neutral or even too alkaline levels of pH. All we have to do is install a relatively inexpensive remineralizing filter as a separate, post-filtration stage. As we already know, pH-neutral water tests at a value of around 7. The municipal water that we test at the store usually comes in at around 7.2.  The R/O water we produce here, for whole, or bulk sale usually tests at around 6.8 pH, so not bad at all but still, pH reduced. The R/O filtration systems we sell: ECOwater, Pentair and Watts, usually test in at around the same range, so the remediation levels are not too drastic. 

The remineralizing filter can be installed between the membrane and the tank or it can be installed after the polishing stage. The latter is what we recommend.  There are several filters on the market but we generally use 3 that we’ve found to be effective, reliable and relatively long-lasting; these are not necessarily in order of preference. 

The first is a GS-10, made by Pentek, and they refer to is as a pH stabilizing inline water filter.  It’s a good option: we’ve had great, consistent results with it.  The GS 10 employs a mix of coconut-based granular activated carbon (GAC) and calcite. It operates with a filtration value of 20 microns – nominal and supports the polishing process as well as adjusting the pH value of the water.  So it increases the pH value, smooths out the flavour of the water, all while causing no hindrance to production or flow rates. 

The next is Hydronix ICF 2512 ALK, and it too is a very good option. The Hydronix ICF 2512 ALK is also made with NSF certified coconut shell carbon, is recognized industry-wide as a very good OEM product and it efficiently remineralizes water and raises the pH level.   I haven’t talked about this here but the Hydronix ICF 2512 ALK is also proven to increase something called: “Negative ORP” or Oxidation Reduction Potential, by increasing the antioxidant level. This will neutralize free radicals and mitigate potential DNA damage, essentially activating your water as an antioxidant.  Generally the Hydronix ICF 2512 ALK has a pH uptake value of about +2 by adding trace amounts of calcium and magnesium, so it’s very powerful.

The next and final one is a post inline filter made by Waterite. It’s the least expensive of the three, and it too is a good fundamental performer at a cost-effective price. 

All of these will yield anywhere from 1500 to 2000 gallons which on average, will last about 2 years. These are solid effective ways to increase the pH value in reverse osmosis water. You end up with super clean water, perfectly balanced pH values or alkaline and in some cases, your water becomes an antioxidant.  Remediated R/O water is an excellent, healthy option. 

So this is it, my last in a series of 3 blogs on pH in water, and  that being said, I'm sure I'll writing yet more in response to future queries.  The effect of pH in water and on general health is a big visceral subject that I anticipate revisiting from time to time as new information or as new discussions emerge. I truly hope you found this informative and helpful. If you have any comments, or you’d like to add to this please feel free to leave them here. I promise I will read them and add your thoughts to future blogs.

Yours in health:

Quig. .