Most of you know that Chlorine is an effective disinfectant to kill pathogens such as E Coli, typhoid bacteria and cholera bacteria. The disinfectant nature of Chlorine made its use in countries across the globe to disinfect drinking water. The reasoning behind this consistent use is that chlorine will not harm the human body if it is not concentrated. But as an educated consumer you will also have to learn the negative effects of Chlorine on your body.
Depending on how sensitive you are, there are numerous side effects caused by chlorinated water particularly in your shower. Some of these effects are given below:
• Dry, brittle, lusterless hair
• Dry, aging skin
• Skin rashes and irritation
• Respiratory problems
• Tissue cell damage
• Cardiovascular disease
Hair Damage due to Chlorine in shower water
Chlorine chemically bonds with proteins in the hair, skin and scalp. Hair can becomes rough and brittle and lose color. Skin can dry out resulting in itchy, flaky scalp. Chlorine can aggravate sensitive areas in the eyes, nose, throat and lungs. People absorb more chlorine in the shower than they do when drinking chlorinated water.
In addition it is suspected that Chlorine, when dissolved in water and joining with contaminants in water can lead to the formation of chlorination byproducts which can cause cell damage and are known to be carcinogenic.
A good quality Chlorine filter will be able to remove Chlorine and other harmful chemicals and compounds such as lead, bromine etc from the water
Some chlorine shower filters even come equipped with the ability to inhibit the growth of bacteria in the apparatus. The growth of bacteria is especially a problem for people who use warm water consistently. Therefore, it would be advisable for a person to go for the high end chlorine shower filter instead of one that only provides some features.
Chlorine Filter Types
There are several types of Water Filters in the market place. The most common types are shown below:
- Charcoal Filters: Uses activated carbon as the filtrate. An average charcoal filter will last a family 6-9 months. Some charcoal filters are enhanced by the use of activated silver, which provides extra antibacterial protection. Minerals in solution can still permeate a charcoal filter
- Reverse Osmosis Filters: Most common in the under the sink installation. Reverse Osmosis Water Filters water filters use a fine membrane to filter through osmotic process. They take everything out of the water, leaving it pure. Every few months a new membrane must be installed to keep the filter effective.
- Distillation Filters: Distillation filters use electricity to heat tap water to boiling point and then condense the water vapor. Impurities are left in the boiling container and the purified condensate drains back into a clean container.
- Ultraviolet Filters: These filters use Ultra Violet rays to kill the pathogenic bacteria in the water. They are rarely used in residential applications, due to the the problem of keeping the UV light clean
Among the above filter types, Charcoal or Carbon based filters are most commonly used to remove Chlorine from water. There are different types of carbon filters
- Carbon Filters
From the days when the Egyptians discovered that storing water in charcoal made it stay fresher and taste better, carbon has been a standard feature in water filtration. One pound of carbon contains a surface area of roughly 125 acres and can absorb literally thousands of different chemicals.
- Activated Carbon Block Filters
From the days when the Egyptians discovered that storing water in charcoal made it stay fresher and taste better, carbon has been a standard feature in water filtration. Activated carbon, also called activated charcoal or activated coal, is a form of carbon that has been processed to make it extremely porous and thus to have a very large surface area available for adsorption or chemical reactions. Activated Carbon based filters are very effective in de-chlorination.
Most Chlorine filters currently in the market use some form of carbon filtration.
- Catalytic GAC carbon filter
Granulated Activated Carbon (GAC) carbon filters reduce more of the Chlorine and Chloramines taste and odor than other types of carbon filters.
- Activated Carbon Block Filters
- Kinetic Degradation Fluxion (KDF) filters:
Kinetic Degradation Fluxion (KDF) is a high-purity copper-zinc formulation that uses a basic chemical process known as redox (oxidation/reduction) to remove chlorine, lead, mercury, iron, and hydrogen sulfide from water supplies. The process also has a mild anti-bacterial, algaecitic, and fungicitic, effect and may reduce the accumulation of lime scale.