Bottled Water Test
Bottled Water Test
Hello readers! Today, April 29th, 2017, I have done an experiment on various different waters purchased from the store, water from the tap, as well as water that has been treated using a One Water Systems machine.
Here we have:
- Arrowhead
- Smart Water
- Nestle Pure Life
- Dasani
- Fiji
- Core Hydration
- Aquafina
- Evian
- Life Wtr
- Voss
- One Water Systems
- Tap Water
I will be putting the water through 4 different tests. There will be a pH Test, Chlorine Test, Hardness Test, and Taste Test. There will not be any bias going into these tests and will just have the information presented as I have gathered it.
First up let’s breakdown exactly what is in each of these waters by reading what is listed on the side of the bottle.
- Arrowhead: Southern Pacific Spring, Riverside County, CA; Arrowhead Springs, San Bernardino County, CA; Long Point Ranch, Running Springs, CA; Palomar Mountain Granite Springs, Palomar, CA; Deer Canyon Springs, San Bernardino County, CA; and/or Coyote Springs, Inyo County, CA
- Smart Water: Vapor distilled water, Calcium Chloride, Magnesium Chloride, Potassium Bicarbonate, Electrolytes for taste.
- Nestle Pure Life: Deep protected well, San Bernardino County, CA; Deep protected well, Riverside County, CA; Public water supply, Sacramento, CA. Reverse Osmosis, distilled process. Calcium Chloride, Sodium Bicarbonate, Magnesium Sulfate
- Dasani: Reverse Osmosis; Magnesium Sulfate, Potassium Chloride, Salt.
- Fiji: Yaqara, Vita Levu, Fiji Islands
- Core Hydration: Reverse Osmosis Water; Calcium Chloride, Magnesium Chloride, Potassium Bicarbonate
- Aquafina: Reverse Osmosis
- Evian: Cachat Sping, France
- Life Wtr: Reverse Osmosis; Magnesium Sulfate, Potassium Bicarbonate
- Voss: Voss Source, Norway
- One Water Systems: Tap water from Carlsbad, CA filtered through a One Water Systems machine.
- Tap Water: Tap water taken from an unfiltered tap in Carlsbad, CA
OVERVIEW
The majority of the bottled water are taken from regular tap water and put through a process called reverse osmosis, which eliminates all minerals in the water itself, then they try to make up for it by putting in minerals after the fact. Another thing that I noticed is not every company puts in the same minerals leaving me to believe they think they know best about what minerals we need and don’t need when it comes to our water. Some glaring things about these bottles I noticed are as follows: Dasani adds salt to their water. Why would anyone add more salt to drinking water? Aquafina doesn’t add anything to their water after the reverse osmosis filtration leaving it mineral-less. Arrowhead uses “and/or” making me wonder if they just have a factory of water the is all mixed together from the different sources.
pH Test
The first test we will be conducting is a pH test. This will be a test that tells us whether the water is acidic, neutral or alkaline. A pH test measures the activity of hydrogen ions in the water. The more activity, the more likely there are minerals in the water.
For this test I will be using Phenol Red, a solution which will change the water from a yellow, meaning acidic, up to a red, meaning alkaline. 5 drops of this will be placed into a cup of each water. Then that solution will be compared to our pH chart.
Arrowhead
Arrowhead shows about a 7.5 on the pH scale making this water alkaline.
Smart Water
Smart Water shows about a 6.8 on the pH scale making this water acidic.
Nestle Pure Life
Nestle Pure Life shows less than a 6.8 on the pH scale making this water acidic.
Dasani
Dasani shows less than a 6.8 on the pH scale making this water acidic.
Fiji
Fiji shows about a 7.2 on the pH scale making this water alkaline.
Core Hydration
Core Hydration shows between 6.8 and 7.2 on the pH scale making this water just about neutral.
Aquafina
Aquafina shows less than a 6.8 on the pH scale making this water acidic.
Evian
Evian shows about a 7.2 on the pH scale making this water alkaline.
Life Wtr
Life Wtr shows about a 6.8 on the pH scale making this water acidic.
Voss
Voss shows less than a 6.8 on the pH scale making this water acidic.
One Water Systems
One Water Systems shows about a 7.5 on the pH scale making this water alkaline.
Tap Water
Tap Water shows about a 7.8 on the pH scale making this water alkaline.
