You’ve likely heard about all the health problems that are associated with the chemicals added to tap water.
Chlorine (and chloramine), a chemical that’s added to virtually all tap water, is something that plenty of people want to remove from their water due to its link to health issues.
There are a few different ways that chlorine can be removed from the water, but boiling is often recommended as an easy way to do so.
Does Boiling Water Remove Chlorine?
One method that’s widely suggested to remove chlorine from water is by boiling it off.
Chlorine can be removed from tap water by boiling it for 15-20 minutes. This method removes the majority of chlorine, but can still leave a small amount in the water. Boiling is not an effective way to remove chloramine from water.
Chlorine is a gas and very volatile in water. It’s diffused into tap water as a way to kill unwanted bacteria and make it safe to drink.
Fortunately, since this gas is so volatile, it can escape from the water over time. Raising the temperature significantly increases how much chlorine can be evaporated in a given period of time, so boiling it for 15-20 minutes should remove a large quantity of the chlorine.
Whilst this does work, it’s by no means the most efficient way to do so. It’s not particularly fast and it can use up a lot of energy. For this reason, it’s good in a pinch, but there other methods that you might prefer.
More Ways To Remove Chlorine From Your Water
With boiling out the way, it’s time to talk about some more methods you can use to remove chlorine from your water. Since chlorine is relatively easy to remove, there plenty of different ways in which you can drive it out of your water. To keep it simple, I’ve listed the two cheapest and most common ways in which you can remove chlorine from your water.
Let It Evaporate Over Time
One of the most popular, easiest, and cheapest ways to get the majority of chlorine out of your water is by allowing it to sit uncovered for a long duration of time.
This is known as off-gassing and works in a similar way to boiling the water. The chlorine slowly escapes from the water over time until there’s just a very small amount left.
When evaporating chlorine for drinking, people generally leave their water in their fridge rather than leaving it at room temperature as it keeps it cool. This method can take around 24 hours but it depends on how much water you’re leaving out and the size of your container.
For the fastest evaporation time, you need to get a large surface area of the water exposed. It’s best to leave the water in a very wide container if you’re wanting to use it as soon as possible.
If you have plenty of time, it’s a good idea to leave the water for 24 hours so you can make sure that most of the chlorine is gone.
Activated Charcoal Filter
Using activated charcoal (carbon) to remove impurities and chlorine from your water is the fastest and most effective method to do it.
If you don’t have time to boil your water or leave it to sit overnight, it’ll be worth picking up a charcoal filter. You can install these to your kitchen sink, get a filtered water bottle, or even get them installed for your house’s water system.
Using an activated charcoal filter will remove chlorine as well as any herbicides and pesticides, making your water considerably safer to drink.
This method is far superior to just boiling your water and is much more convenient. If you can afford it you should definitely get one.
Make sure that you’re replacing your charcoal filter after every recommended use period or amount. The amount of time/uses you get from it should be specified in the manufacturer’s guide.
Is There Any Need To Remove Chlorine From Water?
Chlorine has been widely used for a long time to remove kill the nasties in water and make it safe to drink in general. For this reason, chlorine is essential in keeping the water lines clean, but it doesn’t mean that you want to be drinking it.
There are lots of health risks and undesirable traits with chlorine in drinking water, so it’s best to avoid it where possible. Here are just some of the problems that can occur when chlorine is added to water:
It Makes Water Smell And Taste Worse
There’s absolutely nothing pleasant about the smell or taste of chlorine. You should know how overwhelming the smell of chlorine can be when you go near a public swimming pool and you’ve probably managed to get it in your mouth at some point too.
Although it’s not as strong as what you’d get in a swimming pool, you can still get that offputting taste and smell in your drinking water and it’s definitely something you want to avoid.
It Increases The Risk Of Respiratory Problems
Some cities use a very high amount of chlorine in tap water and this can lead to more problems if you suffer from certain respiratory conditions like asthma.
Chlorine can irritate the airways of some people and cause them to feel discomfort or mild difficulty breathing.
It Can Cause Cell Damage
Chlorine is added to water to kill bacteria and other living organisms, but it can also do harm to our bodies. It’s a strong disinfectant that can effectively damage human cells.
Drinking water that contains chlorine has the ability to destroy cells inside our bodies and therefore cause a whole load of unwanted issues.
This cell-destroying trait is why a lot of people see it as a potential carcinogen.
It Messes With Your Gut
Since chlorine does such a good job at killing bacteria, it can hurt your gut’s natural healthy bacteria. If the bacteria in your gut isn’t right, it can cause a whole load of bodily problems such as IBS, obesity, and autoimmune diseases.
The bacteria in your gut regulate a lot of things in your body, so it’s important that you do your best to make sure it stays healthy.