Santevia Alkaline Water Pitcher Review

The Santevia Water Pitcher is a part of the Mina Slim collection. It’s designed to have a sleek body, be easy to use, and produce great tasting alkaline water.

But does this pitcher really provide the high-quality water you’ve been thirsting for?

Let’s dive into our complete Satevia alkaline water pitcher review and see if we can splash some light onto today’s featured product.

Quick Specs

• Pitcher Capacity: 72 ounces
• Filling Tank Capacity: ~48 ounces
• Filter Speed: 11 oz / minute
• Dimensions: 11″ x 11″ x 4.7”
• Weight: 3 pounds
• Treats 80 gallons of water per filter (or roughly 1250 glasses)
• Filter replacement LED indicator

Pros

• Produces alkaline water, which can be beneficial to you health
• Sizable water tank capacity

Cons

• A little on the more expensive side compared to other alkaline water pitcher

The Design

The design of the Santevia water pitcher is relatively simple and looks similar to most other water pitchers on the market, like PUR or Brita.

RELATED: Check out our comparison review of Pur vs. Brita for more water filter options.

It has a clear basin at the bottom made of Tritan plastic with white or black inserts for the filter, lid, and handle.

The Pitcher

• Filling Method: To fill the pitcher, you can remove the entire top lid and pour the tap water directly in or you can remove the filling cap and add water through a smaller hole in the top.
• Water Capacity: The pre-filter tank can hold about 6 cups of water (48 oz.) and the base of the pitcher can hold around 9 cups of water.

The Filter

The filter itself has a simple “push to fit” install into the top of the pitcher. When it’s time to replace the filter, you can twist the top off, empty the contents of the filter into the garbage, and recycle the cartridge.

This gives this filter a little bit of an “eco-friendly” edge compared to other disposable filters from competitive brands.

Size & Dimensions

The Santevia water pitcher is a part of the Mina Slim lineup. This pitcher is 11” wide, 4.7” deep and 11” tall. It is pretty narrow and easily fits in the side door compartment of most refrigerators.

• Width: 11”
• Depth: 4.7”
• Height: 11”

How does the Santevia pitcher filter water?

The Santevia water pitcher prides itself on producing pure, alkaline water from traditional tap water.

Water enters the pitcher through the top filling section of the pitcher and travels into the filter.

The filter itself is made up of a 6-stage filtration containing the following processes:

1. Multi-stage mesh filter
2. Ion-exchange resin
3. Granulated activated carbon
4. Chlorine reduction balls
5. Oxidation reduction potential balls
6. Natural Minerals

Is alkaline water better for you?

This really is a much bigger question than we can answer here.

Main stream medicine seems to be on the fence on whether or not drinking alkaline water is better than than regular water. The Mayo Clinic believes that more research and studies are needed.

Proponents of alkaline water believe there are a number of benefits to drinking alkaline water (see below).

What do alkaline water proponents say?

Acidic water can be used for washing your face, eliminating bacteria, or can relieve dry and itchy skin, but it’s not great to drink and can cause metal ions (like iron, manganese, copper, and lead) to leech into your water.

PH neutral water represents a typical tap water. It lacks many of the beneficial qualities of aklaline water, but it also lacks the harmful properties of acidic water.

Alkaline water has the highest PH level and is the best for your body when ingested. In fact, many brands of bottled water advertise their product specifically as alkaline water and it is almost always going to be more a little pricier, as a nod to it’s alleged health benefit and overall value to consumers.

How is alkaline water determined?

How alkaline a sample of water is is determined by where it falls on the PH scale.

There are essentially three main camps that all water conditions fall:

• Acidic water
• PH Neutral water
• Alkaline water

RELATED: Alkaline bottled water includes brands like LIFEWATR, Essentia, and Evamor to name a few.

There are many alleged benefits of alkaline water. Many people argue that alkaline water is as “nature intended” it to be.

