Water tastes salty. How can I help her stay hydrated?

It may be more productive to give her "juicier" foods, like grapes, watermelon, celery, oranges, cucumbers, cauliflower, popsicles, etc.

Does she love coffee or tea? Because I hate plain water, but do well with a few spoonsful of coffee in it. I have never heard of anyone experiencing water as salty, so maybe run that past the doc next you see him or her. I looked up this odd thing, and it turns out that some people are very sensitive to water softners, and water treated with that can taste salty. So my question is, does ALL water taste salty to her? They say that there can be a backwash from some treatment methods. Worth checking out and eliminating as a cause.

I find water to be too boring in flavor for my personal taste, so I use the MIO flavored water drops in my water every day, and it makes it so much easier for me to get the daily water amounts my body needs from getting dehydrated.
And at this point in my life I only drink water(other than my 1 cup of coffee in the morning), so it's much more enjoyable with just a touch of flavor to it.

If you are giving her tap water as Alva said this could be the problem. Have you tried her on bottled water? After drinking it, I cab't drink tap. You can get a generic brand for like 10 or 15 cents a bottle. And as Geaton says, there are other ways to get water into her. Me, I have to literally force myself to drink water. A bottle needs to next to me for me to remember to drink. And I don't drink 64 oz a day of anything. I don't get thirsty. I have to remind myself I need to drink.

Get KoolAid mix in a flavor she likes. I prefer the fruit punch or cherry. Also, if there's a water softener, that could be part of the problem, and you could have it checked. And you might get a pitcher water filter, like Brita, and see if that helps.

If you have a salt based water softener she could be getting conditioned water which does contain salt, especially if you have a single lever faucet. But her fluid intake doesn't have to include plain water at all, any other hot or cold beverage (even soups count!) will do.

Do YOU taste your home water as salty too, or it just your mom? If it's just mom, it could be a medical issue with HER vs. a problem with the water in your home.

~Perhaps it’s not your water. When you are dehydrated you concentrate the salts with your saliva when you will taste salt in your mouth and on your lips! 

~If mom has had Covid, this could be the after effects of the virus causing taste changes which are sometimes long lasting and other times short lived.

Geaton has some good suggestions for giving mom 'juicier' foods to increase her water intake.

Good luck.

ysally, welcome to the forum. Change your Mom's toothpaste and see if that makes any difference. It is surprising how toothpaste can change one's taste.

I remember back when I was using whiting toothpaste, I got a scare as I was losing my sense of taste. Stopped using that whiting toothpaste and after a couple of weeks my sense of taste returned.... whew!!

Hello 😊 I deal with that with my mom. We joke that she's like a camel because the woman has NEVER enjoyed drinking ANYTHING.... Which is problematic at 80yrs old. So, I get super hydration drinks, coconut water, pickle juice, beet juice, flavor packets (sports which refuels electrolytes) plus foods such as leafy salad, watermelon, grapes, broths (rather than put it in a mug to drink, give it to her in a bowl, with a spoon. Good luck 😃

Mom is 86 and the doc recommended 32 oz of water. He said too much was not good either. She gets the rest of her fluids from foods. So mom only drinks Propel Water (electrolyte type vs vitamin type). She loves it. We tried herbal hot tea because she is always cold and she drank that faithfully, but in a MC facility getting hot tea is not easy. So, the Propel waters are the way to go for us. I have 2 bottles sitting around with straws in them. Sometimes she picks it up but when the staff check on her, they hand her the water and she drinks. When my private care person comes in, she does the same and I do that as well. Mom is pretty stubborn but she likes sweet and Propel has a sweet taste. I drink it too but I dilute it with water. Just handing her the bottle with the straw as I talk to her works most of the time. I sometimes point to a spot on the bottle and say, drink to this line. (That gives her a goal) ;)

Would slices of cucumber or oranges take away that taste, I wonder?

My mom says that too. I do 3/4 water and 1/4 cranberry juice OR pineapple juice. I alternate the juice so my mom doesn’t get tired with one. I also feed my mom oatmeal (water and milk), her lunch is purée and I add water. May it be lasagna, I add water to it. At night I give my mom fruit shake with protein powder). I hope this helps.

