Does your tap water taste like chlorine or have an odor reminiscent of swimming pool water or bleach? This is a common observation, and it does not necessarily mean that your water has a health-related problem.

Chlorine is used to disinfect water and preserve its microbiological quality during its transport through the distribution network. But even at low concentrations, some people are able to perceive its taste or odor.

The good news is that there are several ways to reduce this sensation. For occasional discomfort, leaving the water in a pitcher in the refrigerator for a few hours can be enough. For a more lasting effect, various filtration solutions, particularly those using activated carbon, can improve the taste and odor of the water.

Why is there chlorine in tap water? Is it dangerous? And above all, how do you remove the chlorine taste from water? FLX Water provides an update.

Why might tap water have a taste of chlorine?

Before trying to remove its taste, you have to understand why chlorine is present in the water.

Water intended for human consumption undergoes treatment before being distributed. The objective is, in particular, to eliminate or inactivate microorganisms that could pose a health risk.

Chlorine is used as a disinfectant in this process. One of its main benefits is that it can retain a disinfectant action during the transport of water in pipes.

Between the drinking water production plant and your tap, the water can indeed travel several kilometers through the network. Maintaining a residual disinfectant helps protect its microbiological quality until it reaches the consumer.

However, this presence can have a very easily perceptible consequence: a characteristic taste or odor.

And we are not all equally sensitive to this sensation.

The World Health Organization indicates that most people can detect the taste or odor of chlorine at concentrations well below its health guideline value of 5 mg/L. Some people can even perceive it at around 0.3 mg/L.

In other words, smelling chlorine does not automatically mean that its concentration is abnormally high.

Does a chlorine taste mean that the water is bad to drink?

No, not on its own.

This is probably the most important point to remember.

Water can have a taste that you find unpleasant while still meeting the health requirements applicable to drinking water. Taste, odor, and appearance are part of what are called the organoleptic characteristics of water.

Consumer perception and health risk are therefore two different subjects.

In France, tap water is subject to sanitary control organized by the Regional Health Agencies (ARS), in addition to the monitoring carried out by those responsible for water production and distribution.

The results are public. You can check the latest analyses for your municipality, inquire with the distribution manager, or consult the information provided with your water bill.

The Ministry of Health specifies that in the absence of specific instructions from the distributor, the mayor, or the ARS, tap water can be consumed.

A taste of chlorine is therefore, in many cases, primarily a problem of taste comfort rather than a sufficient indicator of water non-conformity.

Why do some people smell chlorine much more?

You may have already experienced this situation: one person fills their glass and finds the water perfectly normal, while another immediately notices a smell of chlorine.

It is not necessarily in your head.

The perception of taste and odors varies greatly from one person to another. The WHO also points out that the acceptability of water depends in part on the individual sensitivity of the consumer.

Temperature also plays a role in the perception of water. Cool water is generally more pleasant to drink than lukewarm water, especially when certain odors are present.

The concentration of chlorine can also change according to distribution conditions and interventions carried out on the network.

You may thus have the impression that your water is perfectly neutral for several weeks and then notice a more present odor occasionally.

In this case, it is useful to distinguish a slight, habitual chlorine taste from a sudden and unusual change in the taste or odor of your water. We will return later to the reflexes to adopt in the latter situation.

How to remove the chlorine taste from tap water?

If your only problem is the taste, there is no need to start immediately with a complex installation.

Several solutions exist, from the simplest to the most complete.

1. Leave the water in an open pitcher in the refrigerator

This is the first method to try, and it is directly recommended by the Ministry of Health.

The principle is simple: fill a pitcher with cold tap water, leave it open, and place it in the refrigerator for a few hours.

This method helps reduce any potential chlorine taste while making the water cooler, which also improves its perception in the mouth.

It obviously has one advantage: it requires no equipment.

On the other hand, it only acts on the water you have prepared in advance. If the taste bothers you systematically or if you wish to treat the water directly at the time of use, a filtration solution may be more practical.

