A Gentler Alternative
Water cremation — the most natural process available.
Water cremation uses gentle chemistry instead of flame. It’s the same natural process that occurs when a body returns to the earth, simply accelerated — and it returns approximately 20 to 30 percent more of your companion to you than flame-based cremation.
What It Is
The same chemistry as nature, simply accelerated.
Water cremation — formally called alkaline hydrolysis — uses water, gentle alkalinity, and time to return a body to its natural elements. There is no flame, no smoke — no combustion at all.
It is the same process that happens naturally when a body returns to the earth over time. Water cremation accelerates that process in a closed, dignified, sterile environment — and returns more of your companion to your family at the end.
The cremated remains returned to your family are lighter in color and finer in texture than flame cremated remains — but in every other way, they are exactly what your family expects. Safe to handle. Safe to keep, scatter, or memorialize as your family chooses.
You may see this process called other things. Water cremation, alkaline hydrolysis, aquamation, and flameless cremation all describe the same thing. We say water cremation, because that is what it is.
How It Works
Nothing about this has to be a mystery.
On a hard day, not knowing carries its own weight. So here is exactly what happens, in the order it happens — because nothing about your companion’s care should have to be a mystery.
Your companion comes into our care
Your companion is received, identified, and tagged with a numbered identifier that stays with them from that moment until they are back in your hands. Nothing about this step is particular to water cremation — it is the same careful, tracked intake every family gets.
A gentle bath, not a fire
Your companion is placed in a clean stainless steel vessel, which is filled with water and a small amount of alkalinity — the same family of minerals found in soap and in soil. There is no flame anywhere in this process. Nothing is ever burned.
Warmth and time do the work
The vessel is gently warmed and the solution moves slowly around your companion. What happens inside is hydrolysis — water quietly separating soft tissue back into its simplest natural building blocks. It is the same thing that happens when a body returns to the earth, held to a timeline that lets your family have closure.
What remains is bone
At the end of the cycle what is left is your companion's bone mineral — soft, porous, and pure white. It is rinsed, dried, and then processed to a fine, even powder, exactly as it would be after a flame cremation. Any surgical pins, plates, or implants come through intact, and can be returned to you if you'd like to keep them.
Home again
Your companion's cremated remains are placed in the urn or keepsake your family chose, and brought home. The water used along the way is neutralized and returned to the water cycle through the municipal system — the same way it began.
Why It Matters
A more natural goodbye.
No flame, no smoke, no emissions
Water cremation is a fully enclosed process. There is no combustion, so there is no smoke and nothing released into the air from burning.
More of your companion returns to you
Water cremation returns approximately 20 to 30 percent more cremated remains than flame-based cremation — meaning more of your companion comes home.
Quieter, gentler, more dignified
The process is silent. There is no roar of a flame, no shaking of a chamber — just slow, natural chemistry doing what it would do in nature.
Closer to the earth
Water cremation mirrors the way bodies have always returned to the earth. We’ve simply built a way to do it with dignity and on a timeline that lets your family have closure.
Water and Flame
How the two processes compare.
Flame cremation is a dignified choice, and it is the one most families in this country have made for their companions. If it is what your family chose before, you chose well. What follows is simply what is different between the two, so your family can decide what feels right this time.
What drives it
Water cremationWater, gentle alkalinity, and warmth
Flame cremationDirect flame, typically fueled by natural gas
What it sounds like
Water cremationSilent — no roar, no chamber noise
Flame cremationThe sustained sound of a burner
Into the air
Water cremationNothing is burned, so there is no smoke and no combustion emissions
Flame cremationCombustion gases and particulate, managed by stack equipment
What comes back to you
Water cremationApproximately 20 to 30 percent more cremated remains than flame cremation
Flame cremationThe amount families have received for decades
How the remains look
Water cremationPure white, fine, and even in texture
Flame cremationGrey to off-white, slightly coarser
Implants and hardware
Water cremationRecovered intact, undamaged, and returnable to your family
Flame cremationRecovered, but heat-affected
Safe to hold, keep, or scatter
Water cremationYes
Flame cremationYes
| Aspect | Water cremation | Flame cremation |
|---|---|---|
| What drives it | Water, gentle alkalinity, and warmth | Direct flame, typically fueled by natural gas |
| What it sounds like | Silent — no roar, no chamber noise | The sustained sound of a burner |
| Into the air | Nothing is burned, so there is no smoke and no combustion emissions | Combustion gases and particulate, managed by stack equipment |
| What comes back to you | Approximately 20 to 30 percent more cremated remains than flame cremation | The amount families have received for decades |
| How the remains look | Pure white, fine, and even in texture | Grey to off-white, slightly coarser |
| Implants and hardware | Recovered intact, undamaged, and returnable to your family | Recovered, but heat-affected |
| Safe to hold, keep, or scatter | Yes | Yes |
Questions Families Ask
Ask us anything. Really.
- Is water cremation really cremation?
- Yes. Water cremation reduces a body to its bone mineral and returns cremated remains to the family, exactly as flame cremation does. What differs is what does the reducing — gentle chemistry and warmth rather than fire. North Carolina law recognizes the process alongside flame cremation, under the name alkaline hydrolysis.
- Why haven't I heard of water cremation before?
- The chemistry was first patented in 1888, but the equipment to carry it out with dignity is recent. Water cremation has been used in veterinary aftercare for years and is only now becoming widely available to families. Most people meet it the way you are — at the moment they need it.
- Will the cremated remains look different?
- Slightly. Water cremated remains are pure white and finer in texture, because nothing was burned and no carbon discoloration occurs. In every way that matters they are the same: the same bone mineral, safe to handle, and suitable for any urn, keepsake, or scattering your family chooses.
- How much more of my companion comes home?
- Water cremation returns approximately 20 to 30 percent more cremated remains than flame cremation — the range reported by the Cremation Association of North America and the American Animal Hospital Association. Because there is no combustion, bone mineral that flame carries away is instead preserved and returned to your family.
- Are chemicals used, and is what comes back safe?
- The solution is overwhelmingly water, with a small amount of alkalinity — the same family of minerals found in soap and in soil. Nothing harmful is left at the end. Your companion's cremated remains are completely safe to handle, keep, scatter, or bury.
- What happens to the water afterward?
- The remaining solution holds no tissue and no DNA — only water, natural salts, sugars, and the simple building blocks of protein. It is neutralized and returned to the water cycle through the municipal wastewater system.
- Can my companion be water cremated if they had surgery or implants?
- Yes. Because there is no flame, orthopedic pins, plates, screws, and other implants present no hazard at all. They come through the process intact, and we can return them to your family if you would like to keep them.
- Is water cremation available for an Individual Cremation?
- Yes. Water cremation is the process Companah uses for every companion in our care, whether your family chooses Individual Cremation, Communal Cremation, or Memorials Only. It is not an upgrade or an add-on — it is simply how we do this.
- Does water cremation cost more?
- No. Companah prices by the service your family chooses and by your companion's weight, not by the process. Because water cremation is what we use for every companion, there is no separate charge for it.
More questions about pricing, timing, and what to expect are answered on our FAQ page, and the services we offer are laid out on our services page.
Talk through what water cremation means for your family.
We’re happy to answer any question — and to walk you through the process step by step.