OVERVIEW
This test showed a lot of things that I wasn’t aware of. Most of the water that you can purchase in stores are very low on the pH scale. They are at a point of being acidic, meaning there are little to no minerals in the water. Some things that stood out to me were as follows: Voss was surprisingly acidic and Fiji was alkaline, both of which are artesian water that is bottled at the source. Aquafina came in with the lowest pH levels because it has no minerals in it; meanwhile Tap Water came in with the highest pH levels, usually because of the calcification that occurs in the pipes. Life Wtr states that is pH balanced, however it was lower than neutral on the pH scale making this acidic. The healthiest water based on this pH test are One Water Systems, Arrowhead, Fiji, and Evian. The lowest pH levels based on this test are Aquafina, Dasani, Voss, Smart Water, and Nestle Pure Life.
Chlorine Test
For this test I used OTO Chlorine Test Solution. I have inserted 5 drops into a cup of each different water.
OVERVIEW
Thankfully none of the drinking water that we can purchase has chlorine in it. Tap Water is the only water that showed a reading for chlorine during this test. The reason for the chlorine in the water is because the state needs it from growing bacteria as it moves to each city. This is not good to consume.
Hardness Test
For this test I will be using a TDS meter made by HM Digital. TDS stands for Total Dissolved Solids. This test will allow us to see just how many minerals are in each of the different water. The number that you see will be in PPM (Parts Per Million).
Arrowhead has a TDS level of 213.
Smart Water has a TDS level of 20.
Nestle Pure Life has a TDS level of 53.
Dasani has a TDS level of 28.
Fiji has a TDS level of 132.
Core Hydration has a TDS level of 63.
Aquafina has a TDS level of 2.
Evian has a TDS level of 247.
Life Wtr has a TDS level of 29.
Voss has a TDS level of 27.
One Water Systems has a TDS level of 214.
Tap Water has a TDS level of 293.
OVERVIEW
After conducting the hardness test it became apparent that most of the water, same as the pH test that showed them being acidic, almost had no activity. Again meaning there isn’t a lot of minerals. Here are some of the things I noticed: Aquafina had the lowest TDS reading being at 2; there are no minerals in this water at all. Besides Voss, the water that came from natural sources, Arrowhead, Fiji, Evian, One Water Systems, all had a solid number reading that implied there was indeed minerals inside them. Tap Water came in with the highest reading which came as no surprise based on the understanding about all the things that are in basic tap water before any kind of filtration.
Taste Test
For this experiment to work, because water is almost tasteless, I used Ritz Crackers as a pallet cleanser before drinking each of the different water. Each water is at room temperature when tasting. All opinions are based solely on what I believe it tasted like. Feel free to do this experiment yourself.
Arrowhead: Rich with minerals, solid tasting
Smart Water: Plain, almost flat
Nestle Pure Life: Flat, distinguished difference, bad tasting
Dasani: Dead, flat, bland
Fiji: Alive, fresh
Core Hydration: A little flat, bland
Aquafina: Flat, plain, no life
Evian: Fresh, clean
Life Wtr: Bad, flat, distinguished after taste
Voss: Refreshing, clean, smooth, plain
One Water Systems: Fresh, minerals
Tap Water: Bad, definite taste of chlorine, hard water (do not recommend)
OVERVIEW
Going into this test I assumed that all the water would most likely taste the same; I was very wrong. After going from one water to the next the difference is clearly there. Now I know people will still have their preference of water that they prefer but I suggest that everyone try this experiment and learn just exactly how different the waters taste from each other. Some key things that I would like to point out: Tap Water is definitely not recommended by any means to be consumed on a regular basis. Voss was the only one out of the low pH and TDS that I actually thought was refreshing. Arrowhead and One Water Systems tasted pretty similar to each other. Many of these waters are not usually consumed at room temperature, which is why I believe people don’t notice the difference of taste.
SUMMARY
Overall this experiment was eye opening. Most of the water that can be purchased in stores have almost no mineral content in them, they are acidic, and personally do not taste good. As we have learned from The World Health Organization, demineralized water is not good for your body. Through every test the end result seemed to be the same; low pH -> low TDS -> bad taste. Why do companies feel like leaving minerals out of water is a good idea? The minerals that are found in water are a basic need for the human body to have. If I had to rank the best water to the worst they would be placed as follows:
- Fiji
- Evian
- One Water Systems
- Arrowhead
- Voss
- Core Hydration
- Smart Water
- Nestle Pure Life
- Life Wtr
- Dasani
- Aquafina
- Tap Water
I hope you all enjoyed reading about this experiment as much as I enjoyed doing it. Like any other food, read the labels on the side of water. The information may surprise you. If you want to save money on bottled water the choice is simple: One Water Systems. Great tasting water from every faucet in the house. Call us today so we can get you started living a healthier life with healthier water.
All pictures and data are owned by One Water Systems
