Chlorine vs. chloramine

Two ways to keep water clean in the pipes

Water can pick up germs at its source and on the way through miles of pipe. So most utilities add a disinfectant, CDC says, usually chlorine or chloramine.

• Chlorine has been used in U.S. tap water since 1908. CDC says it gets used up quickly, so by the time water reaches your tap, there may not be enough left to keep killing germs.
• Chloramine is chlorine combined with ammonia. The kind used in tap water is called monochloramine. It keeps disinfecting longer as water moves through the pipes, CDC says, and makes fewer disinfection byproducts.

EPA says more than one in five Americans uses water treated with chloramine. Many utilities use chlorine as their main disinfectant, EPA says, and some switched to chloramine to protect the water on its way out and to meet the rules on disinfection byproducts. Some switch back and forth with the seasons, CDC says, or move to chlorine for a while to clear the slimy layer of germs that grows inside pipes.

Both are safe at the levels allowed

EPA's limit is 4.0 ppm for chlorine and 4.0 ppm for chloramine. EPA calls these maximum residual disinfectant levels. CDC says levels up to 4 mg/L are considered safe and unlikely to make people sick.

EPA says water with chloramine that meets its standards is safe for drinking, cooking, bathing and other household uses. A filter for either one is about taste and smell, not safety.

Which one is in your water

Your utility's annual water quality report says whether there is disinfectant in your water and which kind, CDC says, along with the levels of disinfectant and its byproducts. The report guide shows how to read one. TapBuff's report for each utility also shows which disinfectant it reported to EPA in its 2023 to 2025 sampling; the lookup below finds yours. The byproducts have limits of their own; see total trihalomethanes.

What's different in daily life

Leaving water out. CDC says chlorine leaves water that sits out for a few days. Chloramine does not. A pitcher on the counter overnight won't lose it.

Taste and smell. CDC says water with chlorine can taste and smell different from water with chloramine, more so at higher chlorine levels.

Lead and copper. CDC says chloramine can change the water's chemistry in ways that affect lead and copper pipes, and EPA gives utilities guidance on switching safely. If your home might have lead pipes, the lead guide covers testing and what to do meanwhile.

Fish, turtles and frogs. CDC says not to keep fish, turtles, frogs or other animals that live in water in water with chlorine or chloramine, because they absorb it straight into their blood. Pet stores sell products that remove either one; ask which handles chloramine. Dogs, cats and birds can drink the water as it is.

Dialysis. Dialysis centers must remove both disinfectants before the water is used, CDC says. If you do dialysis at home, check your machine's instructions or ask the maker how to treat the water.

Filters: a chlorine claim doesn't cover chloramine

Under NSF/ANSI 42, chlorine and chloramine are separate claims. A filter certified to reduce chlorine has not been certified for chloramine unless its listing names chloramine too. NSF says a system certified for chlorine is not necessarily effective on chloramine, which is harder for treatment systems to reduce. Both are taste and odor claims, not health claims.

That matters for the most common filters. No pitcher in TapBuff's catalog carries a chloramine claim, Brita's included; one gravity dispenser, Culligan's MaxClear Scout, does. Outside the catalog, Costco's Kirkland Signature pitcher adds chloramine on WQA's listing. Certified shower filters don't either: NSF says filters certified to NSF/ANSI 177 reduce only free available chlorine. The best shower filters ranks the ones with that claim.

The filters that do carry the claim are mostly under-sink and countertop systems, plus some fridge filters:

Filters with a chloramine claim on their listing

Filter	Listing	Five years
Brondell Coral UC300 Under Sink Water Filtration SystemUnder-sink carbon	WQA 42	$900
A.O. Smith 2-Stage Under Sink Water Filter (AO-US-200)Under-sink carbon	WQA 42	$980
Aquasana Claryum 2-Stage (AQ-6200)Under-sink carbon	WQA 42	$990
Aquasana Clean Water Machine (AQ-CWM2)Countertop	WQA 42	$1,061
Aquasana Claryum Direct Connect (AQ-MF-1)Under-sink carbon	IAPMO 42	$1,078
Multipure Aquaversa (MP750)Under-sink carbon	NSF 42	$1,215
Aquasana Claryum 3-Stage Max Flow (AQ-6300M)Under-sink carbon	WQA 42	$1,278
AquaTru Classic (AT2000)Countertop reverse osmosis	IAPMO 42	$1,344
Brita Hub Countertop Water Filter System (87340)Countertop	WQA 42	$1,545
Brondell Capella RC250 Reverse Osmosis SystemUnder-sink reverse osmosis	WQA 42	$1,950
Ninja HydraSense Countertop Water Filtration System (WF1001)Countertop	IAPMO 42	$2,050
Aquasana SmartFlow Reverse Osmosis (AQ-SFRO2)Under-sink reverse osmosis	WQA 42	$2,917
Culligan MaxClear Scout Gravity Water Filter (MCS701P)Dispenser	IAPMO 42	$8,840
Ranked by five-year cost: a household of 3 at the makers’ list prices, cartridges included. “No price” means the maker publishes none. A plus sign means a part due in those five years has no published price. Listings checked between Oct. 4, 2026 and Oct. 16, 2026.

Refrigerator filters with a chloramine claim on their listing

Filter	Listing	Five years
Swift Green SGF-BO90Copy for Bosch, Thermador, Gaggenau	IAPMO 42	$293
Swift Green SGF-DA20BCopy for Samsung	IAPMO 42	$293
Swift Green SGF-DSB30Copy for Samsung	IAPMO 42	$293
Swift Green SGF-G9Copy for GE, GE Profile, Crosley, Monogram	IAPMO 42	$293
Swift Green SGF-M9Copy for Amana, JennAir, Kenmore, KitchenAid, Maytag, Whirlpool	IAPMO 42	$293
GE AFPWF Auto Fill Pitcher Water FilterOriginal for GE	IAPMO 42	$400
GE RPWFE Refrigerator Water FilterOriginal for GE, GE Profile, Monogram, Café	IAPMO 42	$550
GE XWFE Refrigerator Water FilterOriginal for GE, GE Profile, Crosley, Monogram, Café	IAPMO 42	$550
Ranked by five-year cost: filters replaced on each maker’s interval at its list price. “No price” means the maker publishes no price or no interval. Listings checked Oct. 9, 2026.

If your utility uses chlorine, every certified pitcher in the catalog and most under-sink filters carry the chlorine claim. For a whole-house filter on chloramine, do you need a whole-house water filter? covers how few carry the claim. The standards guide explains what else each certification number means.