How To Remove Chlorine From Water
By
Background
Is your chlorinated city water killing you? Water suppliers began chlorinating water early in the twentieth century to reduce the spread of water-borne pathogens such as cholera and typhoid fever. Although the water treatment was successful, many other chronic diseases began, such as heart disease and cancers, causing many individuals to seek a quick way to remove the chlorine from their water supply prior to drinking or bathing.
There are basically two ways to remove chlorine from water. One is a better alternative than the other. But, if you are concerned about removing chlorine from water, you should know that any time a chemical is used for disinfection, hazardous byproducts are released. So, in addition to learning how to remove chlorine from water, you also need to learn how to remove those hazardous byproducts.
Showering in chlorinated water aggravates skin conditions such as eczema. It also causes itching and excessive dryness in people with otherwise normal skin. It dries out the hair. It can cause rashes and many people are simply allergic to the chemical.
So, it is important to remove chlorine from water, but there are other important steps to take. The byproducts of chlorination increase our lifetime risk for cancer of the bladder and the colon.
The Facts About Chlorine and It’s By-Products
The more we are exposed to the byproducts, the greater our risk becomes. When you were a child, your parents may have been concerned about removing chlorine from water. But, the health risks of exposure to the by products was unknown.
It was not until the Freedom of Information Act that Americans began to learn more about what exactly is in the public supplies around the country. Although some scientists and physicians tried to publish papers with a concern about the risks of chlorination, respected journals would not publish the results.
Some researchers published their own books, in order to get the word out. But, the books were largely ignored. It has only been within the last five years that we knew, for a certainty that disinfection by-products cause cancer.
How To Get Rid Of Chlorine
We know how to remove chlorine from water. All it takes is carbon. The two methods that I mentioned earlier in this article are granulated active carbon or GAC and carbon blocks.
GAC cannot remove THMs, which are the primary chlorination by products. Carbon Blocks can be constructed to remove THMs. They can also remove volatile organic compounds, which are present in many water supplies, but facilities don’t test for them, since there is no requirement to do so.
If properly constructed, a carbon block can remove chlorine from water, along with THMs and microscopic cysts. The EPA has warned that cysts may be present in any public or private supply at any time. Without constant testing, there is no way to determine whether or not you are at risk.
If consumed, cysts cause illnesses similar to food poisoning, but the infection can be lethal. A carbon block with a low micron porous structure can remove cysts, while removing chlorine from water and reducing your risk of cancer. When you select a water filter (counter top, under counter, whole house or reverse osmosis) be certain that you select a system that includes carbon block filters to remove the chlorine and the by-products that result from the use of chlorine.
