What is the best pH for drinking water?

November 1, 2025 •

4 min read

While pure water has a neutral pH of 7, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommends a safe drinking water range of 6.5 to 8.5. Understanding what is the best pH for drinking water is important because water's acidity or alkalinity can affect its taste, your health, and even your plumbing.

Quick Summary

The ideal pH for drinking water is typically within the EPA-recommended range of 6.5 to 8.5. Water outside this range can have aesthetic issues like taste and odor, and also cause corrosion or scaling in pipes. Slightly alkaline water is popular, but research on major health claims is inconclusive, and neutral or slightly alkaline water is generally safe for daily consumption. It's crucial to address overall water purity rather than focusing solely on pH.

Key Points

EPA Recommended Range: The safe and ideal pH for drinking water is between 6.5 and 8.5, a range that prevents corrosion and ensures good taste.
Body Regulates Its Own pH: Your body's internal pH is tightly controlled by organs like the kidneys and lungs, so drinking water has a minimal effect on your blood's pH balance.
Risks of Low pH: Acidic water (below 6.5) can leach toxic heavy metals like lead and copper from pipes, damage tooth enamel, and cause a metallic taste.
Alkaline Water Controversy: While alkaline water (pH > 7) is popular, claims of superior health benefits lack strong scientific evidence, and consuming it excessively could disrupt stomach acidity.
Natural vs. Artificial: Naturally alkaline water is mineral-rich, while artificially processed water (using electrolysis or additives) may lack the same mineral balance.
How to Test pH: You can test your water's pH at home using simple test strips, a digital meter, or through a professional laboratory for a more comprehensive analysis.
Focus on Purity: The most important factor for water quality is overall purity and the absence of contaminants, which can be achieved with proper filtration.
Adjusting pH: Filters containing calcite or limestone can naturally raise the pH of acidic water, while some modern RO systems include remineralization cartridges to balance pH.

Understanding the pH Scale for Drinking Water

The pH scale is a logarithmic measurement that determines how acidic or alkaline a substance is, ranging from 0 to 14. A value of 7 is considered neutral, with anything below 7 being acidic and anything above 7 being alkaline (or basic). When it comes to drinking water, the EPA sets a secondary standard for public water supplies, recommending they maintain a pH between 6.5 and 8.5. This range ensures water is aesthetically pleasing and prevents infrastructure damage. Outside this range, water can have a bitter or metallic taste (low pH) or a slippery feel and soda-like taste (high pH).

The Body's pH and Drinking Water

Your body's internal systems, particularly the kidneys and lungs, tightly regulate your blood's pH within a narrow range of 7.35 to 7.45. This process, known as homeostasis, ensures that drastic changes from the water you drink do not disrupt your body's critical functions. For this reason, for most healthy individuals, the pH of their drinking water has a minimal impact on their overall body pH. However, consuming excessively acidic water may put extra strain on the body's natural buffering systems over time. The primary health concern with imbalanced water pH is often indirect, related to contaminants that acidic water can leach from plumbing.

Risks of Acidic (Low pH) Drinking Water

Drinking water with a low pH (below 6.5) is not necessarily toxic on its own, but it can present significant risks related to corrosion.

Heavy Metal Contamination: Acidic water is corrosive and can leach harmful metals like lead, copper, zinc, and manganese from household plumbing into your drinking water. This heavy metal exposure is the most dangerous consequence of low pH.
Dental Erosion: Long-term consumption of acidic water can wear away tooth enamel, increasing the risk of cavities and decay.
Digestive Issues: Some individuals report stomach troubles like acid reflux and heartburn from drinking acidic water.
Aesthetic Problems: Low pH water can have a metallic or sour taste and cause blue-green or reddish-brown stains on fixtures and laundry.

Considerations for Alkaline (High pH) Drinking Water

Alkaline water, typically with a pH between 8 and 9, has become a popular trend. Proponents claim benefits such as improved hydration, balanced body pH, and detoxification, though these claims are largely unsubstantiated by robust scientific evidence.

