pH & testing issues

Hi, I'm having some troubles with pH so I bought a Flairform pH test kit. It's the kind where you add your liquid sample into a plastic vial, then add a drop of pH test solution and calculate pH based on the color of the solution. When I test the pH of tap water it's between pH 7 to 8 (closer to the 8 side though). Playing around with the pH using vinegar I found adding 1ml to 1.5ml of vinegar to 1 liter tap water gave a pH of 6.5 to 6 respectively. Just a few questions before I apply to my medium.

1. Is Flairform a reputed brand in pH testing ? On the bottle it advertises "leaders in hydroponics" and "extremely reliable; accurate".

2. The pH of tap water close to 8 seems a bit high to me, is this normal ? I live in an older house with associated older copper piping in Australia if that has any influence.

3. Is it OK to add vinegar to lower pH ? I have Anchor White Malt Vinegar ( Naturally fermented and aged in oak) at hand.

4. Does adding 1ml of vinegar per liter of water sound about right ? The bottle doesn't mention the acetic acid concentration so no help there.

1. Not that I know of.

2. What's "normal" depends on the area and I've never been to Australia. Slightly alkaline water is considered better for human consumption so it isn't a problem beyond watering the plants.

3. Some people have suggested that there can be negative effects with vinegar but if so, they'd be mild because very little is used. We've always used lemon juice because Vitamin C is essential for plant growth.

4. Again, we don't use vinegar but whatever amount gets you the right pH is correct.

The pH of the soil (in soil grows) is more important than the pH of the liquids you water with but it's a good idea to test both. A soil pH meter or test kit is the only tool a grower really needs.

I used to use the same kind of PH tester, they are about as good as it gets without going electronic, if you get your water out of a well you probably are running around 8 for PH...thats about where mine is. However, assuming that it is 8 it would be a good idea to be testing for EC/TDS (every one should do this) because my water tests at @950ppm which is the cause of the high PH.