How accurate are the Alkalive ph strips? Anyone else have a digital ph tester?

I'm really confused because my Alkalive strips show DH's ph to be about 8.5 and it doesn't seem to want to budge below that (even with cranberry and Crystal Light).  The universal strips are harder to read but they look like about 8.5 as well.... the thing is, my digital ph tester shows his ph at 7.58.  Which do you think is more accurate?  I don't want to pump him full of even more cranberry if his ph is already low enough!

I'm not sure aboutthe accuracy question, but i would be interested in knowing where you got your digital pH tester. My dh and I both think the strips as so subjective.

I have 2 digital ph meters. One you have to have a bigger sample the other can be much smaller. I like them better than the strips by far. The one that can use a smaller sample is a Hanna HI 99104.

Can they be found in stores or online? Expensive?

I got mine online. The better one was 33.oo I think. I haven't seen them myself in stores yet.

can you test cm, dh sample and urine-all 3?  are there any other items you need to purchase with it, cleaner, how do you clean it?  can you post a link where you bought it?

You can test all 3. It is made to fit in a test tube. So you can test the dh sample even after you mix the lime or vinegar. I didn't have to purchase any cleaner with it. I just wash the testing part in cold water when I am finished and wipe it off with a wash cloth. You can find it on ebay, I didn't know that when I bought mine. They are cheaper there. But I googled it and you can get them here too if you want.  http://store.eseasongear.com/hahipophtehi.html It says they are on sale right now for 28.00 figures. I paid more. But that's ok I really like mine. Hope that helps.

how do you test cm with it i usually don't have a large sample of that :) 

If you don't get a good sample you could just put the tip inside. I know that sounds gross but it is a very accurate way of testing. Depending on the day I can usualy get enough to test outside. I just try to cover the little lite balb. If it isn't enough the numbers keep changing. It stops when it has an accurate reading. Hope that helps.

My tester is the Hanna HI98103 Pocket-Sized ph meter.  It's got a long wand with a little bulb at the end as well. 

Twins5boysinall, thanks for the tip about putting it inside to test cm!  That's a great idea.  I've been putting some on the bulb as well but it doesn't work unless I have enough to cover it because it's up a little bit from the end of the wand. 

Anyway, do you think they're pretty accurate?  I use the calibrating liquid (4 ph and 7 ph) and it seems to be accurate with that, so I tend to think that it would be accurate with my DH's sample too.... but then why do the Alkalive strips show a different number????? 

how do you use the calib liq?

Wow this is really interesting info and it could be the answer as to why I pump dh full of cranberry and crystal light and his ph dosen't seem to change. If you are getting the wrong reading from the universal strips then mabey I am also and mabey thats why TBM hasn't been working for us because all along I have been getting the ph to low.

It's definatly somthing to think about. Thank you for the link to the digital tester I am seriously thinking of getting one now.

Well, I just tested milk and then egg white, and they both seemed to be around the same ph on the Alkalive strips and the digital tester, but some of the boxes on the strips are so close in colour that it's hard to tell exactly what the number is.  There's a definite difference between 7.5 and 8.5 or 9 though, so I really don't know what to think about DH's sample.  How can the digital one say 7.5 and the strips say 8.5?  It's so frustrating! 

When I tested the egg white it was 9 on the meter and looked like 9 on the strips as well... so I'm thinking that if something was wrong with the meter and it was reading incorrectly with the higher ph liquids, then it would show lower with the egg white as well (like it does with DH's sample)... but it didn't, so maybe it's a fluke that DH's sample seems to be two different numbers???  I guess I'll just go with the digital number.  Maybe his ph isn't going down any lower with the strips because it just won't go lower than 7.5! 

(And yes, 3boyzmom, I was wondering about the TBM thing as well, and whether to use the strips or the digital meter... if the strips are off and you're getting your splime lower than 4 or 4.5, then maybe that's why you're not getting pregnant!)  It's all so confusing!

Oh, and you have to buy the calibration liquid when you buy the tester.  You just dip the tester in each liquid separately, and then use a tiny screwdriver to adjust the number to the proper ph.  (Instructions are included!)  You do it with the ph 4 liquid and the ph 7 liquid, and that's that!  Easy as pie!

twins5boysinall:

I didn't have to purchase any cleaner with it. I just wash the testing part in cold water when I am finished and wipe it off with a wash cloth.

 On this site it sais to clean it and store the tester with special solution. Do you do that with yours?

TY 

No I don't. The site I got mine from didn't say anything about it. I just clean it with water from the sink and wipe it dry. It seems to work for me.