Chloramine in Water and Itching for 30 Minutes after Bath or Shower 1

[NOLAscience]

The water system in my "City S" switched from chlorine disinfection to chloramine on September 1, 2017.

Our 2019 Annual Water Quality Report states 1.4 ppm RAA of chloramine, with a range of 0.7-2.1 ppm. What is the recommended remedy for the chloramines that are causing this skin irritation? Whole-house or showerhead and kitchen faucet? Is it considered safe to cook with water with this level of chloramine? Does a refrigerator water filter remove chloramine?

The pH is reported as 8.74-8.95.

I'm a civil engineer, but I knew next to nothing about water chemistry until I developed intense irritation and "itching" in the spring and summer, starting in March 2018, in City S, which became my permanent residence after 6 years of year-round weekend and week-long visits. The irritation is like a needle-prick combined with low-level burning and some perception of "itch" (rubbing skin distracted the sensation). The irritation started 3 minutes after ending the lukewarm to cool shower and only persisted for about 30 minutes, and was partially relieved with blue ice packs, but I itched like a crazy person for that 30-60 minutes. This is NOT "dry skin" as the skin had no perceptible dryness and the sensation was gone in about 30 minutes (dry skin would be noticeable until the next shower). I do not use lotions and have only used Dove bar soap for decades.

I might add that I have a low-level skin allergy called dermatographia, in which histamine is released into the skin in response to a scratch. My spouse does not have any itching and has no allergies.

 

[bimr]

Since you have the skin condition, your best alternative is to install a whole house activated carbon filtration system which should remove the chlorine. Showerhead and kitchen faucet filters will have limited capacity.

Example of whole house filter

 

[itsmoked]

I was led to believe chloramines in the presence of dead organic material (like algae) results in generating strong carcinogens. Is that true?

Nice fix bimr.

Keith Cress
kcress -

http://www.flaminsystems.com

 

[bimr]

Yes, chlorination of organic compounds may generate toxic disinfection byproducts. Fortunately, drinking water generally does not contain organic matter.

Sometimes, potable water contains naturally occurring ammonia. A large dosage of chlorine is required to oxidize the ammonia. An alternative is to use chloramine disinfection where the chlorine reacts with the ammonia.

 

[ashtree]

Most utilities test for disinfection by products regularly and have to work within limits that are considered to be safe with low risk of being carcinogenic.
The levels you are reporting for chloramines is within the normal range for this type of disinfection. Many utilities have switched to chloramines to limit the formation of disinfection by products.
The skin itching that you report may or may not be specifically linked to the chloramine process, but possibly also the pH of the water. Prior to using the chloramine process it is likely that the water pH would have been much lower, probably less than 8.

Regards
Ashtree
"Any water can be made potable if you filter it through enough money"