How Seniors Can Test The Quality Of Their Water
August is Water Quality Month and it’s the perfect time for seniors to make it a habit to test the quality of their water at home. Dehydration is a very common problem among seniors. Having home care providers supervising their intake would be helpful in this situation. There are a lot of reasons why seniors don’t drink enough water, but bad water is one that most people don’t think about. If your senior loved one is aging in place and they are not drinking enough water or have said that the water in their home tastes funny it be because there’s something off with the water. Testing the water could reveal problems that are making the water undrinkable or unpleasant to drink. Here are a few different options for seniors that want to test their tap water at home:
Your Senior or Their Home Care Aide Should Talk To The City
The city or town where your senior loved one lives should be responsible for the tap water that is used by all the residents in that city. So call the city’s water department to ask about water testing or have a home care provider call and ask about water testing. The city may send people to your senior parent’s home to test the water, or they may send a home test kit to the home. But when the results come back if there are problems with the quality of the water the city is responsible for fixing those problems.
Order A Home Testing Kit
If you would rather test without going through the city or if your parents live on a rural property and have a well instead of city water you can order home test kits online or pick them up at any home improvement store. If the test results reveal the presence of bacteria, nitrates, and other contaminants you can let the city know so they can address it. If your senior parents have a well you may need to treat the well.
Use Test Strips
If your senior parents are only concerned about hard water or water that has a high level of mineral contaminants you can test for hard water by using simple test strips that will tell you in just about a minute whether or not your senior loved ones have hard water. If the strips indicate that the water is hard because of the minerals in the water your senior loved ones may need to add supplements to the water to balance it out or make it easier to drink.
Have A Professional Test Your Well
If you don’t feel comfortable testing the well that supplies your senior parent’s house with water for any kind of bacteria or contaminants you can hire someone to do that. When they come out they can test the water and if there is something wrong with the water they can add things to balance out the water and make it taste ok again. You also may want to consider getting a bottled water dispenser that can provide cold and hot water on demand.
If you or an aging loved one are considering Home Care Services in the Kansas City MO area, please contact the caring staff at Elder Care of Kansas City, today. Proudly serving Jackson, Clay, Platte, and Cass Counties in Missouri as well as Johnson and Wyandotte Counties in Kansas for over 30 years. Call us at 816-333-3322.
Prior to purchasing Elder Care, Kevin spent over 20 years in the health insurance industry.In his most recent position, he was in a financial operations role with Humana where he worked with doctors, nurses and other health professionals developing programs to keep Humana members healthy.Their focus on primary care and medication adherence improved the lives of thousands of seniors in Kansas City and the surrounding area.
Kevin and his wife, Lori, have three children.Kevin has Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the University of Missouri.
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