ph of distilled water

[fishboybug]

ok guys, got my milwaukee digital ph meter today and started playing with it. the first thing i tested was the distilled water that i mix with my tea. i have read on here several times that the ph of distilled water is 7.0. my water read at 5.6. i then tested my pen in the 7.01 solution that they sent and it was a little off. i calibrated the meter to 7.01 and tested the water again. it came back again at 5.7. is it normal to have distilled water with different ph levels? am i a moron for assuming that the water should have been 7.0?

 

[HippyInEngland]

Hello Fishboy

Pure water has pH 7, so still, freshly distilled water should have a pH of 7.0. However, interaction with the atmosphere allows carbon dioxide to dissolve into it, forming carbonic acid. As a result, agitating the water or allowing it to sit for a while will leave you with an aqueous solution that drifts down in pH. Because there are no natural buffers in distilled water, the pH can go down as low as 5.0.

Once your PH meter is set to the 7.01 you can trust it to give you an accurate reading.

eace:

 

[fishboybug]

Hello Fishboy



Once your PH meter is set to the 7.01 you can trust it to give you an accurate reading.

eace:

thanks hippy, then i guess distilled water can have a variable pH.

 

[Alistair]

I think that under ideal conditions the pH of distilled water is 7.0. But in reality, I've noticed that it's never precisely 7.0. Plus, as soon as H2O and CO2 from the air mix, they react to form carbonic acid in the water, thereby lowering the pH.

 

[4u2sm0ke]

thanks hippy, then i guess distilled water can have a variable pH.

yes it can....Allways check the water..they will very from 6.5 -7.4 I used this when i started and since found a RO water station that sells water in 5 gallon jugs...its PH is at 6.8 which works great for me..and is half the cost..and i no longer need to carry in 20 gallon jugs of Disstilled from food store..Lol.hope this helps..take care and be safe

 

[fishboybug]

yes it can....Allways check the water..they will very from 6.5 -7.4 I used this when i started and since found a RO water station that sells water in 5 gallon jugs...its PH is at 6.8 which works great for me..and is half the cost..and i no longer need to carry in 20 gallon jugs of Disstilled from food store..Lol.hope this helps..take care and be safe

thanks 4u2sm0ke, found ro water at the local fish store for $.60 a gal