If your water smells faintly of a swimming pool, that is chlorine doing its job. It is the main reason waterborne disease is rare in Canada — and the main reason people buy filters.
Why it is added
Treating water at the plant is not enough on its own. Water then travels through kilometres of pipe before reaching your tap, and that journey needs protection against contamination along the way. A residual level of chlorine stays in the water the whole distance. Remove chlorine at the treatment plant and you lose that protection.
This is worth sitting with: the chlorine you dislike is the reason the water arriving at your home is safe. The goal is to remove it at the very end — at your tap, after it has finished working.
Why some days taste worse
Utilities adjust chlorine levels seasonally. Warmer water needs more. Many systems also run periodic higher-dose flushing of the distribution network, which is why your water can taste noticeably stronger for a week and then return to normal. Your distance from the treatment plant matters too — closer usually means more residual.
How to remove it
Chlorine is one of the easiest things to filter. Activated carbon adsorbs it readily, which is why almost every filter type handles it: pitcher, faucet mount, countertop, under-sink and whole-house. You do not need reverse osmosis for chlorine alone.
The cheapest method of all costs nothing: fill a jug and leave it in the fridge uncovered for a few hours. Chlorine is volatile and dissipates. It does nothing for lead or anything else, but for taste alone it works.
Chlorine in the shower
Hot water releases chlorine as vapour, and a shower has far more surface area and heat than a glass of water. People with sensitive skin or dry hair often notice the difference from a shower filter more than from a drinking filter.
Chloramine is a different problem
Some utilities use chloramine — chlorine combined with ammonia — because it lasts longer in the pipes. It is also harder to remove: standard carbon struggles, and catalytic carbon is usually needed. Check your municipal water report for which disinfectant your system uses before buying, because a filter rated for chlorine will underperform on chloramine.
Compare filter types → · Chloramine-rated filters →
Disclosure: some links in this article are affiliate links. If you buy through them we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.