Water QualityThe Vincent Scale: which conductivity is healthy — and how to test your water in 30 seconds
The Vincent Scale is a scientifically recognised benchmark for drinking water quality. A healthy conductivity lies between 10 and 90 µS — with a simple conductivity meter, anyone can measure water quality themselves. Typical German tap water is far outside this ideal range.
📌 Key facts
- The Vincent Scale classifies drinking water by its conductivity in microsiemens (µS).
- Healthy conductivity: 10–90 µS — the lower, the purer and more absorbable.
- German tap water typically measures 480–1,000+ µS — far outside the ideal range.
- A conductivity meter (from approx. €20) lets you test your water in under a minute.
📖 Four terms briefly explained
1. A question almost nobody asks
If you ask someone today: "What do you know about the quality of your drinking water?", most answers fall into one of three categories: "It's just tap water — it'll be fine", "I drink mineral water — that's certainly better", or "Our water is so hard the kettle is full of limescale after three weeks."
What most people lack is a simple measure to truly assess water quality. "Chemically within limits" only means: the legal thresholds are met. It does not mean: this water keeps your body performing. That is exactly where the Vincent Scale comes in.
2. What is the Vincent Scale?
The Vincent Scale is a classification of drinking water quality by conductivity in microsiemens (µS). It goes back to French water researcher Prof. Louis-Claude Vincent (1906–1988), who was active at the Sorbonne University in Paris. On behalf of the French government, he led the largest water study in the world at that time between 1950 and 1974 — with over 400,000 participants.
What Vincent found: The regions with the highest disease burden systematically had worse water values. The water values of the population correlated directly with health statistics — a finding that forms the basis of Vincent research.
3. The seven levels — which conductivity is healthy?
| Level | Conductivity (µS) | Rating | Effect on the body |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0–90 µS | ✓ Ideal | Strongly detoxifying, decongesting, optimal for the body |
| 2 | 90–130 µS | ✓ Very good | Very good detoxifying effect |
| 3 | 130–200 µS | ~ Acceptable | Still acceptable, effect diminishing |
| 4 | 200–300 µS | ⚠ Borderline | Detoxifying effect diminishing |
| 5 | 300–500 µS | ✗ Burdening | Begins to burden the body |
| 6 | 500–1,000 µS | ✗✗ Heavily burdening | Heavily burdening, promotes deposits |
| 7 | over 1,000 µS | ✗✗✗ Critical | Severely damaging, acute health risk |
4. Comparison of common waters
| Water | Conductivity | pH | Redox | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trink Dich Fit station | 10–50 µS | ✅ 6.4–6.9 | ✅ optimal | ⭐⭐⭐ |
| Plose / Lauretana / Voss | 20–80 µS | ✅ ~6.5 | ⚠️ varies | ⭐⭐ |
| Reverse osmosis (home) | 5–30 µS | ⚠️ not optimal | ❌ not measured | ⭐ |
| German tap water | 480–1,000+ µS | ❌ 7–8 | ❌ oxidising | ❌ |
Important: Reverse osmosis and steam distillation only address conductivity. pH value and redox potential remain unaffected. The Trink Dich Fit water station is based on EIGW measurements, optimises all three Vincent parameters simultaneously.
5. The self-test — check your water in 30 seconds
Order a conductivity meter (approx. €20–50) and measure:
🚰
Your tap water
Hold the meter in the running tap. Note the value.
💧
Ideal water
Compare with Plose, Lauretana or a Trink Dich Fit station. The difference will surprise you.
6. Frequently asked questions
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