Many of us are concerned about whether the water we drink is alkaline, neutral or acidic. Especially since some brands of water are actually as acidic as some brands of caffeinated soda. In fact, many brands of bottled water are actually acidic enough to be unhealthy if consumed every day.
The most common reasons for water to be naturally acidic is because of the rocks that the water travels through underground. This is also why most acidic waters are either mineral or spring water.
Based on self-reporting and academic research, this article covers the brands of bottled water that are acidic, and provides everything you need to know about each one.
Acid Versus Alkali
Every watery substance has a pH value between zero and 14, with zero being completely acidic (like battery acid), seven being neutral (like pure water), and 14 being completely alkaline (like drain cleaner).
Chemically speaking, pH stands for potential of hydrogen. Acidic water has many hydrogen and few oxygen ions, balanced water has two hydrogen and one oxygen ions (H2O), and alkaline water has few hydrogen but many oxygen ions.
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So, water becomes acidic when substances that are mixed with it add hydrogen to it or remove oxygen from it. Such substances include the following:
- Heavy metals in rocks and soil like lead and arsenic
- Some metals from rocks and soil that serve as essential minerals in our bodies like iron, copper, phosphorus, and zinc.
- Carbonate salts and gases from rocks, which is why carbonated water tends to be acidic.
- Microbes from soil, tree roots, and decomposing plants.
- Industrial and mining chemicals.
- Agricultural chemicals.
- Carbon dioxide and other products of fossil fuel combustion.
That is why it is not uncommon for bottled water that are extracted from natural settings like springs and mineral-rich rocks to be acidic.
Health Concerns Related to Acidic Water
There are several concerns around drinking acidic water (or anything acidic for that matter):
- It can erode the enamel on your teeth that protects them from decay.
- It can damage the linings of the gastrointestinal system and blood vessels, damage that is irreversible below pH level 2.5.
- It leads to a faster decrease in bone mineral density than alkaline water does.
- If it contains metals, it can lead to metal toxicity that have lots of effects like diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, bloat, stomach pain, skin irritation and redness, weakness, neurological impairment, organ damage, and brittle bones.
11 Brands of Bottled Water that are Acidic
Most of us drink Coca-Cola and coffee with pH scores of 2.24 and 4.8 every day with serious long-term health consequences
So how does bottled water stack up?
The United States Environmental Protection Agency recommends that public water sources maintain a pH between 6.5 and 8.5. We shall follow their lead and label bottled water below 6.5 as acidic, even though there are studies that show that anything below 6.7 can erode the root dentin in our teeth.
Some of these brands contain affiliate links to Amazon or Walmart. If you choose to purchase through these links, we may receive a small monetary compensation.
1. Dasani Purified Water – pH 4.71-5.73
Dasani Purified Water is made by Coca-Cola and is one of the most popular brands of bottled water on the market. Medical researchers have found it to have a fairly strongly acidic pH of between 4.71 and 5.73, which is concerning when considering that it is so widely available and so regularly consumed.
The manufacturer first obtains the water from public water sources after which it purifies it with reverse osmosis, carbon filtering, and ultraviolet light. It finally adds minerals like magnesium sulfate, potassium chloride, and salt to the water for taste.
Interestingly, the eventual pH is lower than the pH of the public water with which they begin the process, since almost no municipal water in the United States has a pH below 6.5.
2. Deer Park 100% Natural Spring Water – pH 4.89
With no artificial colors or flavors, no sweeteners, no calories, and Recyclable bottles, Nestle Waters’ Deer Park brand does a lot right. But this excludes pH, which academics have tested at 4.89. In this way, Dasani and Deer Park are just as acidic as coffee.
Unlike Dasani, Deer Park is derived from natural springs in Florida, South Carolina, and across the eastern seaboard. The company cleans the water of potentially harmful impurities, but leaves the mineral content of the natural springs in place. This is most likely what is responsible for the acidity of the water, as mentioned above.
3. Ozarka Natural Spring Water – pH 5.16
Obtained from springs across east Texas, the company self-reports its water to have a pH of 5.4-7.1. When academics tested it, it yielded a score of 5.16. Since it is derived from several different Springs, this variation in results is expected.
Once again, because the water filters naturally through rock and soil, it picks up lots of metals and minerals along the way that are responsible for its acidity.
The company states that it applies reverse osmosis to clean the water of impurities, after which it returns the minerals to the water.
As a result of this process, Ozarka makes clean, natural, mineral-rich water that is nevertheless acidic.
4. Aquafina – pH 5.63
Produced by PepsiCo, Aquafina water has a pH of 5.63.
The water is obtained from public water sources and then purified through reverse osmosis, carbon filtration, and ultraviolet light. According to the company, the pores in their reverse osmosis membranes are small enough to catch everything from sodium and chloride to potentially beneficial minerals like calcium and potassium.
