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filter chlorine in tap water and remove chlorine and chloarmine from tap water

How to remove chlorine and chloramine from tap water?

Why are chemicals such as chlorine and chloramine added to tap water? How can you remove or reduce the chlorine in tap water?  

Chlorine and chloramine are used to kill bad microorganisms (pathogens) in tap water and keep it safe for drinking. But there are also problems and risks with chlorine including poor taste and odor, cancerous bi-products and negative impact on sensitive pets and plants.

An affordable water filter such as TAPP Water will remove 98% of the chlorine and chloramine at the point of use and makes the tap water taste better and safer to drink.

Why are chlorine and chloramine added to tap water?

Generally the water that comes out from the water treatment plant is free from pathogens but as the water travels through the pipes to the faucet in your home a lot can happen. Pipe leakage, water tanks, water that sits in the faucet for a period. Chlorine and chloramine is very efficient in killing the bad bacteria as long as there is a minimum concentration at the faucet.

Chlorine has been used for 100 years to keep tap water safe to drink. When chlorine was first introduced to the water supply, it brought a rapid reduction in the spread of disease and other water-borne ailments. It made it easier for cities and towns to purify drinking water and to keep their residents safe.

Chlorine kills microorganisms such as bacteria, germs, infections, and protozoans. The objective is to keep chlorine at a sufficient level all the way to the tap as organisms could be picked up along the way due to old pipes, leaks or contamination. EPA, WHO and other international organisations have set these targets based on safe levels for humans.

Chloramine which in simple terms is made up of ammonia and free chlorine works in a similar way to chlorine. The reason it’s used more and more frequently for water treatment is that the taste and odor are better than chlorine. The amount of chlorine or chloramine added depends on how much is required to destroy all organisms in the water systems. Normally greater amounts are required for hard water. Using a free-chlorine test-strip on water treated with chloramine will not show any results, as the free-chlorine has turned into chloramine in the presence of ammonia.

Why do you want to remove or reduce chlorine and chloramine?

With hundreds of studies carried out, there is little evidence that the recommended levels of chlorine and chloramine have any direct negative health impact on humans. However, there are indirect issues

  • May cause tap water to taste or smell unpleasant and change the taste of coffee, tea, and other drinks
  • Chlorine combined with organic materials may cause bi-products such as THMs and VOCs whereof some are suspected to be cancerous.
  • Causes harm to small animals such as aquarium fish and other house pets as the chlorine also kills healthy bacteria
  • Chloramine does not disperse from the water like chlorine does. In the event that you let chlorinated water sit for 30 minutes to an hour, it will disperse from the standing water. However it may still leave behind bi-products and VOCs.

Consequently, removing chlorine and chloramine from drinking water can be a good idea.

How can I remove chlorine and chloramine from tap water?

There are several types of filters that remove chlorine and chloramine including Reverse Osmosis, Ultraviolet light and Activated Carbon. One of the most efficient technique for chlorine and chloramine removal is Activated Carbon. In addition to its adsorption properties, Activated Carbon is also a catalyst that converts free chlorine (Hypochlorite ) to chloride which is easily adsorbed.

EcoPro which is an affordable high-quality water filter has been independently tested and proven to remove more than 95% of chlorine and chloramine. The filter is made up of an organic carbon block that provides both activated and catalytic carbon.

An added advantage of EcoPro is that it does not filter out healthy minerals and that the cartridges are biodegradableOnly use independently tested and certified water filters and check specifically that it’s tested to remove chloramine if this is the concern.

See how TAPP Water compares to PUR, Brita and Culligan filters.

In summary

  • Chlorine and chloramine are added to tap water to make it safe for drinking, and generally should not have any negative health impact.
  • As a safety precaution, it might be a good idea to reduce or remove chlorine and chloramine from drinking water to avoid possible negative effects.
  • Choose an independently certified filter such as EcoPro with activated and catalytic carbon to ensure that chlorine and chloramine are reduced or removed.

Now you know why there is chlorine in tap water. Learn more about how water filters work and free and total chlorine in our other blogs. 

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10 thoughts on “How to remove chlorine and chloramine from tap water?”

