What is the purpose of adding chlorine compounds to drinking water?

Drinking water chlorination is the addition of chlorine to drinking water systems. It is the most common type of drinking water disinfection. Disinfection kills bacteria, viruses, and other microorganisms that cause disease and immediate illness.

What happens if you drink chlorine?

If you ingest chlorine, you may experience the following symptoms: Mouth and throat burns. Throat swelling and pain. Stomach pain.

Can you drink chlorinated pool water?

This is primarily due to the chemicals that are present in the water. It’s best to consider the water in your pool as “non-potable” water and only use it for washing or cleaning purposes, not for consumption. The chemicals used to keep pool water clean and safe to swim in can be dangerous inside a human body.

Can I use pool water to flush toilet?

see less One of the problem chemicals in pool water is cyanuric acid, which is the stabilizer used to help slow the chlorine from evaporating out of the pool. In an emergency, you could use swimming pool water for washing or flushing toilets, but you don’t want to use it for drinking water. You CAN NOT use pool water!

Can you use chlorine bleach to purify water?

In an emergency, to purify drinking water, two methods are most often used. They are boiling the water and adding chlorine (household bleach, such as Regular Clorox) to it. Most emergency experts and health officials suggest a mixture of 8 drops of bleach to a gallon of generally clear water for best results.

Why is chlorine in drinking water bad for You?

Because when chlorine mixes with even minute amounts of organic compounds that are very often found in water, they produce harmful by-products, called Trihalomethanes (THMs). These by-products produce free radicals in the body, which trigger cell damage.

Is chloramine or chlorine better for disinfection?

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) allows drinking water treatment plants to use chloramine and chlorine to disinfect drinking water. Research shows that chloramine and chlorine both have benefits and drawbacks. Chlorine is a highly effective method of disinfection.

What happens if you take a shower in chlorinated water?

When you bathe or shower in chlorinated water, you also absorb chlorine through your skin and breathe in chlorinated steam. If you experience respiratory problems, breathing in chlorine can aggravate the symptoms.

Does chlorine cause cancer and heart disease?

Unfortunately, we are learning the hard way that our attempts to prevent illness by adding chlorine in drinking water has contributed to another problem—the increase of cancer and heart disease. Check out what the experts have to say: