Chlorine in drinking water can cause water to smell or taste like a swimming pool.
The negative effect of this is dry skin and difficulty cleaning your hair. Consumption of chlorine in drinking water is safe as long as the chlorine/chloramine levels do not exceed 4 milligrams per liter. When either of these two chemicals is present in large doses, it can become harmful.
While it may be considered safe, it is an undesirable situation as your water has an unpleasant taste and smell. And if you get about these levels, the situation becomes unhealthy quickly. The only way to know for sure is to get a free water test from Show Me Water Experts.
Why is Chlorine or Chloramine found in Drinking Water?
- Water treatment facilities use chlorine or chloramines to disinfect water to ensure the water is free of pathogenic microorganisms. These microorganisms cause illnesses such as typhoid fever, dysentery, cholera, and gastroenteritis.
- The addition of chlorine to drinking water has been extremely effective in reducing waterborne illnesses that were prevalent years ago.
- Small doses of chlorine are safe to drink, but high amounts of chlorine can cause serious health problems.
- The EPA allows water plants to use chloramine and chlorine. Still, many plants are switching from chlorine to chloramine because it lasts longer in your pipes and is less harmful.
- Further reading: https://www.epa.gov/dwreginfo/chloramines-drinking-water
How to Remove Chlorine and Chloramine from Water
- The most effective way to remove chlorine or chloramines is by installing a whole-house carbon filtration system. However, each substance requires a slightly different filter.
- Standard Activated Carbon can effectively filter out chlorine with either coconut shell or coal-based filters.
- Catalytic Carbon Beds are effective at filtering out chloramine. However, catalytic carbon will only remove chloramine for a year or more before replacement is required.
Only a Free Home Water test from Show Me Water Experts can identify and correct the problem correctly the first time.