Natural vs. Artificial: Naturally alkaline water gets its higher pH from minerals like calcium and magnesium picked up from underground sources. Artificially alkaline water uses processes like electrolysis or adds minerals, but may lack the same natural balance.
Side Effects: Excessive intake of high pH water could theoretically disrupt normal stomach acidity needed for digestion. In rare cases, especially with high pH levels over 9.8, it can lead to hyperkalemia (high blood potassium).
Aesthetic Issues: Water with a pH above 8.5 can have an unpleasant, bitter taste and cause scale build-up in pipes and appliances.

Finding the Best pH for Your Drinking Water

Ultimately, the best approach is to ensure your water is within the safe, palatable, and non-corrosive range recommended by the EPA. The ideal pH for drinking water is less about hitting a specific number and more about ensuring overall quality and safety. You can adjust your water's pH if necessary, but focusing on overall purity is the most beneficial strategy.

Here is a comparison of water types based on their typical pH levels:


Water Type	Typical pH Range	Key Characteristics
Tap Water	Varies, typically 6.5–8.5	Varies by source; regulated for safety but pH can shift.
Pure Water (H₂O)	7.0 (Neutral)	Chemically pure, but rarely consumed in its isolated form.
Common Bottled Water	6.5–7.5	Often close to neutral, filtered but mineral content varies.
Bottled Alkaline Water	8.0–9.0	Higher pH from added minerals or electrolysis; claims of benefits lack strong evidence.
Distilled/RO Water	5.0–7.0	Slightly acidic due to removal of minerals; safe but lacks flavor.

How to Test and Adjust Your Water's pH

If you are concerned about your water's pH, testing it is a straightforward process. Kits are widely available and can provide accurate readings.

Test Strips: A simple, inexpensive way to get a quick reading by dipping a paper strip into a water sample and matching the color to a chart.
Digital pH Meter: Provides a more precise digital reading for more accurate measurement.
Professional Test: For a comprehensive analysis, including heavy metals, a professional water test is the best option.

If your test reveals your water is outside the desired 6.5–8.5 range, you have options for adjustment. For acidic water, an acid-neutralizing filter can be installed on your main water line to raise the pH by passing water over a mineral bed, typically calcite. For overly alkaline water, professionals can install an acid-injection system, though this is less common. A simpler, temporary fix for drinking water is adding small amounts of baking soda to increase pH or lemon juice to decrease it. However, installing a filter is the most effective and consistent method for long-term use.

Conclusion

The best pH for drinking water is not a specific number, but a healthy balance within the recommended EPA range of 6.5 to 8.5. While alkaline water is safe in moderation, and some smaller studies show potential benefits like improved hydration after exercise or relief from acid reflux, the more significant health concerns stem from water that is too acidic. Low pH water can corrode pipes, leading to heavy metal contamination, dental erosion, and aesthetic issues. The body is highly efficient at regulating its own pH, making overall water purity, rather than extreme alkalinity, the primary health priority. For those concerned, testing water and using appropriate filtration systems to achieve a balanced pH is the most practical and evidence-based approach to ensure safe and healthy hydration. For more detailed information on water regulations, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency website is a valuable resource.

Frequently Asked Questions

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommends that municipal water supplies maintain a pH between 6.5 and 8.5, considering it an aesthetic quality related to taste, odor, and corrosion control.

Neutral water is perfectly healthy for daily consumption and is the benchmark for pure water. Your body effectively manages its own pH, so pure, clean water is the top priority for hydration.

The primary danger of low pH water is that its corrosive nature can leach harmful heavy metals, like lead and copper, from pipes into the water supply. Prolonged exposure to these metals can lead to serious health issues.

No, there is not enough scientific evidence to support claims that alkaline water can cure diseases or significantly alter your body's tightly regulated blood pH. Your body has natural buffering systems that maintain this balance.

You can test your water's pH using inexpensive test strips from a hardware store or a more precise digital pH meter. For a certified test, you can send a water sample to a lab.

While generally considered safe, drinking excessive amounts of alkaline water can, in rare cases, cause mineral imbalances or interfere with normal stomach acidity. Some artificially processed alkaline waters may also lack essential minerals.

Low pH water can have a metallic or sour taste and stain fixtures blue-green or reddish-brown. High pH water can have a bitter or soda-like taste and cause scaly deposits on pipes and appliances.