  1. Mrs Coral Steward

    My name is Coral Steward and for about 11yrs now I have suffered with urticaria rashes, this started when I went to movement classes at Northam swimming pool in Devon. I now have put myself on a trial of filtered water only, since then I have not had urticaria since. I did however on Saturday soak my potatoes in tap water and low and behold I have a urticaria rash on my stomache. what am I supposed to do, I can’t do my laundry without chlorine. I have to be very careful. I can’t have a drink when I am out as a lot of places do not have a filter. I went to see my local MP and he said he would look into this problem for me. I am still waiting for an answer.

    1. Hi Mrs Steward, you might want to look into whole-house filtering systems in your case. This will ensure that all the water that enters in your home will be filtrated. Apart from contacting your local MP, it might be a good option to contact the company behind your water supply to have access to the latest water quality report to understand the level of chlorine and others before you decide what the best action plan is. Best, the TAPP Water team

    2. Mrs. Steward, I was excited to find your story in my search of what the hack is going on with me. I recently experienced severe allergic reaction and been trying to figure out what keeps the urticaria from happening daily. I’m on continual benadryl tabs and a steroid from physician for 2 weeks now.
      I moved to Texas from Chicago and mostly drink bottled water, but drink tap water tea liberally. A few months after relocating here started to experience my lower lip swelling occasionally. Thought it was my toothpaste, so changed it 6 times. Lips still swell. New house I bought has a pool and I add chlorine, plus with the covid virus here, started drinking more tap water.
      The day my first reaction preceded the severe reaction I had sat at edge of pool with legs in water, I’ve kept chlorine level high due to spring pollens. Severe action was intense and my lips were swollen like a super botox treatment.
      All the things and scenarios I’ve tried to
      reason out why the hives keep coming made me nuts. Here I’ve found the most likely culprit. Cholrine.
      I just drank turmeric tea to reduce the histamine level in me. Prior to move here I used herbal supplement called quercertin max as a cleanse process. Notes in another web page suggested it will help, so I’m getting more to use. Also…I never eat yogurt, but an internet bagel recipe I tried twice recently made a decent bagel, but find that yogurt is on the avoid list of foods. Perfect storm of chlorine.

    3. Let water that you cook with or drink sit open for 24 hours. Chlorine will evaporate into the air. Also potassium metabisulfite comes in a powder or pill form. It is used to make wine, 1 tab is usually good for 5-20 gallons. It is readily available on the internet to purchase. I hope this is helpful for you.

    4. That must be a real nightmare. If I was you, I would setup up a large tank in a loft space. Position UV lights over the tank, bubble air through the water, aquarium suppliers stock all sorts of equiptment that would be of use to you for a lot of fish are also sensitive to chlorine and chloramine. MY sincere regards go out to you and your problem and best wishes finding some relief from the worries you must have. Chris

  2. Chlorine Gas’s changing. City tap-water’s chlorine odor can be modified by pouring the tap-water into a very clean gallon jug and let it sit at least overnight. Then NO chlorine odor or taste as the chlorine gas dissipates/degasifies from the jug without having a lid. Do not fill water into the water jug and up to the very top of the jug. 7/8 gallon of tap water, yes. That jug’s filling will have a stored tap-water’s large surface area for evaporating chlorine, Yes!

  3. Put the old cartridge in the compost the video say’s. And what happens when it eventually breaks down ? The contents will leak into the compost. What the used filter will hold is what it has taken out. This is supposedly chlorine, chloromine and heavy metals. Really great for the environment and your home grown produce eh ?
    This does make me think twice about the product.
    Please reconsider the content of the video.

    1. Thanks for your comment and question.

      First of all our recommendation is that TAPP 2 cartridges are disposed for industrial composting. If you put it in your garden compost it will take years to decompose.

      Secondly it’s true that the chlorine, chloramine and other chemical residues will collect in the filter and therefore end up in the compost. However, since most people use unfiltered tap water to water plants and gardens they will be exposed to a lot more chlorine and other chemicals no matter what. Therefore the added chemicals from the TAPP cartridge will not really make any difference.

      However, you have a great point about the video. We should be clearer with what we mean with composting.

      Our next generation products will remove the plastic casing of the cartridges entirely but the problem you describe will remain.

      Hope this answers your question?

      The TAPP Team

  4. Priya Dharshini

    Hey Magnus,

    That was very useful. I have heard about the benefits of activated carbon but this is something new. I’d try it! Thanks for sharing this useful information.

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