As a result, they claim that the water is pure without any minerals, bacteria, pharmaceuticals, or other Total Dissolved Solids.
As such, in theory at least, their water should have a pH close to seven. But since academics have tested it at 5.63, the process obviously does not work quite as well as advertised, since this is again lower than the municipal water from which they originally obtain it.
5. Voss – pH 5.9-5.2
Voss makes still and sparkling water, the former with a pH of 5.9 and the latter with a pH of 5.2. As stated earlier, sparkling water usually has a lower pH because of the carbonate salts and gases it contains.
Voss is artesian water, meaning that it is obtained from an aquifer that is surrounded by impermeable rocks or clay that keep the water inside at high pressure. As such, its natural mineral content makes some acidity inevitable.
It is also precisely these characteristics that lead many people to enjoy the taste, not just of Voss, but of all natural ground or spring water. The Norwegian-derived Voss is so popular that 50 countries, including the United States, drink it.
6. Perrier Carbonated Mineral Water – pH 5.9
Perrier Carbonated Mineral Water is made by Nestle Waters with zero calories, zero sweeteners, and a self-reported acidic pH value of roughly 5.9. The water and carbon dioxide gas are originally obtained separately from springs in France, after which impurities are removed from the gas and the two substances are bottled together. Since it is carbonated, its acidity is unsurprising.
Together with the original unflavored version, it also comes in l’orange, lime, peach, pink grapefruit, and strawberry to liven up your fruit cocktails and increase your intake of acidic substances for the day. Perrier is almost synonymous with sparkling water in the United States, so the chance that the acidity will put off its loyal consumers is small.
7. Nestlé Pure Life – pH 6.24
For Pure Life purified bottled water, manufacturer Nestlé reports a pH of 6.4-7.8, but academics have found it to be 6.24.
This is another case of municipal water being purified, this time through a 12-step purification process, and then bottled. The company also adds some minerals afterwards to give the water its characteristic taste, and possibly its acidity, since the pH again seems to be lowered during the process.
Since bottled water contributes billions of dollars to the economy, there is little apatite to regulate it properly. The above-mentioned study conducted by the Environmental Working Group found 38 chemicals in 10 brands, while all the water they tested actually managed to meet federal health standards.
8. Sam’s Choice Purified Water – pH 5.98
Named after Walmart’s founder, Sam Walton, and sold at Walmart and sometimes at Amazon, Sam’s Choice is a typical purified water obtained from a municipal source, purified through reverse osmosis, and then re-mineralized for taste. The pH of 5.98 probably stems from the magnesium sulfate, potassium bicarbonate, potassium chloride, and possibly other mineral salts that they add to the purified water.
In fact, since the Washington-based Environmental Working Group found it to have chemicals that have been associated with cancer at three times the legal limit, it is probably worth skipping.
9. Kroger Purified Water – pH 5.38
As the most profitable supermarket in the United States, Kroger makes its own bottled water, in the form of another purified version that is obtained from municipal water and in which the pH is lowered to 5.38 during the purification process.
Since Kroger’s chief business is not exactly bottled water, details of the purification process and ingredients are scarce, but it does deserve a mention here because it is so common in its more than 2,730 stores across the whole country.
10. Great Value Purified Water – pH 6.04
Obtained from Wells in Santa Ana in California and then purified through reverse osmosis, this is another budget bottled water brand that is ubiquitous at all Walmart stores. With a scientifically tested pH of 6.04, it is no less acidic than its fellow Walmart brand, Sam’s Choice and, as such, it is no less unhealthy.
One major objection to bottled water has always been that it is basically tap water, but this survey proves that it is even worse than tap water, especially the cheaper “purified” brands that purify on a small budget.
11. Rite Aid Crystal Lake Spring Water, screw cap – pH 5.63
The third largest drugstore chain in the United States, Rite Aid, makes two versions of their Crystal Lake Spring Water, one that comes in a plastic bottle with a screw cap and the other that comes in a squirt bottle. Oddly, when scientists tested several samples of both, they found an average pH of 5.63 in the screw cap samples and 7.65 in the squirt bottle samples.
This case is interesting, as it proves two things: firstly, that water packaging and storage can affect the pH of the water and, secondly, once again that the pH of different water from the same brand can vary wildly because of being extracted from different springs.
Conclusion
This survey proves that some of the most popular and most widely available brands of bottled water are acidic, either because they are obtained from natural springs or aquifers, or because they are purified from tap water with no concern for purity or acidity. If your favorite brand is not on the list, you can buy pH testing kits from Verify that have high ratings on Amazon and settle the issue so you can decide whether it is safe.