What You Need to Know About Babies and Softened Water

Softened water is not entirely safe for mixing babies’ feeds unless you are sure of sodium concentration in the water. The recommended amount of sodium in soft water is anything less than 200mg/l. However, it is not always easy to tell sodium concentration unless you monitored the softening process yourself.

That notwithstanding, soft water is still the preferred option for all your baby’s needs. You can use it to clean your baby and wash your baby’s stuff, among other many uses. 

Soft Water or Hard Water for Your Baby? 

If you have had a toddler or two, you already understand how demanding they can become. Having a toddler around is likened to having a 24-hours job since you have to keep an eye on them every minute.

Even when they are asleep, you will be busy tending to their clothes and cleaning off food and poop stains from them. 

With all the workload, you can’t afford to use hard water, which will end up making your washing work even harder. Besides, it will make your washing a difficult task and make the clothes dull and hard. 

Soft water ensures a smooth and quick washing experience, and it leaves both your hands and clothes soft. So, why risk all these while you can have a water softener installed for you? You can buy a water softener in Missoula and get it installed.  

Soft and Hard Water’s Impact on Your Baby’s General Health 

You already know, soft water could be detrimental to your baby’s health in the long run if the concentration of sodium in the water was high. For hard water, you need to take extra care, even when washing your baby’s feeding bottles.

Hard water is not the option you want to pick when washing your baby’s feeding bottle. Whether you hand wash them or throw them into a dishwasher, the hard water will leave traces of residue behind, traces that are not safe for your baby’s consumption.

If you are resilient enough with your scrubbing, you will be scrubbing for much longer with hard water and, of course, using more soap in the process.

Hard water is also known to contain bacteria and minerals, a pathogen combination you wouldn’t wish for your baby. The only viable solution is to have a water softening and purification system installed. 

You Want Comfort for Your Baby? Use Soft Water for Washing

Your baby’s comfort greatly depends on how his/her clothes and beddings get washed. Using hard water will compromise this comfort. The clothes will retain stains and dirt, and on top of that, they will be hard or rough. That will make your baby uncomfortable. 

You spend a lot of money buying soap and detergents to soften your hard water when washing clothes. With this money, you could rather use it to purchase better clothes, bedding, and other stuff to keep your baby comfortable.

Diseases You Avoid By Using Choosing Softened Water for Your Baby

Soft water is a better option for your baby. By choosing it over hard water, you will be keeping your baby from several diseases, including the following.

• Eczema 

Eczema is a skin condition that is symbolized by rashes and itchiness. It is common in babies as they have sensitive skins that quickly reacts to external aggressors. So, exposing your baby’s skin to hard water will most likely give them irritated skin. 

While many other factors could lead to eczema development, recent studies have linked hard water to eczema.

• Dermatitis 

While hard water does not entirely cause dermatitis, the mineral content within hard water can aggravate the spread of dermatitis. Babies have a weaker immune system that is still developing, and therefore cases of dermatitis associated with hard water are widespread with babies.

Dermatitis is a skin condition characterized by its inflammation and has persistent symptoms that run for several days. When you continue bathing your baby with hard water after contracting dermatitis, the healing is prolonged. That is because hard water blocks the moisturizing agents in soap from penetrating your baby’s skin.

• Fluorosis 

This is another worrisome condition that is caused by exposure to too much Fluoride in hard water. It affects the growth of teeth in infants in their early stage of development in the gums.

The condition is not as dangerous as it is a cosmetic issue that leads to creating white lines in the teeth’ enamel. However, the condition is irreversible, and so it is crucial to prevent it from the onset.

Final Words

Where do you get your home drinking and normal usage water pumped from? Knowing the source of your water supply is key as it helps you understand whether you are dealing with a hard or soft water source. 

Most households get their supplies from municipal water supplies, which are always vulnerable to contamination. That means you need to install a water softener for your family’s benefit and most especially your baby.

With the many risks associated with hard water, you cannot afford to gamble with your baby’s health, leave alone the comfort challenges in line as well. Use safe softened water for the benefit of your baby.