A de-ioniser? Wow very strong measures. But it will help to remove the nitrates and sulfates which a Britta cation-exchange filter will not remove. Britta filters will remove the calcium and sodium in the water. But calcium is something that the baby needs for it bones. Why should we remove it?
As we can see you could bottle Zurich tap water and make a fortune with selling it as a special Baby Nutrition Water. (Please sent 20 Rappen royalty per bottle to UBS Account Nr. CH98 1235 6789 1234 0).
You may find some basic parameters for your location on www.wasserqualitaet.ch or ask you local commune for a detailed report.
I belive a lot of the new places in CH already have a de-ioniser in the basement for tap water anyway. So what we do is tap water - filter through britax - and then boil&cool
I had assumed (wrongly, it seems) that yiou shouldn't routinely filter drinking water through a Brita type filter as it removes some stuff which is good for you.
I think the problem is the plastic used to make the bottles. It can leach chemicals into the water when it is heated too much for too long. It is designed to withstand hot water, but not boiling . I think. That's why when I babysat in my younger days we'd sterlize the bottles in boiling water, but then let drip dry and later fill with boiled but cooled water.
I've heard that the issues with britta filters is that they harbour bacteria growth. Any open stagnant water will begin to grow bacteria. Even more at room temperature. This includes the moisture at the output after the filter. Not much of a threat for adults, but perhaps for young babies, it is something Britta had to comment on
Swiss tap water is clean but the pipes inside your house or under may not be.
1. Use a filter (brita or similar) / never leave water standing inside a brita flask, it can collect bacteria, always change filter as often as you can afford to
2. boil the water to rid it of any remaining bacteria
3. Use bottled water only if the above does not work.
The most important thing is: Test it out with your baby and see how she reacts. I believe most healthy babies will take both types of water equally well.
A little rewind, why not continue to breastfeed or express as long as possible? Studies have shown....you know the drill..
Bottled water is not the same as 'sterilised' water. Even if you use bottled water, you are still expected to boil it before you use it for baby formula.
I did read recently that there are companies who are starting to provide 'sterilised' bottled water exactly for this purpose...and no doubt a million times more expensive than using ordinary tap water and boiling it yourself.
Of course, if you come from a country where the tap water is not 'potable', that is, not suitable for drinking, then you would use appropriate bottled water... and it still needs to be boiled!
Swiss tap water would be amongst the cleanest drinking water in the world. I can't see how bottled water would be 'cleaner' than that...
If your really have old pipes, and feel that the water is sitting in them and picking up contaminants, then run the tap cold for a few seconds before collecting your water. I'd use from the cold tap, as the hot water will have been sitting in the reservoir of your hot water heater, whereas the cold is coming straight in from outside.
I would not use bottled water if the tap water was considered perfectly drinkable. I think the chance of chemicals leaching from the plastic bottles, or the risk of contamination from the water being bottled and transported, is far higher than the tap water.
Oh, and do you know the shelf life on a bottle of water can be 2 or 3 years And the water from the local treatment plant to your home ? Probably a couple of days at the most ??
We always boiled a one liter batch of tap water and then let it cool in a covered glass jar (kept on the counter) until it was ready to be used.
I think the water is supposed to be boiled for at least 2 minutes (at full boil).
The only time we used bottled water was when our son was 10 months old and we visited my mother at her lake house in the U.S., which has nasty well water.
Our pediatrician told to use the regular tap water. Also, no need to boil. Even better not to boil as it kills necessary minerals. Use it from the very birth. Warm it up a bit in food warmer or just in a kettle till 37 degrees.
33 replies and nobody mentions breast milk? Breast pump? It freezes well and can be given by Daddy as well as Mummy.
If you have issues with your supply, top up with formula mixed with boiled tap water. Let it come down to a reasonable temperature - the idea is to give it nice and warm the younger they are as it usually prevents digestion issues.
If you have a hungry baby, there are solid-type foods that you can introduce - talk to your pediatrician of course before taking such steps.
I think I read (somewhere) that you should only boil once and use, not re-boil. I guess because it increases the concentrations of the minerals and nutrients in the water, but don't really know why.
I'm guessing that each time you boil the water, a certain amount of water evaporates off. Since the minerals and nutrients will most likely not evaporate off, their concentration increases. (mg nutrient/mL Waters---less water, larger concentration).