How to Remove Chloramine From Water

✅ Quick answer: Use a water filter with a verified chloramine-reduction claim, typically one designed with catalytic carbon or a suitable carbon block. Boiling water or leaving it on the counter won’t remove chloramine, and an RO membrane needs chloramine-capable carbon pretreatment.

Choose a whole-house system when you want treatment at every tap. For drinking and cooking water only, a certified under-sink or countertop filter can be the more practical route.

Does Boiling Water Remove Chloramine?

No. The EPA says boiling water doesn’t remove monochloramine from drinking water. Letting a pitcher stand at room temperature doesn’t remove it either.

That distinction matters because free chlorine dissipates more readily. Advice to “leave tap water out overnight” shouldn’t be carried over to a chloraminated supply.

What Type of Filter Removes Chloramine?

Start with the product’s tested claim, not a broad media label. NSF/ANSI 42 can include chloramine reduction, but certification to Standard 42 alone doesn’t mean every listed product carries that specific claim. Look up the exact model in the certifier’s database.

Catalytic carbon

Catalytic carbon is commonly chosen because its surface is modified to speed reactions with harder-to-treat disinfectants such as chloramine. Performance still depends on how much media the water contacts, how quickly it moves through the bed, the incoming concentration, and how long the media has been in service.

That makes catalytic carbon useful for whole-house treatment, where adequate tank size and contact time matter. The word “catalytic” by itself isn’t proof of a particular reduction percentage.

Certified carbon blocks and cartridges

Some under-sink, countertop, faucet, refrigerator, and pitcher filters carry a chloramine-reduction claim. Others are tested only for free-chlorine taste and odor. Two filters can both use carbon and still perform very differently against chloramine.

For drinking water at one tap, compare the certified capacity and flow rate as well as the claim. Slower flow and sufficient carbon contact can help, but the published test is what tells you whether the complete product was validated.

Does Reverse Osmosis Remove Chloramine?

Don’t credit the RO membrane by itself. EPA guidance says reverse osmosis doesn’t remove monochloramine on its own. A complete RO system may reduce it when carbon stages ahead of the membrane are specifically designed and rated for that job.

That pretreatment also protects the membrane from disinfectant exposure. If you’re comparing systems, verify the chloramine claim for the complete model and follow its carbon-filter replacement schedule.

For broad drinking-water treatment beyond chloramine, compare our tested reverse osmosis systems. If chloramine is the deciding contaminant, confirm that the selected model names it in its performance data.

Whole-House or Drinking-Water Treatment?

The treatment location should follow the outcome you want:

• Drinking and cooking only: Choose a point-of-use filter with a verified chloramine claim.
• Every faucet and shower: Use a properly sized whole-house carbon system.
• Chloramine plus dissolved contaminants: Whole-house carbon can treat the disinfectant, while RO at the kitchen sink can add targeted drinking-water treatment.
• Renters: Look for a certified countertop, faucet, or pitcher model rather than assuming any carbon filter will work.

Our water-filter comparison hub lists QWL’s current category winners for whole-house, RO, pitcher, countertop, under-sink, faucet, refrigerator, gravity, and shower filtration.

🧪 What Our Whole-House Testing Can Prove

We used a SpringWell CF1 for more than three years. It combines catalytic carbon with KDF and sediment filtration, and it remained easy to live with: pressure measured 68 PSI at installation and 65 PSI roughly three years later.

Our before-and-after lab samples showed total trihalomethanes falling from 31.83 ppb to non-detect. That supports the complete system’s performance against the THMs in our water. It does not prove a chloramine reduction percentage because chloramine wasn’t measured in that panel.

The CF1 is QWL’s current whole-house city-water pick and uses catalytic carbon intended for chlorine and chloramine treatment. Read the SpringWell CF1 review and full lab results, then verify the manufacturer’s current chloramine performance information before relying on it for that specific target.

How to Find Out If Your Water Has Chloramine

1. Check your Consumer Confidence Report. A public utility’s annual water-quality report should identify the disinfectant used and its reported range.
2. Ask the utility. Some systems switch between chlorine and chloramine during maintenance, so confirm the current practice.
3. Measure free and total chlorine. The difference is combined chlorine, which can be used as a field indication of chloramine but isn’t the same as laboratory speciation.
4. Test at the tap when sizing treatment. Disinfectant residual can vary throughout a distribution system. Use an appropriate method and follow its sampling instructions.

Start with our water-testing guide if you also need to check for lead, PFAS, VOCs, hardness, or other treatment targets. Don’t assume every broad laboratory panel includes a direct chloramine measurement.

Special Cases: Aquariums and Dialysis

Chloramine-treated tap water that meets federal standards is considered safe for drinking, cooking, and bathing. Aquatic animals are different because they absorb water directly; use a conditioner or treatment specifically labeled for aquarium chloramine removal.

Dialysis water requires specialized treatment that removes chemical disinfectants. Anyone performing dialysis at home should follow the equipment manufacturer and medical provider’s instructions rather than adapting a household-filter recommendation.

What to Verify Before Buying

• A specific chloramine-reduction claim for the exact model
• Third-party certification and the listed rated capacity
• Service flow that matches your household demand
• Enough media and contact time for point-of-entry treatment
• Replacement intervals and realistic annual cost
• Separate treatment for any other contaminants found

The simplest rule is to ignore vague phrases such as “removes chemicals.” Match the product’s published chloramine claim, capacity, and flow rate to the amount of water you need treated.

Sources: U.S. EPA chloramine guidance, CDC drinking-water disinfection guidance, and the NSF contaminant-reduction claims guide.