How to Make Soda Water at Home: Safe and Effective Methods

Many people like to drink soda. The most popular substance with which water is saturated is carbon dioxide. Less commonly, it is a mixture of it with nitrogen or oxygen.

It is worth noting that in addition to its organoleptic qualities, carbon dioxide acts as a preservative.

There are two types of gas saturation of water:

Mechanical - when carbon dioxide is fed from a cylinder into pre-cooled water. This is how the usual supermarket water is produced.
Chemical method - chemical reagents are added to such water, which, when interacting, release carbon dioxide. This is how soda is made.

On an industrial scale, water is carbonated using special devices - saturators - that are connected to a gas cylinder. Before gassing water with carbon dioxide, it must be cooled, as its solubility increases with decreasing water temperature.

How to make soda at home?

After studying a large number of methods described on the Internet, we will tell you how to make soda at home.

There are two real, effective and safe ways to make mineral water at home:

Using a household saturator. In this method, you need to prepare drinking water, fill the bottle of the saturator, pump the device, wait for a weak carbonation, add flavors and you can enjoy the sparkling water.
Making soda. Brew tea or herbal infusion, cool to room temperature. In a saucepan, mix the infusion, sugar, lemon juice, add baking soda, mix, distribute into bottles, close and leave warm. Once cooled, the soda is ready to drink.
Provide a tightly closed oxygen-free container, prepare the yeast solution, add it to the water to release carbon dioxide. Securely close the container, allow time for carbonation, and then carefully open it, relieving excess pressure.

Today there are special small saturators called siphons. They are used both at home and in bars.

How does a siphon or water saturator work?

The device is a set of:

the siphon itself, which evenly releases carbon dioxide into the water;
replaceable small-volume carbon dioxide cans;
a metal, plastic or glass water container.The algorithm of use is very simple.

Water is poured into the carbonation container, and the saturator is screwed onto it. Then the safety valve at the top of the siphon is unscrewed. In its place, a gas bottle is carefully threaded so that the needle located inside the siphon properly pierces the bottle. After that, the gas will begin to flow into the water, you need to wait a little. To pour water, you need to press the button or hold the lever.

With the help of such a device, you can prepare various drinks at home, such as tarragon, mojito or other sweet water.

If you are a big water lover or like to gather large companies, you can purchase a large carbon dioxide cylinder and a special saturator for it.

How to make soda at home?

Carbon dioxide is produced by the reaction of carbonates with acids. The most common ingredients you can find at home are baking soda (NaHCO3) and citric acid, or fresh lemon juice. To make baking soda, you need to use one teaspoon of baking soda and citric acid (you can replace it with the juice of 1 lemon), 6 tablespoons of sugar, and 1 liter of clean, cold water. Stir the mixture and cover with water. Add ice and mint if desired. Here we have explained how to make soda water.

Drink such water quickly, as coarse bubbles tend to disappear very quickly.

Harmful tips

Sparkling water at home is a great field for the creativity of young experimenters, so let's talk about it. The most popular method of making soda without a siphon is with two bottles, a straw, baking soda, and vinegar.

Why we don't recommend this method.

Vinegar has an unpleasant acrid odor, and when pouring and pouring, you will definitely get a lot of discomfort and vinegar smell in your nose for the next day. And since acetic acid is a highly volatile substance, the beverage you produce has a high chance of having a "pleasant vinegar smell."
To ensure the tightness of the bottles at the connection point, you need to use at least a fum-tape, otherwise you will be carbonating the air (mainly vinegar vapors); Our favorite moment is to "shake", if the ratio of soda and carbon dioxide is sufficient to carbonate water, at this point, most likely, the tube will fly out and the bottle will be blown out, and in the worst case, it will burst and pour water over you.
If it doesn't douse you with water right away, it will most likely do so when you unscrew the bottle.
And lastly, if your "installation" hasn't been ruptured, the level of carbonation of the water will not even reach 5 grams per liter, which usually does not provide the usual "carbonated" effect.

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