It's a combo of chlorine and ammonia, as I understand it.
It's always something.... dammit!
I don't know much about this additive. It will be in place of chlorine. From what I understand, it may not be as strong as chlorine?? (don't quote me), but what's troubling is what I read when I googled it briefly: Chloramine is difficult to remove. And cannot be removed by boiling, distilling, or by standing uncovered. Great.
I think the only thing that will take it out is a large whole-house carbon filter, then reverse osmosis.
Now what?
If anyone knows more, please share. I hate this!
Posted by 17hens (Member # 23747) on :
Tammy, my parents and brother live in a town where they've added this. Chloramine is illegal to use in Germany. My parents were actually working with a lawyer to get it stopped but no luck. They ended up getting a whole house water filter which is working well.
Posted by Tammy N. (Member # 26835) on :
Hi Hens:)
When you talk to the water company or read their site, it all sounds so good. Then just do a google search and it doesn't sound so good. I don't like that you can't easily filter out.
What whole house system did your parents go with? I want to do something, just don't know what.
Hope you are well:)
Posted by 17hens (Member # 23747) on :
I am very well, thank you! (((hugs to you, friend!)))
Hey, I asked my dad and I am typing as he talks so this is not in proper order.
If you put fish in water w/ chloramine they die. My dad put goldfish in his filtered water and they didn't die. That's the only test he knows of to make sure his water filter is removing the chloramine.
The water goes thru UV light and goes into a can w/ ionized salt (same as a soft water system) but in the summer you can put phosphorus in there instead of salt pellets and that helps your plants.
From there the water goes thru 3 reverse osmosis filters, and when it comes out it doesnt' seem to have any chloromine.
Their system is called Campbell Reverse Osmosis System Plus UV Light Plus Water Softener.
Chloramine extracts the lead out of the pipes over a certain age (newer pipes dont' have lead) and puts it in the water so you drink the lead. It combines chlorine and ammonia which when heated up produces a gas (bathtub or shower) that gives you swimmer's asthma.
The reason the water companies use it is because the chloramine stays in the water until you treat it with a chemical so that means it's going into your body and staying there. Chlorine disapates in a 1/2 an hour (set a glass on a counter top).
As water comes out of the treatment plant it goes long distances thru the pipes. So the water company has to add chlorine at little stations along the way but with chloramine they don't have to man these stations to add more. They save manpower and money.
The thing is, if it kills the fish, why does it stop at fish. If there's a spill, a water main breaks, it kills everything to the earthworm in the water and the question is very long term (little children) will it affect humans.
If you find the website I emailed to you, you will find all this info and much more.
In Germany it is one of the chemicals that is forbidden to be added to German drinking water. My parents got in touch with a German professor in Munich and the man in charge of the water system in my Mom's hometown. Both men said this chemical is hazardous to your health.
Posted by Tammy N. (Member # 26835) on :
Wow, hens, thanks for taking the time to get this info for me.
Boy am I ****ed.! And wouldn't you know....just this afternoon, I was saying to myself "maybe you need to lighten up and not worry about every little thing, don't overthink things, etc." I was telling myself to not worry about the water thing, no one else was worried, so it will probably be fine.
Something nudged me to take a step further at looking into this, and Wow, it is a big deal!
Seriously, are they trying to kill us all one way or another?
Posted by 17hens (Member # 23747) on :
I know. I wonder that too.
Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
- So, Smart Meters everywhere and not this. Sigh.
But, gee whiz, there are filters that range $740. $1300. here. Oh, my. More stuff for the landfills, too. Who can afford this?
And if one buys water from a spring, what about showering, washing foods, cooking water, etc.
. . . chloramine can be deadly to fish in aquariums and ponds and to patients on dialysis machines.
For regular home use, water with chloramine presents aesthetic issues of bad taste, odor and skin irritation. And let's be frank: its long-term effect on health is largely unknown. . . . -
Posted by jlp38 (Member # 27221) on :
From what I have been reading, shower heads won't work, nor will normal kitchen water filters. But I will check out your link jlp, thanks.
Chloramine is a combo of chlorine and ammonia. When you think about it, haven't we all learned you never mix bleach with ammonia because it causes a toxic reaction? Well, this is what they will be putting into our water. The reason why is because it doesn't dissipate quickly like chlorine does (but it is not as effective either). In the end it saves them money.
Posted by jlp38 (Member # 27221) on :
I'm curious what you think of the filter. It claims to be specific for chloramines.
Posted by Hoops123 (Member # 18333) on :
If you ever think of everything that makes it into our water system, from fertilizers to paint removed from paint brushes, bleach, sewage, etc., I think we can all agree that it is greatly polluted and added this to it, is certainly not going to help.
There are too many people using the resources we have. What about the residue from all of the antibiotics we are taking when they leave our body. Or, all of the women on birth control. I don't know how you can control the purity of the water.
Posted by Tammy N. (Member # 26835) on :
I know, hoops, I agree, and it's sad. I think that, for people like us especially, it is important to get a good filtration system for our homes. I don't think it is a small issue, unfortunately....
Ugh, I hate this.
Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
- It sounds too late but, maybe, your local chapter of the SIERRA CLUB (&/or AUDUBON) could shed some light on if a reversal might be possible.
Seems like you'd really need an environmental group to take the lead on this - and one or more in your area may know more and be working on it.
There may also be some PHYSICIAN's group up to speed on this.
There are a few hits from a search at Google for:
Chloramine, physicians -
Posted by sparkle7 (Member # 10397) on :
I was thinking about this... it ocurred to me about the bleach & ammonia. What a horror.
Do you have any idea of where they are doing this - like a map or something - of areas they are treating? This is awful.
I heard someone talking on the radio the other day saying that they were concerned about water issues becasue of fracking. I don't really think it's an issue of resources running out. I think it has to do with mismanagement of what we have...
This level of pollution was not existant 1-2 hundred years ago - which is not really that long ago in our overall history. It just seems that almost anything goes these days. You would think that people would have learned over the years.
When this place is too polluted, where do the "decision makers" plan to live? On Mars?
I was just watching a documentary on Fukishima... It's still leaking as far as I know but it's hardly ever even mentioned in the media. It's awful...
Posted by GiGi (Member # 259) on :