Some of the best benefits of true alkaline water include:

• Helping to burn fat
• Boosting energy with electrolytes
• Helping to reduce acid reflux

Alkaline Water Tests

So we know that alkaline water is allegedly good for you. But how effective is the Santevia pitcher at providing truly alkaline water?

To find out for sure, we put it to the test.

Here is how we tested:

1. We first followed Santevia’s setup instructions for the filter and pitcher
2. We filtered a pitcher of water
3. We used pH testing strips to measure the water on the pH scale

The results?

We ran 4 total tests using a fresh pitcher of water for each test. Here’s what we saw:

As a reference point, we also tested our tap water source, which was a 7.0 pH.

I was a little surprised by these results, as they seem to indicate that the filter wasn’t always creating more alkaline water.

It’s unclear to me why test #1 was an 8.0 pH, putting it on the alkaline scale, but tests #2-4 were effectively neutral.

It’s possible that our testing strips are not properly measuring the pH. It’s also possible that our filter may be defective.

More in-depth testing will be needed to make a more definitive summary.

April 11, 2019 Testing Updates

After out initial review, Santevia requested a re-test and sent us their more advanced testing kit. We agreed to these re-tests.

Here’s what we learned summed up:

• Our local water here in Phoenix, Arizona is incredibly hard.
• Our local water is around a pH of 7.5-8.0.
• Harder water is more difficult to make more alkaline due to the quantity of dissolved solids already in the water.
• If you have hard water you may want use a water softening or other method of purification, as the Santevia pitcher alone may not be sufficient.

Test #1

For this test we filtered the water and left it in the bottom of the pitcher for 24 hours. Santevia informed us that water should be in the bottom of the pitcher for at least 30 minutes to absorb the minerals that make it alkaline.

So that’s what we did.

Our results from this test showed that the water was about the same pH as our unfiltered tap water.

Test #2

For this test, we only let the water sit for about 30 minutes at the bottom of the pitcher.

Our results from this test showed that the water was a lower pH compared to our unfiltered tap water.

Test #3

Lastly, for this test we used water from a water softening system. We also allowed the water to sit at the bottom of the pitcher for 24 hours.

Our results from this test showed that the water was about the same pH as our unfiltered tap water.

What contaminants does the filter remove?

The manufacturer states that the Santevia filter removes:

• 99% chlorine
• 99% lead

It’s unclear if the Santevia removes other contaminants.

The Taste Test

In addition to the filter creating more alkaline water, it also acts as a traditional water.

Removing chlorine, lead, and other contaminents, while adding calcium and magnesium aim to help improve the taste.

But does it really improve taste?

For our taste test we used 4 different waters and put them through a double blind taste test.

The waters we tested:

1. Santevia filtered water
2. PUR filtered water
3. Refrigerator filtered water
4. Tap water (unfiltered)

We taste tested each water and then rated it on a 1-5 scale.

Here are the taste test results:

The Santevia was definitely the best tasting water among the 4 we tested. Granted, it also has a brand new filtered (compared to much older and used filters in the fridge and PUR).

Never-the-less, the Santevia’s water tested great.

Should you Buy the Santevia Water Pitcher?

Overall, the Santevia water pitcher is a solid pitcher and good filter.

It removes Chlorine and lead, while adding magnesium and calcium, all of which give it a great taste.

As far as alkalinity goes, our tests were unfortunately inconclusive.

I would recommend the Santevia water pitcher for people looking for the following in a water pitcher:

• Want great tasting water: In our taste test the Santevia was top rated against 3 other water sources, scoring a 4 out of 5. Alkaline or not, the water tastes great.
• Want a pitcher with a filter replacement indicator: The Santevia has an LED light that illuminates the current status of the filter so you know exactly when it’s time to replace. On average, the filter should treat about 1250 glasses of water (or 80 gallons)
• Want a recyclable filter: If environmental impact is a top priority for your water filter, the Santevia water filter can have the contents emptied, allowing you to safety recycle the plastic filter cartridge.

Want more information? Check out the Santevia water pitcher on Amazon.