With more than 30 years’ experience in the residential and commercial water treatment space, Mark Nelson is a Class 1 Drinking-Water Operator and a CBWA (Canadian Bottled Water Association) Certified Plant Operator. As founder and president of Nelson Water in Ottawa, Mark focuses on dealing with challenging water treatment system designs for problem water. He also heads the largest water bottling plant in the city of Ottawa with a delivery network throughout the Valley.
Many people have a tap water smell that gives them nostalgic flashbacks to long summers by a swimming pool. This smell is the result of chlorine and if you have a very strong chlorine odour in your water is likely that you have elevated levels present. Chlorine has been used for over a century to disinfect water in the developed world, and it has proven to be highly effective. But, if there are elevated levels of chlorine present, it can make your drinking water unpalatable, and the smell discourages people from drinking adequate volumes of water. So, why is there such a strong bleach like smell, and what can you do to solve the problem?
A Brief Chlorine Overview
The presence of a strong bleach or swimming pool odour is a sure sign that your local water treatment plant is using chlorine as a disinfection agent. Chlorine is used to kill a wide variety of waterborne germs, such as norovirus and E.coli. Governmental guidelines are in place to keep the chlorine content with the safe level for human consumption. So, even if you have a strong odour of chlorine, you don’t need to worry about a threat to your health. A very strong chlorine scent is often a sign that you’re living closer to the water treatment plant. As the chlorine treated water makes its way through the pipes, it tends to lose a little of its potency and thus homes that are further away have a less pronounced chlorine smell in the water. Another reason for a strong chlorine odour is the temperature of the water supply; if the water is colder, it will hold on to the chlorine smell for a longer period of time. Because many people cannot tolerate the strong chlorine odour, they can install a water treatment system in their home to remove the smell entirely.
Where Does the Chlorine Odour Come From?
In order to maintain a clean and disinfected source of public water, a certain level of chlorine needs to be present. This level of chlorine is known as the residual, and if it creeps above 1mg/L, a strong odour of bleach can be detected by the majority of people. Many people don’t know that water supplies that travel over longer distances need to receive heavier doses of chlorination to compensate for the greater level of dissipation. As we mentioned above, this is also affected by the weather and some homeowners, even in remote areas, may notice that their water smell strongly of chlorine in the warmer months. For this reason, many water treatment plants even adjust the levels of chlorination throughout the year to account for seasonal temperature differences.
How Effective is Chlorine for Water Disinfection?
The introduction of chlorination in public water supplies directly led to the elimination of a number of waterborne diseases in western nations. Almost overnight, diseases like dysentery and cholera were no longer a threat to human health, and this led to a general improvement in longevity and quality of life. But, as our population has increased a great deal of demand has been placed on our water treatment facilities. The rise of industrialization and the necessity for more intensive farming practices have all had a toll on our environment. Sadly, a variety of contaminants are now present in our waterways, and many of them are harmful to life. Industrial and agricultural runoff has flushed salts, chemicals, and heavy metals into our water supply that are difficult to remove with standard water treatment methods. Our water treatment plants need a significant upgrade, and although chlorine can kill many microbial threats, there are over 300 contaminants present in our water supply that are unaffected by this water treatment method. For this reason, many people decide to install an extra layer of protection for their home with a water filtration system of their own.
How Do You Get Rid of the Chlorine Smell?
As we stated earlier, chlorine is not a threat to human health, but it adds an unpleasant taste and smell that many people simply cannot live with. The simplest method is to run the tap for a couple of minutes and fill a pitcher with water. Cover the pitcher or place it in your refrigerator and leave it for a couple of hours. This will provide sufficient time for the chlorine odour to fully dissipate, making it more pleasant to drink. Another option is to invest in a carbon based water filter jug to remove the chlorine odour. This option is relatively inexpensive, but it doesn’t offer anything else in terms of water filtration and conditioning. Also, a water jug will only offer a limited quantity of carbon filtered water at a time, and the water delivered to other areas of the home will still have a strong chlorine smell. This is particularly noticeable in the bath or shower when you may have a particularly unpleasant experience that leaves you feeling less than fresh. There is also the case of the untreated contaminants that are not dealt with at your water treatment plant and how they can affect your home.
Is There a Better Solution for Water Filtration?
Yes, there are many types of water filtration systems available to deal with any type of water quality issues you may have. Different geographic areas may have certain water quality issues related to that area, and some investigation may be required. The first step is to carry out a water test, a simple kit can tell you a lot, but a laboratory test will be more accurate and allow you to tailor your water treatment system to your home. In many cases, multiple systems may be installed to deal with a spectrum of water issues. Installing a reverse osmosis (RO) system at your kitchen sink is relatively inexpensive, and this will supply cleaner water on demand without any chlorine odour. If you want to supply clean and chlorine free water to your entire home, a whole house water filtration is a better investment.