How do you find the pH of salt?

Testing pH of coloured fluids?

• If you found the pH of water with fabric dye in it, then to regular water, would the pH still be the same? You see im doing a science project where im dying fabrics, one set with a high pH and one set low. But because i couldnt find regular pH paper anywhere, i purchased a testing kit for determining the pH of fish tank water. (so to use it, you take a sample of the fish water, add 3 drops of the ph solution and see what colour it turns. it comes with a little chart showing what colours are what ph's) But, because the fluid im testing already has dye in it and is pigmented, im confused as to how i determine the pH. Would it even matter? My intention is to add salt to one dye solution and vinegar to another and dye the fabrics, to see if changing variables would change the dyeing results. but even after adding the salt and vinegar, i need to know whether they are at the desired pH and need to knwo how i can test it. Does someone know how i could combat this? Oops, you are right isaac. I meant to put sodium carbonate.. Im conjecturing that would affect the pH. Here, however, i am not looking for an exact pH measure. Just quite relative. According to the small chart accompanying the test kit, the lower the pH, the lighter the colour. I am under an EXTREMELy tight deadline, 2 days to be exact, and have no ime to purchase any auxiliary paraphernalia now. I suppose with the fish kit, if after adding the solution the colour darkens, the pH has risen and if it had lightened it had decreased.. :/ best I can do now i guess

• Answer:

  You've got a problem. Any kit you buy (at a fish store or at a pool maintenance store) will measure pHonly over a very narrow range. Litmus paper has the same problem. What you need is a pH meter with a glass electrode (£!) or multi-range pH paper. If there is a college nearby, possibly the chemistry department would be willing to give you a couple of pieces of test paper. BTW, You may want to explain why you are using salt in a pH experiment. It doesn't change pH the way ammonia water would. Edit: Oops, I saw "colour" and made an assumption. Erase the (£!) and put in ($!) instead.