2. Use a filter pitcher

Filter pitchers are another common solution for improving the taste of water intended for drinking.

Many use activated carbon to reduce certain compounds responsible for tastes or odors.

They can be suitable for a household that essentially wishes to improve a few liters of water per day.

However, the manufacturer's recommendations regarding the replacement of cartridges and the maintenance of the pitcher must be scrupulously followed. A filtration system is only effective if it is properly maintained.

3. Install a filter on the tap or under the sink

Filters installed directly at the point of use allow for water to be treated at the time it is used.

Depending on the technology chosen, they can improve the taste and odor of the water and act on certain other parameters.

This approach remains localized, however: if the device is under the kitchen sink, the water from the other taps in the house does not pass through this filter.

4. Filter the water as soon as it enters the house

The last approach consists of installing a filtration system on the main water inlet of the home.

This is called centralized filtration or point-of-entry filtration.

Unlike a pitcher or an under-sink filter, the objective is no longer just to treat the water from a glass or a tap. The water is filtered before being distributed to the various points of use in the home.

This approach can be relevant when taste and odors are only part of a broader issue related to water quality.

To compare the different technologies, also consult our guide What is the best system for filtering the water of the whole house?.

Why is activated carbon used against chlorine taste?

When looking for a filter to improve the taste of water, one material comes up very regularly: activated carbon.

Its operation is based mainly on a phenomenon called adsorption.

Unlike simple mechanical filtration, which consists of physically blocking particles that are too large to pass through a material, adsorption allows certain substances to attach themselves to the surface of the carbon.

Activated carbon has an extremely porous structure that provides it with a large contact surface.

It is thus widely used in water treatment to act on various compounds that can contribute to tastes and odors. The World Health Organization cites activated carbon among the processes that can be used to treat various organoleptic problems of water.

It is also for this reason that we find it in many household appliances: pitchers, under-sink filters, tap filters, or centralized filtration systems.

But be careful: "contains activated carbon" does not mean that all filters offer the same performance.

The type of carbon used, its quantity, the contact time with the water, the system's flow rate, and the frequency of cartridge replacement influence performance.

Activated carbon is therefore not a magic formula. As with any filtration technology, you have to look at the entire system and the use for which it is intended.

Filter only the water you drink or all the water in the house?

This is probably the most useful question to ask yourself before buying a filter.

If your only discomfort is the taste of chlorine in your glass of water, starting with a pitcher in the refrigerator or a point-of-use solution makes perfect sense.

There is no need to install a centralized system just to improve a few liters of drinking water.

The logic changes if you are looking to act on the water before it is distributed throughout the home, or if the taste and odors are accompanied by other concerns related to water quality.

In this case, filtration installed on the general inlet allows you to treat the water in one place rather than multiplying equipment on the various taps.

This is the approach chosen by FLX Water with the FLX Compact.

How does the FLX Compact act on the taste and odors of water?

The FLX Compact is a centralized filtration solution developed by FLX Water for homes supplied with mains water.

It is installed on the main water inlet of the home so that the water passes through the system before being distributed to the various points of use.

Its technology combines several complementary mechanisms:

• hollow fibers calibrated at 0.1 µm;
• electro-adsorption technology capable of capturing smaller charged particles, including viruses down to the order of 0.001 µm;
• a step with activated carbon, specifically intended to improve the taste and odors of the water.

The system therefore aims at a broader objective than just improving the taste. The documented performance of the FLX Compact also targets various contaminants, including PFAS, pesticides, bacteria, viruses, and certain heavy metals.

It works thanks to network pressure, without electrical power or the addition of chemical products.

If your only problem is a slight taste of chlorine in your glass of water, a simpler solution may be enough. On the other hand, if you are looking for a centralized filtration that also allows you to act on other water quality parameters, you can discover the FLX Compact from FLX Water.

Is chlorine the only cause of bad tastes in water?

