“For the last 8 years we lived in the country and had our own well and some pretty good tasting water. Recently we had to move (regrettably!) closer to our jobs in order to save on gas and so the kids could go to better schools. We THOUGHT the water would taste better since it got treated by the city where we moved but it tastes something awful like pool water only worse. Is that normal and can we do anything about it? Hoping for good news ! Thanks!”

The above inquiry came from ‘Diane’ and to answer her questions directly, “Maybe & Yes!”

By law public water systems must treat water for unwanted biological contaminants and for the most part pretty much all of them use some form of chlorine as part of their disinfection process. Also by law, water may not leave their facilities containing more than 4 ppm (parts per million) free and/or total chlorine.

Want more information on the difference between free and total chlorine? Take a look at an earlier article entitled Free Chlorine, Combined Chlorine and Total Chlorine.

Getting back to Diane’s question, though, a water supply could very well contain under the allowed level of free and/or total chlorine — and still smell and taste really bad.

Getting rid of chlorine taste and smell

For most folks removing the chlorine taste and odor from their drinking water begins and ends with the installation of a Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) filter as a countertop water filter, faucet filter, undersink water filter, or whole house water filtration device.

For others, however, the reduction and/or removal of chlorine taste and odor requires the installation of a granular activated carbon water filter as well as a more sophisticated water filter like a reverse osmosis water filter that more or less strips EVERYthing out of water… and for that level of filtration one typically will need to spend a few extra dollars.

Two main types of chlorine to test for?

In order to determine which water filter will best address your chlorine in drinking water reduction/removal needs you will first need to determine whether your water supplier uses free chlorine or chloramines as its main disinfectant. For that task we have found that the WaterWorks 2 Free & Total Chlorine Test Strips works quite well since it tests for both free and total chlorine at the same time.

Upon completion of testing, simply subtract the free chlorine reading from the total chlorine reading to get the chloramine concentration. If you obtain a value the same as, or very close to, the total concentration (i.e. the free chlorine test pad reads zero) then your water supplier more than likely uses a process known as chloramination as it primary disinfecting method — and you will need a more sophisticated filtration system to get rid of the chlorine taste and odor.

“The chlorine in our water from the city tastes and smells horrible. Can we put a simple filter in and how much would it cost? thx”

Well, Tina, or should we call you Miss Toes? Ha ha. Lots of companies make filters for chlorine (thankfully!) and each one has its advantages and disadvantages. Recently we came across two stainless steel countertop filters made by Paragon that we think deserve consideration if you want to get a quality filter that won’t break the bank.

The P3060 Tested and Certified by NSF International to NSF/ANSI Standard 42 for the aesthetic reduction of Chlorine and the P3200 Tested and Certified to NSF/ANSI Std. 42 for the aesthetic reduction of Chlorine, Taste and Odor, Chloramines and Nominal Particulate Class I and to Std. 53 for the reduction of Lead, Cyst, Mercury, VOC, MTBE and Turbidity.

Another thing we REALLY like: Both units come with price tags well under $150!

So, Miss Toes, we hope you get a chance review the specs on both these units and that we have hopefully at least given you a starting point for your quest to rid your water of its pool-like chlorine nature.

Oh, and in case you would also like to get the chlorine smell out of your shower water, Paragon makes a really compact and convenient shower wand that has a built-in filter that “Tested and Certified by NSF International to NSF/ANSI Standard 177 for the reduction of free available Chlorine.”

The NSF handheld shower filter has an expected 10,000 gallon life expectancy, 5-function massage head, reduces free (available) chlorine by more than 98%, helps to cut down on calcium/soap/shower scum in the tub, may help with certain itchy skin conditions, installs without the need for tools, and has an easily replaced NSF Certified filter cartridge that costs around $20.

From what we have heard, this unit has made appearances on several daytime talk shows and gotten rave reviews from health experts, consumer product testing groups, and its users.

