Measuring your water’s PH level lets you know whether your water is acidic or alkaline.
Knowing your water PH level helps you know the contaminants in your water and what precautionary measures you will take.
The PH tests are reported on a scale of 0-14 with 7.0 considered neutral, anything below 7 considered acidic, and anything above 7 considered neutral.
How to test water PH at home
- How to test water PH with a PH test meter
- How to test water’s PH with strips
- How to test water PH with an indicator drop
- How to test water PH without a kit
The water PH is tested using the following kits
- PH test meter
- PH test strip
- Indicator drops
1: How to measure the PH of water using a digital PH meter
Learn step-by-step how to measure the pH of the water using a PH meter.
- Make sure the digital PH meter is clean.
- Put the water you want to test in a container.
- Let the water sit for a moment for the temperature to stabilize.
- After some time, use a thermometer to take the temperature of the water in the container.
- Adjust the test meter to match the sample temperature.
- Put the tester meter probe in the water and wait for the results.
Best digital PH meter
| Name | Image | Specification | Available at | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Koolamo Digital PH Meter |  | Measure Range: 0.00 - 14.00 pH, Resolution: 0.01 pH, Accuracy : ± 0.01 pH Automatic Temperature Compensation: 0°C - 50°C (32°F - 122°F), Automatic Calibration Button, Power Supply: Batteries: 2X 1.5V LR44 (included) | Amazon |
| 2 | Penta beauty PH Meter |  | Measure Range: 0.00 - 14.00 pH, Resolution: 0.1 pH, Accuracy : 0.01 pH, Automatic Temperature Compensation: 0°C - 80°C (32°F - 176°F), Automatic Calibration Button, Power Supply: Batteries: 2X 1.5V LR44 (included) | Amazon |
| 3 | Dr.meter Pocket Size pH Meter |  | Measure Range: 0.00 - 14.00 pH, Resolution: 0.01 pH, Accuracy: 0.01 pH, Automatic Temperature Compensation, Three Points Automatic Calibration Button, Power Supply: Batteries: 4 LR44 batteries (included) | Amazon |
| 4 | KETOTEK Digital PH Meter |  | Measure Range: 0.00 - 16.00 pH, Resolution: 0.01 pH, Accuracy: 0.01 pH, Automatic Temperature Compensation, Automatic Calibration Button, Power Supply: 2*1.5V (LR44 Button cell) (Included) | Amazon |
| 5 | WeekStar Digital Pocket Size PH Meter |  | Measure Range: 0.00 - 14.00 pH, Resolution: 0.01 pH, Accuracy: 0.01 pH, Automatic Temperature Compensation-0°C - 80°C (32°F - 176°F), Automatic Calibration Button, Power Supply: Batteries: 2X 1. 5V LR44 (included | Amazon |
| 6 | Poit Digital PH Meter Tester Kit |  | Measure Range: 0.00 - 14.00 pH, Resolution: 0.01 pH, Accuracy: 0.05 pH, Automatic Temperature Compensation, Automatic Calibration Button, Power Supply: 2*1.5V (LR44 Button cell) (Included) | Amazon |
| 7 | Apera Instruments AI209 Value Series PH20 Waterproof pH Tester Kit |  | Measure Range: 0.00 - 14.00 pH, Resolution: - pH, Accuracy: 0.1 pH, Automatic Temperature Compensation: 0°C - 50°C (32°F - 122°F)1-3 Points Automatic Calibration Button, Power Supply: Batteries: AAA (Up to 2000 hours' continuous operation) | Amazon Walmart |
| 8 | Bluelab PENPH pH Pen Fully Waterproof Pocket Tester |  | Measure Range: 0.00 - 14.00 pH, Resolution: 0.1 pH, Accuracy: 0.1 pH, Automatic Temperature Compensation, Two Points Automatic Calibration Button, Power Supply: Batteries: AAA | Amazon Amazon |
| 9 | LIUMY Water Quality Tester 2 in 1 Set, PH & TDS Water Tester |  | Measure Range: 0.00 - 14.00 pH, Resolution: 0.01 pH, Accuracy: 0.01 pH, Automatic Temperature Compensation, Automatic Calibration Button, Power Supply: 2*1.5V (LR44 Button cell) (Included) | Amazon |
| 10 | Water Quality Test Meter Pancellent TDS PH EC Temperature 4 in 1 Kit |  | Measure Range: 0.00 - 14.00 pH, Resolution: 0.01 pH, Accuracy: 0.01 pH, Automatic Temperature Compensation-0°C - 60°C (32°F - 140°F), Automatic Calibration Button, Power Supply: 2*1.5V (LR44 Button cell) (Included) | Amazon Amazon |
| 11 | VIVOSUN pH and TDS Meter Combo |  | Measure Range: 0.00 - 14.00 pH, Resolution: 0.01 pH, Accuracy: ± 0.05 pH, Automatic Temperature Compensation: 0 - 60 ℃ / 32 - 140 ℉, Three Points Automatic Calibration Button, Power Supply: 2 x 1.5V LR44 Button Battery (keep using more than 500 hours) | Amazon |
2: How to test water PH with strips
Testing water PH with strips is done using PH paper and not litmus paper.
Both PH and litmus measure water acid and base, but PH paper will tell you the exact value while litmus paper will indicate whether water is acidic or base.
The water PH paper comes with a chart that will help match the color of your strip. The chart has numbers ranging from 0 to 14.
Litmus paper comes in red and blue color. Red litmus paper turns blue if the water is alkaline and blue litmus paper turns red if the water is acidic. In case the litmus paper color did not change then your water is neutral.
Procedure
- Collect your sample water and put it in a clean container.
- Dip the test strip in water.
- In just a minute, the color on the paper will change.
- If you are using PH paper it has indicator bars that will change after dipping in water. Match the color of your PH paper against a color chart to determine the numerical value on the pH scale.
In case you are using litmus paper come in red and blue color.
So if the red litmus paper changes to blue then your water is alkaline and if blue turns red the water is acidic
Pure water without contaminants has a PH level of 7 which is considered neutral. A PH level lower than 7 is considered acidic, and above 7 is alkaline.
- Store the PH test strip in a dry place.
- Make sure you check the expiration date before using it.
- Discard the used test strip; it cannot be used again.
Best PH test strips
3: How to test water PH with indicator drop
- Put the small amount of water you are testing in a container.
- Add a few drops of indicator to the water.
- The watercolor will change.
- Match the water color change against a color chart to approximate the numeric value on the PH scale.
Best PH indicator drop
4: How to test water PH without a kit
If you don’t have a PH testing kit you can simply locally available items.
You need items such as
- Vegetable or fruit
- Distilled water
Before we start the procedure, you can experiment using different fruits and vegetables like apples, red rose petals, red onion, blueberries, purple cabbage, and more.
For this explanation, I am using purple cabbage.
- Cut the cabbage into pieces.
- Boil two cups of water.
- Add boiled water to the cabbage.
- Stir using a wooden spoon.
- Leave the mixture for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, the distilled water color will change.
- Strain the liquid into a container.
- The liquid is now the PH indicator solution.
- Put a small amount of water you want to test in a container.
- Add a few drops of the liquid (a mixture of cabbage and distilled water) into the water you are testing.
- Watercolors will change.
- Match the color of your water against the color chart.
- In this case, we do not have any kit, so if the water turns red or pink, it means your water is acidic. If it turns purple, it means your water is neutral, and if it turns blue-greenish or yellow, it means your water is alkaline.
Please let us know in the comment section below how you test your water PH at home.
