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.

Today’s ‘question’ hits a lot of those same points in a new, and somewhat confusing manner. It comes from TamTom18894: “Our shower water contains a lot of chlorine and we think it too high. Yes?”

Not sure how TamTom thinks we will figure out the answer to their question since we have no interest in going to their home and testing their shower water… so we will, instead, discuss simple ways to test chlorine levels in tap water so they can figure out the answer on their own… and then list a few ways to reduce the levels of chlorine that they find.

First, test the water for chlorine residual. The simplest method we know of requires very little time and tests for both free and total chlorine at the same time. The WaterWorks 2 Free & Total Chlorine Test Kit provides fast, dependable results for both free and total chlorine concentrations in water within a minute.

For those who prefer a more ‘traditional’ method, such as a wet kit that uses DPD as its reagent, you probably either already have a kit you can use or you know where you can get one… but did you know an easier method of getting the DPD into your 10 mL sample exists?

If not, then you really ought to check out the DPD-1 ReagentStrip Delivery System which adds a precise dose of DPD-1 to a 10 mL sample without the need for crushing tablets, working with hard-to-open powder pillows or counting drops of messy liquids.

For more precise results, some people turn to meters such as the eXact Chlorine Photometer which can test both free and total chlorine concentrations from 0 to 11 ppm w/ no tablets to crush, drops to count, or powders to mix.

Once you know how much chlorine you have in your water, and what variety of chlorine you have in your water, you can then set about the task of selecting a water filtration device that will best address your individual water quality needs.

Removing free chlorine from shower water

The easiest way involves adding an inline shower filter such as the Sprite High Output Shower Filter which you place behind your existing shower head. It removes: 98.9% of free chlorine, rust from water, sulfur smell, and bad odors. Additionally, it reduces iron oxide, chlorine vapors, and scale build-up on shower surfaces.

Don’t already have a shower head? Need an excuse to get rid of your existing shower head? You can get the same NSF / ANSI 177 Certified shower filter pre-fitted with a good looking, 2.5 GPM shower head. The Sprite High Output Shower Filter (-A) comes in three finishes (brushed nickel, chrome and polished brass).

Removing combined chlorine (chloramines) from shower water

Many devices will claim to remove combined chlorine, total chlorine and/or chloramines. We want you know that in our experience (thus far) we have yet to come across a shower filter that will perform that task. Inline shower filers simply do not have the required amount of filtration media required to do a good job removing chloramines from shower water.

Chloramines have a high amount of chemical stability and as such require special consideration when attempting to remove them. Typically a device capable of effectively reducing chloramines (combined chlorine) levels in drinking water will have a relatively large media bed of Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) and/or a specialized ion-exchange resin.

Larger media beds mean more time in contact with the filtration media intended to remove the chloramines.

We have rumors of ‘catalytic granular activated carbon’ (cGAC) but have not, as of yet, learned enough about it to discuss its merits and/or shortcomings.

What does .25/.25, and .5/1, in the free/total column from the Taylor Test Kit represent in a pool log, are these levels safe for swimming. If not what levels from the Taylor Test Kit would be normal. What ORP level is considered to dangerous for swimming. I’m sorry I forgot to mention this is an indoor public pool.

For legal reasons we cannot tell you that your pool water definitely meets all the necessary criteria for getting labeled as ‘safe’, but we cannot assist you with interpreting the data in the log book.

First, we suggest you take a look at an earlier blog posting we did called Free Chlorine, Combined Chlorine, Total Chlorine. The information in that posting will help you to understand the differences between the three basic ‘types’ of chlorine. You will also find some very useful information on Pool Water Testing Blog’s entry entitled Free Chlorine and Combined Chlorine — in a Swimming Pool.

Getting back to your question about the readings in the log book, the entry of “.25 ppm free chlorine & .25 ppm total chlorine” indicates that all of the chlorine in the pool has got converted into chloramines (combined chlorine) and you had no free chlorine, your pool’s main sanitizing agent, available to ‘kill’ any unwanted biological contaminants in the water.

