Many households now use some type of water filtration or purification system for their drinking water to remove chlorine and other potential contaminants in order to improve the look and taste of their everyday drinking and bathing water.

Public water supplies have had chlorine added to them for many decades now in order to kill bacteria or eliminate diseases often carried in water such as cholera and typhoid. Chlorination of water began in the US in the 1900’s and was quickly celebrated as an effective means of disinfecting water and making it safer for consumption.

Why is it recommended to remove chlorine?

Although very effective at eliminating some potential health risks as mentioned previously, many people wish to remove chlorine & its by-products from their water supply to avoid other types of health risks which have since been associated with this chlorine based purification process, such as cancer and heart disease, among others. There are various methods available to remove chlorine from water.

How do I know if I need to remove chlorine from my water?

You can test the chlorine content of your water by purchasing a water testing kit, similar to the type used by pool supply companies. This will let you know how much chlorine is present in your water both before and after your attempts to remove chlorine from your water.

Signs that your water is heavily chlorinated are when it has a whitish appearance as it comes out of the tap. Sometimes it may even seem to come out of the tap with puffs of smoke. This suggests that you need to remove chlorine content from your water. This can be achieved by using a whole house water filtration system which will purify the water as it enters your home and therefore provide cleaner and safer water at all taps within your home.

Ways to remove chlorine from your water

In cases where there is less chlorine present in the water supply, it is possible to remove chlorine by using one of the many popular water purification devices which can be easily attached to the main drinking water taps in your home. Also available are inline water purification systems which can be added to the plumbing system underneath the kitchen sink, which will remove chlorine from water used for drinking and cooking.

One of the oldest methods to remove chlorine is by boiling the water. This is an easy and convenient method for small amounts of water. As a first step, you might like to try measuring the chlorine content in your regular water with the pool testing kit before boiling the water, and then measuring chlorine content again after boiling to see the difference. Boiling, however, does not remove by-products of Chlorine.

While many people focus on how to remove chlorine from their water for drinking because of the obvious taste and smell associated with it, chlorine in water used for bathing and showering can also cause the deposit of toxins on skin and hair which may lead to allergies in some cases. There are special shower head water filters, which can be easily fitted to remove chlorine from water for bathing and showering purposes.

Whether you need to install a whole house purification system or simply attach a suitable filter to some of your taps, and shower head, to remove chlorine, it is well worth doing some research as the resulting de-chlorinated water is both healthier and more palatable for consumption.