Washing bottles with softened water ok?

[mkleng]

Hi! Hope someone can help. I know softened water (I use the Kinetico 2020c) is not good for making baby formula milk.

Is it ok for washing the bottles though? Doctor says better to use unsoftened water which means I will have to install a new pipe to line the unsoftened water to the kitchen floor?!

I have a baby of 4 months now.

Thank you

Don't you have a tap for unsoftened drinking water?

I worked in water supply but never with water softeners so I had a read around and this is what I found. NHS recommend sodium (Na) of less than 200mg/l.

Are you on mains water or a borehole? Is it an ion exchange water softener using salt? Is there a tap that doesn't go through the softener? Do you know the hardness as calcium carbonate CaCO3 and sodium levels of the feedwater? Divide calcium carbonate value by 2.175 then add the sodium value. If the answer is less than 200 you are fine. If it's higher there is a slight risk that rinsing bottles in the softened water will leave a residue which could tip the sodium over the edge if your make up water is close to the limit.

What water are you using to make up the formula? If you're worried just do a final rinse with that. If you do the calculations just make sure all the numbers are in miligrams per litre (mg/l).

Sorry, it gets a bit complicated but it's not really, just a precautionary thing for precious little ones!

Hi all,

I have a little tap near the mains downstairs where I collect I softened water to make baby formula.

How do I get hose numbers to calculate with?

You can request it from the water company, they should be able to provide it. If you get the numbers feel free to pm me and I can work it out for you!

Did you mean unsoftened water for the baby formula? It's not recommended to use softened water because I'd the risk of high sodium. Unsoftened water is fine.

If you have an unsoftened tap then I'd just use that water in your steriliser if that's what you're using or before microwaving if you steam sterilise.

I think the doctor is being cautious but without seeing the water quality I would advise you the same.

You're not drinking softened water yourself are you?

I have a little tap near the mains downstairs where I collect I softened water to make baby formula.

Do you mean unsoftened?