Costco Shopper Buys a Bottle of Alkaline Water and Tests It With pH Strips: 'When You Open It...'

Drinking water is the sole ingredient potent enough to do what all the oceans of the world can’t do even when combined together: quench a person’s thirst. However, it isn’t always enough to appease one’s thirst, knowing how different types of drinking water can program the body in different ways. Sparkling water, for instance, induces feelings of fullness, whereas fruit-infused water promotes both hydration and nutrition. Each bottle of drinking water, therefore, comes with a unique prescription. Costco’s Kirkland Signature Alkaline Water claims to neutralize stomach acid with a pH higher than that of neutral water.

The product description on its website reads that this ionized alkaline water comes with a “pH of 9.5+ at the time of bottling.” However, one woman felt daunted when she tested a bottle of Costco’s alkaline water, only to find that the pH was rather 6, not 9.5. In a TikTok video that has been viewed over 12,000 times, @vianht05 shared her disappointment after reading the “fine print” on the bottle and wondering, “Is Costco lying?” “My boyfriend and I consistently get this water from Costco that claims to be 9.5 pH, and it's alkaline water,” the woman said in the video while flashing a bottle of Costco’s alkaline water on the camera. 

She shared that since she and her boyfriend had been using a lot of bottles, they decided to bring home a water purifier to minimize plastic waste. The screen displayed a Bluevua water purifier with a blue UV light panel and a glass carafe. "I decided to go out and buy some test strips. And then I came home, tested the pH balance of the filtered water, the Costco water, and our wonderful tap water," she said. The camera panned above a countertop stocked with three glasses of water, each topped with a pH test strip. The three glasses contained three different types of water. Pointing at the Costco water glass, the woman revealed a shocking discovery.

“And what I ended up finding out is that for the Costco water, the pH was actually at 6.0, and the total alkalinity was at zero,” the woman revealed. She reflected that this pH discrepancy could be one reason why the company mentioned the phrase “at the time of bottling” in the printed disclaimer. “Shocker,” she exclaimed. “Something about when you open it, it’s no longer at the same pH and it’s all alkaline water, not just Costco, it’s pretty much a gimmick,” @prprado7 commented on the video. @sunshine.949 attributed the lower pH to the fact that the bottle was made of plastic, “I’ve heard once you put pH water in plastic it cancels out the pH.”

Typically, commercially produced drinkable alkaline water is sourced from springs and is already rich in minerals like calcium and magnesium, given that it traveled through trails of rocks, explains Naturopress, a cold-pressed juice company. This spring water is passed through a machine called an “ionizer,” which separates the alkaline and acidic molecules in the process of electrolysis. The alkaline water resulting from this is touted for several health benefits, given that its pH remains consistent. But sadly, it doesn’t always. Tesla Healthy Life explains that bottled water’s pH can vary depending on the material of the bottle and the tightness of the seal. In this woman’s case, Costco's colorful plastic bottle sadly failed to comply with the claimed pH.

But this woman is not the only person who noticed this discrepancy. On the product page of this bottled alkaline water, one customer review reads that they, too, tested the pH level and found it to be 7.6, contrary to 9.5. “I bought this product a month ago. The water is supposed to have an alkalinity level of 9. I tested it, and it's basically tap water. The alkalinity level is 7.6. What a ripoff. Not happy,” they wrote. Not that a pH of 6 or 7 would harm the body, but it might not benefit the body the way typical alkaline water should. 

You can follow @vianht05 on TikTok for lifestyle content.