The second entry, “.5 ppm free chlorine & 1.0 ppm total chlorine”, indicates that you had 0.5 ppm free chlorine available in the pool to wipe out any unwanted biological contaminants… and for the record, most pool experts agree that water in a swimming pool ought to contain between 1.0 ppm and 3.0 ppm free chlorine — assuming the pool does not use an alternative sanitizer system (i.e. Baquacil).

By the same token, most pool experts also agree that swimming pool water ought to contain as few chloramines (combined chlorine) as possible. Elevated chloramine levels can contribute to added eye irritation and foul tastes and smells in the water.

What do ORP levels mean?

We freely admit that we do not know a whole lot about ORP and that many people have different ideas as to its usefulness as a means of judging a body of water’s relative safety, but we do know that many water experts believe a properly pH balanced pool (readings between 7.2 and 7.6) with an ORP reading greater than 700 means that the hypochlorous acid (free chlorine) will work effectively as a sanitizing agent.

Michael said he has an indoor pool?

In the case of indoor pools, you will DEFINITELY want to keep combined chlorine counts to minimum because the fumes can build up to noxious levels very quickly. Indoor pools tend to have warmer water temperatures (which increase chlorine off gassing) and less air movement across their surfaces.

Michael said it’s a public pool?

Consult with your local health department and find out what THEY want to see in terms of pool water chemistry because in the end, when they stop by to perform an inspection, their word, and ONLY their word, will determine whether or not your pool stays open that day.

Determining the Chlorination System Your Water Supplier Uses

Chlorine Smell Test: In general, water containing only chloramines gives off a much more objectionable odor than water containing a free chlorine residual. While true that a free chlorine system generates chloramines as the free chlorine gets used up fighting whatever biological contaminants it encounters, the amount of odor given off by those chloramines will typically not surpass the amount of odor given off by water treated solely with chloramines.

Home Water Testing: While no test strip exists to check JUST the chloramine concentration in water, one does exist to check both the Free Chlorine Residual and the Total Chlorine Residual: The WaterWorks^tm 2 Free & Total Chlorine Strip accurately measures both parameters with a single water quality test strip.

WaterWorks^tm 2 Free and Total Chlorine Home Water Test Kit

• If the free chlorine test area shows color AND the total chlorine test area shows color, then your water supplier most likely uses free chlorine as its primary disinfectant.

• If the free chlorine test area does not show color BUT the total chlorine test area does not show color, then your water supplier most likely uses chloramines as its primary disinfectant.

Although the above testing method will yield quality results, calling your local water supplier will get you the same information.

Should you wish to test for the presence of just free chlorine or just total chlorine in drinking water, the following simple test strips will yield fast, accurate and reliable results in under a minute:

• Total Chlorine Test Strip (480010)
• Free Chlorine Test Strip (481026)

(Free Chlorine) + (Combined Chlorine) = (Total Chlorine)

Free Chlorine: Typically your main sanitizing/disinfecting agent and sometimes referred to as ‘available chlorine’. In most cases people try to keep a free chlorine residual in their water to act as a buffer against biological contaminants. Chemically speaking this is the amount of hypochlorous acid and hypochlorite ion in solution. find free chlorine test strips

Combined Chlorine: The resulting compound when free chlorine molecules interact with biological contaminants containing Nitrogen which most people refer to as ‘chloramines’. You could also refer to combined chlorine as ‘used free chlorine’, but keep in mind that it still does have the abiity to act as a sanitizer/disinfectant… just not nearly as effectively.  find total chlorine test strips

Total Chlorine: The sum of all free, ‘available’, combined, and ‘used’ chlorine in solution.  find total chlorine test strips

Testing for Free & Total Chlorine at the Same Time?

The traditional testing method for chlorine residuals in water involves the use of a reagent system known as DPD that involves two separate chemical mixing procedures.

