How To Remove Chlorine From Drinking Water

The presence of chlorine in drinking water has been a hotly debated topic for many years now. The debate centers around compounds like chlorine and fluoride being added to drinking water and the long-term effects of this on our bodies and the environment.

A case can be made for the necessity of chlorine in the water we consume. Chlorine is first and foremost a disinfectant that kills water-borne bacteria and viruses. Having chlorine in our drinking water helps prevent the spread of these bacteria and viruses.

Whilst chlorine is proven to help disinfect our water supply, there is a difference between disinfecting something and purifying it.

On the opposite side of the coin, the case can be made that because this compound is a disinfectant, this could be having serious effects on our health.

Too much exposure to chlorine could negatively impact our large and small intestines. Consuming too much could influence the composition of our gut bacteria in the sense that it not only kills bad bacteria but good bacteria too.

You might now be wondering if there is a way to remove chlorine from your drinking water. The fact is that there are several ways to remove this compound from your water.

In this guide, we’ll be taking a look at some of the most popular ways to get rid of it. So keep on reading to find out more.

How Do You Purify Chlorinated Water For Drinking?

There are three main ways you can use to purify chlorinated water for drinking. These are:

• Distilling The Water
• Filtering The Water
• Chemical Neutralization

Each of these methods has its advantages and disadvantages.

Distilling your tap water by simply boiling it can be cost-effective but inefficient. Without the proper distilling equipment, you stand to lose a significant amount of water (you will always lose some using this method).

Using a water filter is one of the most robust ways of getting rid of chlorine from your supply. The sky’s the limit when it comes to water filtration.

You can install an inline water filter that will get rid of chlorine and other impurities before it comes out of your faucet.

Using the chemical neutralization method can seem like a contradiction, as you would need to add more chemicals to the water to get rid of chlorine.

However, the compounds used in the chemical neutralization process are far safer than chlorine. In addition, they will also evaporate once they’ve done their job.

Distilling Your Water

Distilling your water is the process of boiling it and allowing it to condense and cool. During the heating process, any impurities in the water, like chlorine, will evaporate.

This is simply because chlorine is a highly volatile compound, which means that even the slightest amount of heat applied to it will cause it to break down.

There are water distilling kits on the market, which in essence, are similar to kettles with a couple of differences.

Water distilling kits usually have an inner and an outer chamber. The inner chamber is where the action happens, the water is heated in this section.

The outer chamber is where the process of condensing happens, which reverts the water to its liquid state, minus the impurities.

Filtering Your Water

As mentioned, there are numerous options if you want to start filtering your water.

From water filtering jugs to inline water filters and refrigerators with water filters/dispensers, filtering your water has never been easier or more convenient.

However, nearly all of these options work in virtually the same way, by using reverse osmosis

Reverse osmosis is a simple process that involves water passing through a permeable membrane. This membrane is typically made out of GAC (Granular Activated Carbon) and works by attracting impurities, including chlorine, to it to remove them from the water.

The membrane then absorbs these impurities to prevent them from recontaminating water when it passes through the filter again.

Chemical Neutralization

To be able to chemically neutralize chlorine in water, you’ll first need to get some appropriate compounds to do so.

There are many choices, the most popular being Potassium Metabisulfite. This compound usually comes in the form of tablets.

Adding tablets of potassium metabisulfite to your water will, in essence, neutralize any chlorine present in the water before evaporating.

There are a few things to consider when adding potassium metabisulfite to your water.

The first is that a single dose of the compound is effective in roughly 20 gallons of water. This means that the cost of removing chlorine from a large amount of water is relatively inexpensive.

The second is that you’ll need to ensure that you are using the tablets in the correct proportions to the amount of water.

This is the main reason why using this form of chemical neutralization is popular amongst breweries that need to purify water on an industrial scale.

How Long Does It Take To Get Chlorine Out Of Water?

To answer this question, it’s important to consider the methods we’ve outlined in the article.

When you take the distilling process, for example, this can be time-consuming when you consider the fact that the water needs to boil and condense for the method to work.

Water filters come a close second in terms of the speed at which they can remove chlorine from water. An inline filter can remove contaminants before they leave the faucet.

Chemical neutralization is also pretty much instant, within a few minutes of the neutralizing compound being added to the water, it’ll have no chlorine in it.

Wrapping Up

The methods outlined above are all effective ways of removing chlorine from your drinking water.

There are regulations in place that state that there should be no more than four milligrams of chlorine per liter of water in any given water supply.

These regulations are set out by the EPA and are mandated to all water suppliers and municipalities.

Using the methods above is an excellent way to further remove chlorine from your drinking water.

Thank you for reading!

• Author
• Recent Posts

Mandy Anderson

Hi, my name is Mandy Anderson and I think that more people should be informed about their water quality!

There is so much to consider about the water that you’re consuming, such as how it’s treated, what chemicals are used within it, and what these are doing to the environment.

We need to protect our local environments and wildlife, so I urge you to take a look through my website and learn about how your water quality is affecting you and your surroundings.

Latest posts by Mandy Anderson (see all)

• Does Low Or High pH Affect My Water? - August 15, 2022
• The WaterMill Review - June 9, 2022
• Chlorine In Drinking Water: What Are The Effects? - May 26, 2022