How to Correct Low pH in Drinking Water

The potential of hydrogen in your drinking water is known as its pH. pH is a measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a solution. It is measured on a scale of 0-14 with numbers under 7 indicating an acidic solution and numbers over 7 indicating an alkaline solution. The Environmental Protection Agency doesn't control or regulate the acidity levels of public drinking water, but the agency does recommend pH levels of 6.5 to 8.5 for drinking water. Low pH levels may occur naturally because of geography and may become more acidic because of acid rain, reports the University of Massachusetts. Low pH levels can cause blue-green staining in copper plumbing, red staining in pipes made of iron and trigger plumbing leaks and other problems with corrosion, such as the leaching of heavy metals into your drinking water supply.

Things You'll Need

• pH Test
• Water hardness test
• Neutralizing filter, soda ash or chemical feed pump
• Ion-exchange treatment

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Instructions

• 1

  Have your water tested.

  Get your water tested: You'll need to know the pH level of your water in order to determine how best to treat it. Pre-treat water that is very acidic before other methods of correction will work. If your drinking water has a very low pH, magnesium oxide should be included to pre-treat the water. Contact your local health department to find a certified laboratory to test the pH. Request testing for heavy metals if your water has a very low pH.

• 2

  Calcium carbonate neutralizes acidity.

  Get a neutralizing filter that uses calcite or calcium carbonate to correct low pH levels. Maintain and replace such filters regularly in order to keep them working well.

• 3

  It's difficult to create lather or suds using hard water.

  Get your water tested for hardness, which is a measure of calcium and/or magnesium in your drinking water that may be added by your filter. Treat hard water to make the creation of lather or suds for washing less difficult. Add a cartridge filter to remove these minerals if the calcium levels exceed 120 milligrams per liter or if the magnesium level is more than 180 milligrams per liter. Use an ion-exchange treatment or water softener to correct mineral levels in drinking water.

• 4

  Soda ash can increase sodium levels in your water.

  Install a chemical feed pump to add soda ash to your drinking water if you have a large amount of water to treat, and use it if you'd also like to disinfect the water or treat it for high levels of iron with hypochlorite bleach.