If your tap water has a faint pool smell, or your coffee tastes a little off, there is a good chance you are noticing chloramine. It is the disinfectant the City of Houston uses in its main system. It does an important job. It is also the thing a lot of people want gone before the water hits their glass or their skin.
Here is what it is, how much is in City water, and what actually takes it out.
What chloramine is
According to the EPA, chloramines are disinfectants most often made by adding ammonia to chlorine. Water utilities use them because they last longer than chlorine alone as water travels through miles of pipe to your house. The EPA says utilities have used chloramines since the 1930s, and more than one in five Americans drink water treated with them.
The EPA also says water with chloramines that meets its standards is safe for drinking, cooking, bathing and other household uses. So this is not a safety scare. Taking chloramine out is mostly about taste and smell, and about the few special cases below.
How much is in Houston's water
The Houston Water Quality Report 2025 lists chloramines as the disinfectant in the City's main system. Measured out in the pipes, the 2025 average was 2.8 ppm. Single samples ranged from 0.04 to 4.8 ppm. The report lists 4.0 ppm as the highest level allowed, which it calls the MRDL (maximum residual disinfectant level). Its list of 2025 violations for the main system does not include chloramine.
If you are on a MUD instead of City water, your water may be treated differently. Your supplier's yearly water quality report (often called a Consumer Confidence Report) will say what disinfectant it uses. I have not read the MUD reports in our area, so check yours.
What does not remove chloramine
This is where a lot of advice online goes wrong. Chloramine is harder to get rid of than plain chlorine. The EPA says:
- Boiling water does not remove it.
- Letting water sit out at room temperature does not remove it.
- Reverse osmosis filters do not remove it.
The Water Quality Association adds that chloramines are hard to remove with ion exchange resins too. That is the same process a water softener uses. So a softener, by itself, is not the answer for chloramine taste and smell.
What does remove it: carbon, and the right kind
The Water Quality Association names activated carbon as the most effective non-chemical way to remove chloramines. It lists two types for homes: regular activated carbon and catalytic activated carbon. It says the newer catalytic carbons are especially good at it. And it says removing chloramine improves the taste and odor of drinking water.
There is a catch with regular carbon. The WQA says it can need 10 minutes or more of contact time to fully break chloramine down. In plain terms, the water has to spend enough time in the carbon. That is why the size of the filter and the type of carbon matter, and why a small pitcher filter is not the same thing as a whole-home system.
A whole-home filtration system puts that carbon on the main line where water enters your house. Every tap, the shower, the washing machine and the ice maker get the filtered water, not just one faucet in the kitchen.
Where reverse osmosis fits
I install reverse osmosis drinking water systems, and I like them for drinking and cooking water. But I would be wrong to tell you the membrane itself handles chloramine, because the EPA says it does not. If chloramine is your main complaint, carbon is the part doing that work. Reverse osmosis is the finishing step at the kitchen sink on top of it.
Two special cases: dialysis and fish tanks
The EPA points out two cases where chloramine has to come out:
- Home kidney dialysis. Chloramine must be removed from water used in dialysis machines. The EPA also says dialysis patients can safely drink chloraminated water, and that patients with concerns should talk to their doctor.
- Fish tanks. Chloramine must be neutralized or removed for aquariums. The EPA says products from aquarium supply stores do this.
If someone in your home is on home dialysis, follow your care team's instructions for that water. Do not rely on a home filter for it unless they say so.
How to shop for a filter
The EPA does not test or certify home filters. It points people to certification under NSF/ANSI Standard 42, the standard for taste and odor, and suggests looking for products certified for chloramine reduction. Ask whoever quotes you, including me, what the system is certified for.
If you want filtered water at every tap in your northwest Houston home, ask me for a free quote. I will ask where your water comes from and what you are noticing, and you will get one honest, upfront price. Call me at (346) 649-1463.
Questions about your water? Call Mathew.
Free quote, honest upfront pricing, and a system that fits your house.
Sources
- City of Houston, Houston Public Works, Houston Water Quality Report 2025, Main System (TX1010013). Read 20 Oct 2026, re-checked 22 Oct 2026.
- U.S. EPA, "Chloramines in Drinking Water". Read 22 Oct 2026.
- U.S. EPA, "How can I remove monochloramine from my drinking water?" (2009). Read 22 Oct 2026.
- U.S. EPA, "Can chloraminated or chlorinated water be used for dialysis or in an aquarium?" (2009). Read 22 Oct 2026.
- Water Quality Association, Technical Fact Sheet: Chloramine. Read 22 Oct 2026.