Chlorine is added to many public drinking water supplies because of its ability to kill various pathogens. No one disputes that it does the job for which it’s intended.
However, a growing number of health experts also point out that this substance may be putting us at greater risk of cancer. When chlorine binds with other substances present in the water, carcinogenic compounds, or byproducts, may form.
Consequently, a growing number of homeowners seem to be seeking ways to avoid this chemical. One fairly easy way is to install a simple shower head with a built in filter.
Dangers of Chlorine in Water
Chlorine consumption has been shown to increase the risk of various cancers, such as bladder and rectal cancer. There’s even some concern this additive could be a partial factor behind the current breast cancer epidemic, according to a 2010 article that ran in Scientific American magazine, which laid out some of the downsides of chlorine. (It also raised the question of whether chlorinated water supplies are best serving the public.)
This article also pointed out that municipalities in Canada and in Europe use ozone as a disinfectant, instead of chlorine.
So it makes sense to reduce our exposure to chlorine, some of which comes from when we shower in chlorinated water. The city we live in adds chlorine to our water. This is one of the reasons we don’t drink tap water in our house. We either use bottled spring water, or I use a counter top filter near my kitchen sink that traps chlorine, as well as fluoride. (Putting sodium fluoride in drinking water is a highly controversial practice and worth a separate article altogether. Needless to say, I try to avoid both chlorine and fluoride in my drinking water.)
Shower Head that Removes Chlorine
One of the easiest ways to reduce your chlorine exposure is to install a shower head that removes nearly all of this additive.
The Culligan WSH-C125 showerhead shown below is designed to be easy to install, and it can be used by apartment dwellers, since it does not involve extensive plumbing work. It also appears to be a simple solution, compared to some other filtration systems.
This showerhead comes with a five-year guarantee and a 10,000-gallon capacity before the filter itself needs to be replaced. This also has a shower massage setting.
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