I give mom as much watermelon as she wants when in season.

Is this tap water? Do you have a water softener? If yes to both have you tried using bottled water? Distilled water? Neither of these should have salts other than what might be there naturally.
Have you tried adding unsweetened fruit juices?
Cranberry juice, lemon juice, apple juice.
My Husband loved Crystal Light. I am not a fan due to the artificial sweetener but he would drink LOTS of it..
Have you tired Iced Tea or even hot tea?
I know you are trying to get 100% water into her but pick your battles. If the sweetened tea, juice, and even artificial sweetened drinks get her to drink more fluids that is a win in my book.
You can also start serving more soup as one of her meals. Soup = fluid.
Popsicles I would also think of as a fluid.

my husband drinks the generic grocery store version of Crystal Light. Just never liked water. For years drank Diet Coke, then caffeine free Diet Coke, a nd now this stuff. It's cheaper and very low calorie.

Try using the electrolyte popsicles.

try Mineral water Like Poland springs or Pellegrino you Can add slices of Cucumbers or Blue Berries , cranberries for added taste . I Give My Dad watermelon and cherries , Blue berries when in season .

when my aunt was in the emergency room with a UTI, I asked the doctor that same question. He recommended I give her Crystal Light. She loves it.

Milk is an excellent form of hydration, since it is 87% water. When dad refused to drink water and was getting UTIs, I gave him ovaltine in milk and it helped tremendously.

I am 72, homebound, always dehydrated although I try hard to drink water and juices all day. I am anoxeric too so it's difficult to fit too much into my stomach. I'm 100 lbs at 5'7", didn't do it to lose weight just stress and stomach pain caused the lack of appetite. I bought Pedialyte packets and Liquid IV from Amazon.com to add to water to replenish what I need and I drink those. I just want to add that your parents are all so blessed by God that you care enough about them to take care of them. My 2 adult children tried in the beginning but have no time or patience so they moved away from me and I rarely see or talk to them now. I am very hurt by them but such is life. I feel like I never knew my own kids now. God bless all of you for taking care of your parents!

Lemonade :-)

Fruit2O lemon flavor is good. I would start as soon as she sat up and offer a small cold cup. During the day, I would fill a small plastic cup half full several times and say “finish this up so we can finish the bottle” and my mother would usually accommodate.

Jello or Knox blocks, watermelon, juice bars, juice. Water is in so much fruit and other liquids. Don't worry about water and just think 'liquids'

Maybe try store bought spring water and see if it still tastes salty to her, if not it probably has more to do with her tap water and you can do various things, like filter or distill it.

There is a product called "Jelly Drops" that are specifically made for hydrating.
They are like a giant jelly treat. So, elderly people can eat them easily. They don't stick to teeth or anything. they quickly turn into water but do not burst when you bit them.
It was created by a man to keep his elderly grandma hydrated.
Just look at Jellydrops.com

It can be caused by her medications...........perhaps make a visit to your local pharmacist who can, probably, solve the mystery: it happened to me when I was hospitalized. Take a list or photos of her pill bottles.

My husband "hates" water - has always said it doesn't quench his thirst. I have found "Italian Sparkling Mineral Water" from COSTCO helps. Tiny bubbles of carbonation; last a long time; he prefers "soda" but will drink this. The price is excellent - much less than name-brands. 10 milligrams of sodium for 16 ounces. And I like it too! Good luck and hang-in-there!

ysally: Personally, I disliked water as strange as it may sound. My DH (Dear Husband) purchased 'Hint' bottled water and my water intake has increased ten fold. With many flavors available, the water contains a very subtle added fruit flavoring.
Disclaimer: This is NOT an advertisement.

You may want to bring your mother in to see her primary care physician if she is the only individual in the household tasting 'salty' water.

Yeah just like other people are saying try different bottled waters mineral waters sparkling waters there’s a gazillion out there. Adding water to milk does not sound appealing. Good luck!

IDK my step-mother who is in memory care thinks everything is too salty including pickles, no matter what it is, it is too salty, even tho it is not. Infact where she is, all the food has no salt added and it all has no flavor.