I’ve spent many hours over the past month testing the new AlkaStream Non-Electric water ionizer filter to see how it compares to other water ionizers. I am not going to tell you that the AlkaStream is as good as other water ionizers. No, hands down, when it comes to water ionizers, there is no comparison…

Electric water ionizers are much better.

But, the AlkaStream, which is a non-electric water ionizer. It’s basically a good filter. It’s made in Hong Kong under the direction of Austrailian researcher, Ian Blair. It debuted in the US in November, of 2010. The AlkaStream does a pretty good job actually ionizing, even though its main function is filtration. What it does is purify and soften the water with ion-transfer technology and a variety of filtration media. It claims to reduce the hardness and total dissolved solids [TDS] of the source water, then remineralizes the water [to re-establish the correct levels of calcium and magnesium].

The AlkaStream can be Customized for Variations in Source Water [Hard or Soft Water] Filtration

Finally, the water flows through bioceramics and magnets to lightly ionize the newly purified water.

The Alkastream comes with a diverter to hook it directly to your faucet. It requires monthly maintenance [scrubbing the ceramic filter with fine sandpaper (provided)] and filter changing about once every 6 months to a year. Here’s a demo video. Please note that the first batch of AlkaStreams had a leaking problem. That has now been fixed:

I’ve seen ads stating that the AlkaStream was the “Ultimate Antioxidant Water Filter”. Is this true?

No. It’s not the ultimate, but when compared to water filters, yes, it’s pretty good. It is small, easy to use, attractive, and does a pretty good job of effective purification of the water. What I like best is that it then adds alkalizing and ionizing to the mix. So, if you’re comparing this to Britta, Culligan, or other filtration, yes, it is far better than that. However when compared to electric water ionizers. You can see in my testing videos and charts, below, that the AlkaStream produces about 1/3 the pH and ORP of the electric water ionizers being tested [Melody, Athena, and Enagic SD 501 water ionizers].

The AlkaStream Non-Electric Water Ionizer is cheaper [at first] than electric water ionizers, but it is not designed to last as long as the electric water ionizers I sell. The warranty is for 2 years, and it is designed to last the length of a prefilter housing [which is about 8 years] vs. the typical electric water ionizer I sell is warranted for your lifetime and are known to last 20-30 years. Filter replacements are likely to be more frequent with the AlkaStream [than with regular, electric water ionizers], because they are removing dissolved solids from the water. And, they are fairly expensive to make [because the AlkaStream is basically a filter housing with a filter in it — the filter is the main thing]. Also, the AlkaStream will only go so far in helping you alkalize and anti-oxidize your body. It performs at the range of the first, introductory, levels of electric water ionizers. This is great for you at first, but after a while I’m guessing you will want to invest in a regular, electric water ionizer to be able to achieve the maximum benefits of the full range of pH [low acid to high alkaline] and ORP [maximum ORP (antioxidant) per unit of pH]. In my own personal experience, the medical savings alone have paid for my water ionizers many-fold over the years. Just as a single example, I went from at least one ear/nose/throat infection per year prior to age 40 to NONE in the 18 years I’ve been drinking ionized water. That’s just me. I have similar examples for the rest of my family and extended family, who have all benefited from that one ionizer I bought 18 years ago.

So, the AlkaStream water ionizer is not, in the long run, cheaper than regular, electric water ionizers.

I don’t recommend the AlkaStream for everyone, but I do think it has a place in the water filtration line-up.

Who is the AlkaStream going to help the most?

Obviously, it is cheaper, so it will benefit anyone who is willing to pay the $399. for good water, but not willing to do the initial investment of over $1,000 for better water. Some ionization [along with good filtration] is a great start.  Then after a year or so, the person could of course give the AlkaStream to a family member or friend [or sell it] if they want to upgrade to a regular water ionizer.

But the population I see the AlkaStream as helping most, and the real niche I see for the AlkaStream, is the person whose doctor says they can’t drink high pH water.  There are people who have liver disease or other conditions which specifically prohibit the drinking of liquids over the pH of 8.5. For these people, they will get the benefits of ionization [in particular, low negative ORP — for the antioxidant value] and only slightly raise the pH of their source water. Perhaps in doing this, they can drink more water and gently nurse their bodies back to a more normal state eventually. Actually, in St. Louis, the AlkaStream doesn’t raise the pH of my source water very much…it stays about the same, but the ORP goes from a positive 300 to a negative 150 or so.

Here’s an actual example. My mother-in-law has only ever been able to drink ionized water at the “purified water” level or Level 1 [8.5] of a regular water ionizer. For some reason she ends up with diarhea if she drinks water that is higher than our St. Louis 9.4 pH source water. In St. Louis, this is a challenge usually [to get ionized water without raising our already high pH]. But with the AlkaStream I was able to get her -175 ORP ionized water [by reducing total dissolved solids then adding back only the healthy, needed minerals] without raising the pH at all. Her body is responding well to this water so far.

Testing and Results:

The following videos and charts show my testing and comparing of the AlkaStream. I compared it with the Jupiter Melody, Jupiter Athena and Enagic SD 501 water ionizers set at level 3 [or Kangen water 9.5].

Note: There are 6 other videos located on YouTube related to this series of tests. Go to my YouTube channel and search “Alkastream”.

Part of my purpose with this series of water ionizer tests was to compare how well the ionized water stored.

I had heard stories that the AlkaStream would do better. Actually they all four did about equal to each other and because I used better storage methods than ever before, they all did quite well in maintaining the pH and ORP over time. I have one more video to do, which is after about a month of storage, so look back for those results to be added to this post in about the beginning of February.

You might notice that the pH actually didn’t change much at all with the storage over hours or days, while the ORP dropped. That’s because -ORP is directly related to -H [negatively charged Hydrogen] in the ionized water [which gives it the quality of being the simplest, most basic, antioxidant in the world. Hydrogen is of course a very light gas and will find its way to escape even the most “sealed” locations. I suppose if it were vaccume packed it might not escape [but even then, I’m not sure]. This series of tests has pretty good results for the storage of ionized water [for all four water ionizers]. The reason is the fact that I used glass jars with rubber-sealed lids, screwed them on tightly, and didn’t open them until it was time to test them.