Have you ever heard of chloramine? Although it’s not the most commonly known chemical, it’s added to the water in 1 in 5 homes in America! Given how prevalent this chemical is, many North and South Carolina will likely be curious about why it’s in their water and whether or not it is safe to use and consume. Today we’re going to talk about what chloramine is, the effects it can have on our health and what you can do to remove it from your home’s water!
What is chloramine?
Chloramine is a chemical that is produced when chlorine is combined with ammonia. Like chlorine, chloramine is used by water treatment plants to disinfect public water supplies in order to kill off dangerous pathogens that would otherwise cause waterborne illnesses.
Water treatment plants typically choose to disinfect their water with either chlorine or chloramine, and sometimes treatment plants will switch between the two disinfectants during different times of the year.
In the recent past, more and more water treatment plants have been using chloramine in place of chlorine for a few different reasons. First, it remains active in water longer than chlorine does, so it is more effective at disinfecting your water while it travels to your home. In addition, chloramine is thought to produce less of the chemical byproducts known as THM’s than chlorine does, making it the theoretically safer disinfectant.
What are the health effects of chloramine?
Although chloramine is supposed to be a safer disinfectant than chlorine, many people (including those in the scientific community) are not so sure. Although chloramine does produce less of the regulated byproducts that chlorine gives off, it produces more unregulated byproducts. The health effects of most of these byproducts is unknown.
In addition, chloramine does still produce many of the same chemical byproducts as chlorine, just at lower levels. Even at low levels, long-term exposure to THM’s can increase the risk of people developing many types of cancer and has been linked to other health effects, including:
- A weakened immune system
- Respiratory problems
- Digestive problems
- Skin rashes
- Cardiovascular issues
How can you remove chlorine from your home’s water?
Since chloramine is a chemical that’s added by water treatment plants, the only way to remove it and it’s byproducts from your water is to install a whole house filtration system. By installing a water filtration system in your home, you can benefit from the disinfectant powers of chloramine while also avoiding the possibly dangerous side-effects that can result from exposure to the chemical.
If you have any questions about chloramine in drinking water, or if you’d like a water system serviced or installed in your home, contact North Carolina Water Consultants, your water softener and water filtration system dealer in North and South Carolina. We service areas all over the Carolinas, including towns like Winston Salem, Clemmons and Statesville, NC.