Re: pH of water

Sandy King (sanking@hubcap.clemson.edu)
Wed, 9 Oct 1996 23:29:18 -0400

>At 04:39 AM 961010 +1000, Sam wrote:
>
>>The *hydrochloric acid* bath will heighten the blues if your water is
>>alkaline, like ours. We have found that the blue gets quite faded after
>>a half hour wash in our tap water. No wonder - I think the ph meter
>>read 3.5! (Don't remember exactly, except it was VERY alkaline)
>

Sil Horwitz wrote:

>A pH of 3.5 is VERY acidic. (7 is neutral, 10 is max alkaline.) I would
>suspect your tap water is about a pH of somewhere between 7.5 to 9. Anything
>higher than that, and your skin would know it!
>

I have checked the pH of the water at my residence many times, both
withsmall pH tape and with a digital pH meter. It always reads between 4.0
and 5.5, without any damage to my skin (or so I believe). Sam and I have
different water suppliers but the source is the same, i.e., the Appalachian
mountains, so I was not surprised that he reported a reading of 3.5, though
my readings have never been quite that high (low?).

Sandy King