Using tap water to make baby formula is an unsafe practice. Buying "nursery water" is a better option, but not the best. Installing a home purification system is the best choice and also less expensive than buying gallon jugs of nursery water. If you're a new parent or about to become one, here's what you need to know.

The safety of public supplies is determined by extrapolating an amount that would be toxic to a 175 pound adult. The amount that could be toxic to a newborn is, of course, much lower. I realize that everyone is trying to save money these days, but this is not the place to do it.

In addition to chemicals that could be immediately toxic, there is chlorine to worry about. Chlorine causes anemia in children. It is toxic to the central nervous system and could cause developmental problems.

If you are using tap water to make baby formula, you may be exposing your child to perchlorate. It has been found in over 800 test sites around the country. It is known to cause dysfunction of the thyroid gland and developmental problems, but the EPA does not regulate the compound. Only two states regularly test for it and post the results in their quality reports.

If you are buying bottled nursery water, you are exposing your child to chemicals used to make the plastic. Two of the BPA and phthalates have been in recent news reports, as more and more scientific researchers attempt to get the substances banned in products designed for children.

Both chemicals can cause permanent changes in the reproductive tract. They act like the hormone estrogen in a child's body. So, in girls, they can cause early puberty. In boys, they can cause feminization of genitalia.

So, buying those jugs is just as dangerous as using tap water to make baby formula, but there is another option. We have the technology, today, to further purify our water in our home. In addition to the chemicals mentioned above, there are tiny parasitic cysts that can kill an infant. They may be present in any publicly treated supply and are even found in some bottled brands.

The best countertop kitchen purifier on the market costs around $100. It includes all of the steps necessary to insure your baby's safety. It's important for the rest of your family, as well, since many of the chemicals in tap-water increase your risk of cancer.

Using tap water to make baby formula is perfectly safe, if you have an effective home purifier. The cost savings over buying bottled can amount to $1000 per year. Remember that exposure to chemical contaminants can also occur during bathing. We are exposed to these chemicals in many different ways, every day. We need to limit our exposure as much as possible, if we want to live long healthy lives. So installing a shower filter or a whole house water purification unit is also a good idea.


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If you follow the news, you know that there are many chemicals found in tap water. You should also know that most bottled brands contain filtered tap water, but the filtration method used does not remove chemical contaminants.

Public treatment facilities and mass-produced bottled brands rely heavily on reverse osmosis. That system only removes things that are larger than the pores of the membrane. The chemicals found in tap water are much smaller. Properly filtered tap water is run through a variety of steps that remove a wide range of contaminants, much wider than those removed through reverse osmosis.

There are many reasons that drinking properly filtered tap water in your home is a better choice than buying bottled. There are health reasons, environmental reasons and economic ones. Suffice to say that the chemicals found in tap water are not removed by their systems, the bottles are an endless source of pollutions, as well as a source of contamination due to the chemicals used to make the plastic, and it is simply cheaper for a family to filter their own water at home, than it is to buy bottled.

Here's a list of some of the chemicals found in tap water. There may be more or less in your supply, but these are the most common ones.

· Chlorine or bromine, chemical disinfectants that cause anemia in children, stomach problems in adults.
· THMs or disinfection byproducts that increase a person's lifetime risk of some forms of cancer by 100%.
· Pharmaceuticals, the affects of the traces found in samples are unknown at this time, but to be on the safe side you don't want them in your water.
· Perchlorate, a VOC, found at over 800 test sites across the US, causes damage to the thyroid gland and developmental problems.
· Benzene, Atrazine, alachlor, lindane and TCE are industrial solvents, pesticides and herbicides that cause cancer.

In order to remove all of these, you need a system with granular activated carbon, a resin and multi-media block and a sub-micron particle filter. You don't need an expensive reverse osmosis step. Don't let the companies that sell them fool you.

Systems that include all of these steps, as well as an ion exchange step to remove lead and balance mineral content are quite affordable. For about $100, you can have properly filtered tap water in your home that tastes better than anything that comes in a bottle and is better for your health.

Now that you know the facts about filtered tap water, you might be interested to know that chemical contaminants can be absorbed through the skin in a bath or shower. They become airborne while showering, cooking or washing dishes. You inhale them and it further increases your risk of cancer.

Now you know some of the contaminants found in tap water. If you want to live a long healthy life, you have to get rid of the chemicals found in tap water and the other contaminants, as well. Drink safely!



Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Juanita_Ruby