Does your drinking water smell like bleach? Does your bath water smell like a public pool?

That’s because our municipalities put a small amount of chlorine in our water. Why? Because the pipes that run under our cities are decades or centuries old and the water flowing through them needs a disinfectant. If there was no chlorine in there, the water would probably pick up something nastier in the pipes on the way to your home.

In either case, the smell can be off-putting. You certainly don’t want it in your drinking water, ice cubes, or coffee/tea. It may even irritate your skin in the shower.

But the good news is that it’s entirely fixable!

As usual, we’re going to walk you through the cheapest way to fix the problem, the middle-ground solution, and the most overall effective way to remove that smell.

The Cheapest: Just Let it Sit

If you’re just looking to get some water for your plants or your pets, there is a simple no-cost solution. 

This involves simply pouring some water into a clean bowl and just letting the water de-gas. Let air oxidize the chlorine out of your water. It should be good in a few hours. 

This will work, but it clearly doesn’t give you more than a bowl full. It’s pretty much only if you need something for a pet or plant and don’t have any other options.

Next Cheapest: A Carbon Filter

If you need a little bit more water, your best bet is probably a carbon filter. These are effective for their $30.00 price tag. But, they can only remove chlorine at a rate of 1 gpm and then only about 1,000 gallons of water before you have to replace them.

But, it’s a pretty good solution for a pre-filter at the kitchen sink for your family's cold water and drinking water.  

A Little Bit Better: A Larger Carbon Filter

You can get a 20-inch Big Blue carbon filter to get rid of the smell. However, it’s still not a great whole-family solution. A family of four will go through one of those in a few months. They’re not super expensive, but buying a few of those every year gets a bit expensive and wasteful over the long run. 

For a family of 4, it will need to be replaced every couple of months. That will add up in a hurry.

A Much Better Solution: Reverse Osmosis

You could also go with a Reverse Osmosis drinking water system (like this HUM Water Saver 75) to remove the chlorine and a whole lot of other impurities from your water. This is a great way to get the smell out of your drinking water, but it’s not a whole-house solution.

However, it will do a great job of removing the chlorine from your drinking water while also removing a lot of other unwanted toxins and minerals like salt and lead.

The Best Solution: HUM Auto Back Washable Carbon Filters

If this is a family home and you need a whole-house solution, we highly recommend something efficient and robust like a HUM Auto Back Washable Carbon Filter. They can handle the volume of water you’re going to want to treat.

At the same time, they are chemical-free, self-cleaning and require no maintenance whatsoever. No filters to change every month. No fussing at all. 

Keep in Mind, Chlorine and Chloramines Are Not the Same

Please note that these solutions are perfect for removing chlorine from city water but will not remove chloramines. Your municipality may use those (instead of chlorine) to clean the water, and you will want to call to check before investing in a solution. 

If they do, you need a chloramine filter.

Let’s Talk About Your Water’s Smell

We help people with crappy-smelling water every day. That sometimes means the chlorine smell, or it could be the dreaded rotten egg sulphur smell.

If you have any questions, you can reach us at (705) 527-5900 or info@waterestore.com.