No, and that is an important nuance.

A consumer may spontaneously describe an odor as "chlorine" or "bleach" without chlorine necessarily being the only cause of the perceived sensation.

Water can have different tastes or odors depending on its composition, origin, treatment, or even the interior plumbing of the home.

A metallic, earthy, moldy, or unusual taste should therefore not automatically be attributed to chlorine.

Likewise, taste does not allow for the detection of all contaminants. Water that is perfectly neutral in the mouth can contain substances that are impossible to perceive with our senses.

This is particularly the case for many pesticides, PFAS, or metals present at very low concentrations.

If you wish to better understand what analyses can look for in the water distributed in France, consult our article The contaminants present in mains water in France: what you are really drinking.

What to do if the taste or odor appears suddenly?

A slight chlorine odor known for a long time and a sudden change in the water are two different situations.

If your water suddenly changes in taste, odor, or appearance, a few simple checks can help understand the origin of the problem.

Start by running only the cold water for a few moments and check if the anomaly persists.

If the phenomenon only concerns hot water, the origin may be located in your hot water production installation rather than in the public network.

You can also check if your neighbors are observing the same phenomenon. If several homes supplied by the same network notice a change simultaneously, it may be relevant to contact the water service.

Also consult the information published by your distributor and the results of the health check for your municipality.

Finally, if an official restriction or non-consumption notice is issued by the distributor, the town hall, or the ARS, it must always be respected. A domestic filtration unit must not be used to bypass an official health notice.

Chlorine taste in water: what you need to remember

Chlorine plays an important role in the microbiological safety of distributed water. Its taste or odor can, however, be perceptible well before reaching concentrations associated with a health risk.

If this sensation bothers you, start with the simplest solution: an open pitcher left in the refrigerator for a few hours, as recommended by the Ministry of Health.

If you want a permanent solution just for drinking water, a point-of-use filtration may be sufficient.

And if your goal is broader—improving taste and odors while filtering the water before it is distributed throughout your home—a centralized filtration can be considered.

It is with this logic that FLX Water has developed the FLX Compact, which combines high-precision filtration, electro-adsorption, and activated carbon to treat water directly as it arrives in the house.

The right solution therefore depends above all on the problem you are really trying to solve: an unpleasant taste in your glass or a desire to filter the water of your entire home.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does my tap water smell like bleach?
This odor may be related to the chlorine used to disinfect the water and preserve its microbiological quality during its transport in the network. Perception varies greatly from one person to another.

Is it dangerous to drink water that has a chlorine taste?
The taste of chlorine is not enough to conclude that water poses a health risk. The WHO indicates that some people can perceive chlorine at concentrations well below its health guideline value. In case of an unusual change or doubt, check the sanitary results of your municipality or contact your distributor.

How to naturally remove the chlorine taste from water?
The Ministry of Health recommends leaving tap water in an open pitcher for a few hours in the refrigerator in order to reduce any potential chlorine taste.

Does activated carbon remove the chlorine taste?
Activated carbon is widely used in water treatment to reduce chlorine and improve certain tastes and odors. Its effectiveness depends, however, on the type of filter, the amount of media, the flow rate, the contact time, and its maintenance.

Do you have to filter the whole house to remove the chlorine taste?
Not necessarily. If you only wish to improve the water you drink, a point-of-use solution may be sufficient. A centralized filtration becomes more relevant when the objective is to treat the water as soon as it arrives in the home and also act on other quality parameters.

Sources

• Ministry of Health – Tap water
  Official information on tap water quality and consumption recommendations, including the use of an open pitcher in the refrigerator to eliminate any potential chlorine taste.
• World Health Organization – Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality: Taste, Odour and Appearance
  Data on the perception of chlorine in drinking water and the distinction between the taste perception threshold and the health guideline value.
• World Health Organization – Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality
  International reference on drinking water quality, disinfection, chemical parameters, and water acceptability.