In this post, we will address the popular online search topic, “Can chlorine in water harm skin?”
It’s no secret that chlorine is a chemical used to disinfect water, but did you know that it can also be harmful to your skin? And did you know that a 10-minute shower can expose you to more chlorine than drinking eight glasses of tap water.
It’s commonly used in pools as well as city tap water across the U.S.
Chlorine is a powerful oxidizer and can cause skin irritation, dryness, and even allergic reactions in some people. In this blog, we’ll explore the potential risks of chlorine in water and how you can protect your skin from its effects.
What Is Chlorine?
Chlorine is a naturally occurring chemical element in the environment. The chemical serves as a water disinfectant by eradicating illness-causing bacteria and microorganisms. It plays a role in purifying swimming pools as well. Despite its efficacy, excessive exposure to chlorine can negatively impact the skin.
How Does Chlorine Affect Skin?
Chlorine can irritate the skin, causing dryness, itching, redness, and even rashes. It can also strip away natural oils from the skin, leading to further irritation and dryness. In addition, chlorine has been linked to allergic reactions such as hives or eczema flare-ups in some people.
How Can You Protect Your Skin?
The best way to protect your skin from chlorine is to limit your exposure as much as possible. If you swim regularly in chlorinated pools or take showers with chlorinated water, make sure you rinse off immediately afterwards with clean water. You should also use a moisturizer after showering or swimming to help replenish any lost moisture from the chlorine exposure. Additionally, wearing protective clothing such as goggles or a swim cap when swimming can help reduce your exposure to chlorine.
Water conditioners are a popular solution that decrease the chlorine content in water, though most require costly ongoing maintenance. For those interested in a much more thorough chlorine removal, you may want to consider a whole home water system.
Finding the Right System
Chlorine is an effective disinfectant but if you’re expose to too much, it can be harmful to your skin.
Getting the right system includes testing your water to understand its chlorine level. Keep in mind a water conditioner addresses the hardness of the water, it does not necessarily remove all the contaminants to ensure it is ideal for drinking.
Purity Bay specializes in a wide range of home water solutions, including water softeners, reverse-osmosis systems, whole home water filtration systems and anything in between. Whether you need help selecting a water system or servicing an existing system, our experienced teams in Tampa, Florida and El Paso, Texas can help you out!