Looking for other water filter options? Check out the Multipure line of water filters that have been tested and NSF certified under NSF/ANSI Standard 42 for reduction of aesthetic contaminants, and Standard 53 for reduction of contaminants of health concern. The replacement filters are also tested and NSF certified.

Free (available) chlorine refers to the concentration of chlorine molecules residing a water sample that have not, yet, oxidized contaminants. As a general rule you want to maintain a free chlorine residual in a body of water or water source.

Therefore, if a water sample has a total chlorine residual but no free, available chlorine, then the sample may or may not be ‘safe’. Some public (municipal) drinking water systems use only combined chlorine Why would they do that?

It seems counter-intuitive that a public water systems would choose combined chlorine over free chlorine given free chlorine’s superior disinfecting (oxidizing) properties, but monochloramines do still have oxidizing capabilities and they do not create compounds (disinfection by-products, tri-halomethames, TTHM’s, etc.) that may cause cancer.

So… if you want to know how much free chlorine you have versus how much combined chlorine you have, simply subtract the free chlorine concentration from the total chlorine concentration:

(Total Chlorine) – (Free Chlorine) = Combined Chlorine

For pool water you can use a test strip like the Pool Check 6-Way to determine the free and total chlorine concentrations of a sample.

For drinking water you can use test strips like SenSafe Free Chlorine Water Check to determine the free chlorine concentration of a water sample and SenSafe Total Chlorine Water Check to determine the total chlorine concentration of a water sample.

OR, for an even easier test procedure, you can use the WaterWorks 2 Free & Total Chlorine Test Strip which tests for both free and total chlorine at the same time.

We mentioned this filter (the Pentek ChlorPlus) in the past and now feel the need to mention it again since we continue to receive inquiries from people asking why their water filters fail to remove all of the chlorine smell from their water.

The majority of water filters readily available in the marketplace do NOT remove chloramines, also known as combined chlorine. Most carbon filters remove free chlorine only. It takes a specialized type of filter like the Pentek ChlorPlus to cleanse water of unwanted chloramines.

Does my water contain chloramines?

Whether your municipal water system uses free chlorine or chloramines as its primary sanitizing agent we cannot say, but in either case your water will certainly contain chloramines. Unsure why? Take a look at this brief tutorial on free chlorine, total chlorine and combined chlorine.

That’s just a cartridge… What sort of housing does it go in?

A very keen observation followed by a very good question! The Pentek ChlorPlus filter for chloramine removal fits in most standard sized 10″ (by 2.5″) filter housings available from online retailers like Filter Water..

As always before purchasing a replacement cartridge for your water filter system, check, double check and TRIPLE check to make sure your housing will accommodate the filter cartridge you wish to buy!

Chloramines? What are chloramines? Take a look at this earlier Water Testing Blog entry on Free Chlorine, Combined Chlorine and Total Chlorine and get a quick education on the topic!

Whether created as a byproduct of disinfection via free chlorine or the intended disinfectant in a water system, most people do NOT like the taste and odor of chloramines in their water.

Thankfully Pentek has come out with a product called the Pentek ChlorPlus 10 Chloramine Removal Water Filter Cartridge that fits in standard 10″ (x 2.5″) filter housings used in filter sytems produced by companies such as Pentek (obviously!), US Filter (recently acquired by Pentek!), Cuno, Filterite, Keystone, US Water, Water Resources, Harmsco, and many other popular brands of water filtration systems. If your system uses a standard 10″ x 2.5″ housing, the Pentek ChlorPlus 10 ought to fit just fine!

Having said that last bit, please check the dimensions of your current filter and/or housing before ordering this product!

Looking for a 10″ replacement filter with NSF Certification? The Pentek ChlorPlus 10 uses a component tested certified to NSF Standard 42.

What does the Pentek ChlorPlus 10 remove/reduce? Using 1 micron carbon block technology this product (255416-43) should seriously reduce chloramine concentrations in drinking water and in doing so remove the (offensive) taste and odor associated with chlorine while also helping to pull out unwanted sediment, if present.