The WaterWorks 2 Free & Total Chlorine Test Strips have a total test time of around 30 seconds and detect both free and total concentrations in water in the following range: 0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.5, 1, 1.0, 2.5, 5.0 ppm.

If you need to test chlorine levels in your water, then we definitely suggest checking out the chlorine testing convenience and affordability of WaterWorks 2 Free & Total Chlorine Test Strips.

Total Chlorine Test Strips

Free Chlorine and Combined Chlorine both work well as sanitizers and disinfectants, though both do have several noteworthy drawbacks. You will find a few listed below:

Health Concerns: Chlorine can make you very ill if ingested in too great a quantity. Also, those who have recently undergone chemotherapy or other cancer treatment procedures may want to consult with their physician about the possibility of chlorine interfering with the medications they take.

Aesthetic Concerns: Chlorine tends to make water smell and taste like a swimming pool. The last time you accidentally swallowed pool water, you probably thought or said, “Yuck. This tastes nasty.” Therefore, water treatment companies of all shapes and sizes, varieties and forms manufacture and sell a number of different devices that remove chlorine (and many other unwanted contaminants) from drinking water.

For more information on easy-to-use chlorine testing products as well as ways to remove chlorine from drinking water, please visit our Chlorine Testing archives.

SenSafe^TM Free Chlorine Water Check

For additional information on chlorine levels in your local water supply, call your local Health Department. For detailed information on guidelines pertaining to the use of chlorine in drinking water, visit the USEPA’s website.

Total Chlorine
Test Strips

WaterWorks 2 Test Strips
Free & Total Chlorine

SenSafe Free Chlorine
Water Check
EPA Approved Product

Many people do not know that chlorine in water comes in three basic varieties: Free, Combined and Total.

• Picture free chlorine as a 100% ready-for action superhero that cannot wait to wipe out just about any biological contaminant it encounters. It has both hands free and ready to fight.
• Picture combined chlorine as that very same superhero after it wrestled and defeated a biological contaminant. The two ‘locked horns’ and now cannot separate despite the superhero having won the fight. The superhero can still attack other biologicals, but think of it now as having only one of its hands free to attack other biologicals… and thus it cannot fight as effectively.

OK, So What is This Total Chlorine?

Simply put, total chlorine is the sum of the free chlorine plus combined (used) chlorine in the water. See the following equation:

    (Free Chlorine) + (Combined Chlorine) = Total Chlorine

The USEPA has set the Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) for TOTAL chlorine in potable water at 4.0 ppm.

This means water dispensed by a water system must contain less than 4.0 ppm total chlorine… or the system is in violation of Federal Law and subject to getting fined and/or shut down by the USEPA if their total chlorine readings continue to exceed Federal Guidelines.

Testing for Free/Total Chlorine?

As a general rule, most water treatment facilities use a method called “DPD Testing” to determine the chlorine concentrations in drinking water. Other methods for testing exist, though most are not officially approved by the USEPA and may not be used for reporting purposes.

As of Spring 2007, though, the USEPA began allowing states to approve the use of an alternate, yet equal, faster method called SenSafe(tm) Free Chlorine Water Check when testing for free chlorine residual.

That same company also manufactures a dip-n-read test strip for total chlorine referenced by the USEPA only as a screening method for total chlorine concentrations in wastewater. [see Federal Register / Vol. 72 No. 47 / Monday, March 12, 2007 / Rules and Regulations]

Testing for Combined Chlorine?

You may also see combined chlorine called ‘chloramines’ in certain literature and some water systems actually use them to sanitize/disinfect the water they supply. Though not as effective a killing tool as free chlorine, they do get the job done.

If you wish to test for chloramines, you only need to perform two very simple tests and do some really easy subtraction:

1. Use a product to test for total chlorine.
2. Use a second product to test for free chlorine
3. Subracting the free chlorine value from the total chlorine value will give you the combined chlorine concentration in your drinking water.