You have probably heard a lot of talk about the potential health benefits of alkaline water and that you should be drinking alkaline water on a regular basis. But how do you know if the water that you are drinking from your Brita filter is alkaline?
A Brita water filter does not contain anything that will make drinking water more alkaline. A Brita filter is for reducing odors in your water and improving the taste but water from a Brita filter will have virtually the same alkalinity as it did before going through the Brita Filter.
A Brita filter is great at improving the taste of your drinking water, but if you are looking to drink more water that is alkaline, it will take a little more than a Brita water filter if your water is not already alkaline, to begin with.
How water can become more alkaline and why a Brita water filter will not make your water more alkaline.
Waters alkalinity is not exactly the same as the pH of the water. In order to make drinking water more alkaline, you need to increase its ability to neutralize the acid.
The pH of a sample of water is a measurement of its ability to neutralize additional acids or bases, (its Alkalinity). (Source)
In order to increase the alkalinity of water, you must raise the pH of the water by reducing the amount of acid in the water.
Putting water in contact with acid-reducing mineral-like calcite is a common and very economical way to neutralize the acid that is in the water and therefore raises the pH of the water.
A standard Brita filter contains mostly activated carbon and some water softening resin. Activated carbon does a great job of capturing small particles in water that can produce unpleasant taste or odors in the water, but it has no effect on the acid in the water.
The small amount of water softener resin that is contained in a standard Brita water filter can actually remove minerals like calcium that are in the water and can help neutralize the acid in the water.
Although the effect on water alkalinity by the small amount of water softener resin that is in a Brita water filter does very little to decrease the alkalinity of the water, it certainly does not increase it.
How can I make my Brita water more alkaline?
Probably the easiest way to make your Brita filtered water more alkaline is to put through another filtering pitcher.
An alkalinity water pitcher is a water pitcher that uses a filter that contains minerals that will neutralize the acid in your water to make it more alkaline.
By running your water through an alkalinity pitcher AFTER running it through your Brita water pitcher you will first reduce small particles in the water that can make it taste bad and have unpleasant odors and then the alkalinity water pitcher will neutralize the acid in the water to raise the pH and increase the alkalinity of the water.
You could also simply add a small amount of baking soda to your water to neutralize the acid in it, but the flavor of the water may be unpleasant. I find that adding a nice tasting alkalinity powder does a great job of raising the alkalinity of your water while adding a nice flavor to the water.
If Brita water is not alkaline, is it still healthy to drink?
Absolutely! Water does not have to be alkaline to be healthy.
Although, there may be other impurities in your water that are not considered to be healthy, a Brita water filter will reduce levels of chemicals like chlorine from your water which can make your water much healthier to drink.
And because a Brita water filter can reduce unpleasant odors in your water, you and your family will be more likely to drink more water which we all know is a healthy thing to do.
Is there an easy way to make the water in my home more alkaline?
For high quality filtered water that is also alkaline and available to you and your family at the turn of a handle, a reverse osmosis drinking water system that includes an alkalinity stage will provide you alkaline water that has as much as 98% less dissolved solids in it than your regular tap water.
Your reverse osmosis system will have gallons of healthy alkaline water ready for you 24/7 at a reasonable cost and with minimal maintenance required.
