Is Tap Water OK?

Question

My daughter is 3 1/2 months old. I have been buying the bottled Nursery water for her to mix her formula with. Is it ok to mix her formula with tap water now?

Answer 1

As long as there are no health advisories where you are at, sure. When we moved from CA to the Midwest we used the tap water in what ever hotel room we were in. I've got 4 boys and I never used any special water with them. Used everything from city water to well water.I just made sure the well water was safe to drink, for all of us.

Answer 2

If you are on a public water system, all water must meet the requirements of the Safe Drinking Water Act. Every year, your utility will provide a Consumer Confidence Report that lists every constituent in your water. If you are on a well or private water system, I recommend you have your water tested. If you are on a public water system, your tap water should be perfectly safe. If you or your child do not like the taste, the easiest solution is to use a Brita water filter pitcher. The activated carbon can help the taste of the water. Pour the water from the pitcher.

By the way, unless there is a "boil water" order... there is no reason to boil water from a public water system.

Answer 3

My sons' pediatrician said I could give them tap water from birth if I wanted. We bought bottled water for the first 4 months with my older son, but with my younger son we used tap water from day 1 and he's fine--happy, healthy little guy. :)

The only things to make sure of are a) that you live in an area that has clean water that's safe for drinking; and b) you don't have a well. Well water can contain bacteria and also, there isn't any flouride in it.

Answer 4

How do I ... prepare my baby's formula?

Infant formulas are available in many different forms, including those that are ready to feed, which comes in 32oz cans and requires no preparation. Once opened, ready to feed formula must be refrigerated and used with forty eight hours. Ready to feed formulas are usually the most expensive.

Formula can also be concentrated in 13 oz cans, and require dilution with water on a 1:1 basis (one ounce of water for one ounce of concentrated formula). Powder formulas are prepared by mixing one scoop of formula with two ounces of water. Powder formulas are usually the least expensive. When comparing formula prices, check to see how much formula the can makes, since many cans that look like they are the same size do not make the same amount of formula.

If you live in a city with sanitized water and you are preparing bottles one at a time, then boiling water or sterilizing the bottles and nipples isn't necessary. You may be able to use this water out of the tap and bottles can be washed in hot soapy water or in the dishwasher. If you are not convinced that your water supply is safe or if you are using well water, then you should boil the water for five minutes before preparing formula.

Boiling the water when preparing infant formula was universally recommended and was then thought to be unnessesary. In 1993, an outbreak of cyclosporiasis from contaminated water in Milwaukee prompted officials to again recommend that water be boiled when preparing infant formula. However, the American Academy of Pediatrics does recommend that water that is going to be used for infant formula be boiled. If you don't want to boil the water first, you could use 'sterile' bottled water instead. Bottled water that isn't marked sterile should probably still be boiled.

You should discard any formula in the bottle that is not finished during the feeding.

Your baby may accept formula prepared with cold water, or he may prefer to have the formula warmed. You may warm formula by briefly placing it under hot running water, using a bottle warmer or on the stove. Do not warm formula in the microwave, as it can produce hot spots in the bottle that can burn your baby. And always test warmed formula before feeding it to your baby.

If you are using ready to feed formula or are preparing concentrated or powder formulas with bottled or filtered water, then you may need to give your baby fluoride supplements when he is older. Check with your doctor.

Answer 5

Tap water is better for you than bottled water so I'd imagine the same is true for a baby. Just make sure nothing is wrong with your particular tap water. And if it makes you feel better get a water purifier.

Answer 6

just boil it first

Info from my Doctor:

Tap water should be boiled for babies up to six months of age. After that it can be offered straight from the mains supply. If you wish to use a filter that is your personal choice, but do follow the filter manufacturer's instructions and keep filtered water in the fridge, as the filtering process removes some of the additives, such as chlorine, used to keep tap water fresh.

If you are travelling overseas, bottled water is the better option, as a different tap water could cause a tummy upset and diarrhoea, however safe it is in terms of cleanliness. Avoid those with a high mineral content and opt for still low sodium varieties, often labelled "suitable for infant feeding", such as Evian or Volvic. These should also be boiled when used for young babies, as they are not sterile.

It is worth mentioning that those few people with their own wells in the garden would be advised to get their water supply checked before their baby arrives. Certain private water supplies are high in nitrate levels and not recommended for babies' use. In this situation natural bottled mineral water would be the safer option, boiled and cooled first in babies below six months of age.

Answer 7

No it's not good to use tap water .Continue to use bottle of water b/c it's healthier and it has nutrients in it. AND also tap water comes from the toilet to the ocean ,which mean it still have germs in it . BUt if you ever get out of water and the only choice you have is tap water boil the water first for about 15 min so that all the infections germs ,and diseases will be out.

Answer 8

IF you have city water than its ok, If its safe enough for you to drink than its safe for your baby, I would also check with my doctor to see if there is any easy way to transfer from bottle water to tap. I have always used tap water with my son and he has not had any problems

Answer 9

WC09 is nice. in the journey that your tap water had deadly micro organism in it, the wellbeing branch may close it down swifter than you need to run to the bathroom. i have kept snakes for more beneficial than 40 years, and that i continually use tap water. If the snakes spend quite some time interior the water, you need to enable it set out in one day earlier you position it in, like you do for fish water.

Answer 10

I wouldn't. I always used tap water, but I sterilized it by boiling it first. I wouldn't use it straight out of the faucet. I know some people stop earlier, but I sterilized the water for my daughter's bottles until she was off bottles completely.