Why DFW Tap Water Tastes Like Chlorine

Does your tap water taste more like pool water? Does your bathroom smell like a hot tub after you shower? You’re not alone — thousands of DFW residents think their water tastes like chlorine. (And they hate it.)

Our plumbing experts monitor the water treatment processes of local water suppliers like Dallas Water Utilities and the North Texas Municipal Water District. Every public water company in the DFW Metroplex uses chlorine-based disinfectants in the treatment process.

Chloramines are a vital part in eliminating microorganisms and bacteria from the public water supply. But they shouldn’t stay in your drinking water after they’ve served their purpose — and they don’t have to. 

A whole house water filter takes disinfectants out of your water before it reaches your taps and faucets. Our DFW master plumbers trust WaterTech water filtration products.

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Chlorine and Ammonia Are in Your Drinking Water 

Every major Dallas-Fort Worth public water utility company adds chlorine and ammonia to your tap water. These chemical disinfectants are used by the following utilities according to their own annual water reports:

• Dallas Water Utilities (DWU)
• North Texas Municipal Water District.) (NTMWD)
• Fort Worth Water Department (FWWD)
• Trinity River Authority (TRA)
• Tarrant Regional Water District (TRWD)

Virtually every home in the DFW Metroplex gets their tap water from these companies. 

What else is in your drinking water? Learn about the “Big 3” contaminants in DFW water and how your city measures up with our detailed DFW water quality guide.

How chloramines disinfect your tap water

Most DFW water companies use a combination of chlorine and ammonia — called chloramines — to disinfect the water supply. 

Chloramines provide longer-lasting disinfection to public water systems than other cleansing options. These combinations of ammonia and chlorine provide a residual effect that continues disinfecting water as it moves through city pipes towards your home.

EPA studies suggest chloramines don’t break down easily in water pipes, lasting longer than regular chlorine. 

WaterTech’s president, Bryce Linton, puts it in simple terms: “The city chlorominates the water… to kill the living things — bacteria, viruses, and cysts — that kill people the fastest.”

Why cities use chloramines instead of free chlorine

So why don’t cities just use chlorine to disinfect water instead of adding ammonia? The molecules of chloramines (chlorine + ammonia) are more stable and provide enhanced protection against bacteria and water-borne diseases.

The CDC states that when chlorine is used by itself, “there is not enough chlorine left to keep killing germs by the time the water reaches your tap”. This explains why DFW water utilities made the switch to chloramine disinfectants.

Some water providers, like the NTMWD, use free chlorine one month each spring to help maintain their system. While this helps flush excess ammonia from their plants, customers do notice a stronger “chlorine taste” in their water during this period.

Texas pH Levels Turn Tap Water into Pool Water

The disinfectants in your tap water are made up of monochloramines. But under the right circumstances, their chemical formation changes to become trichloramines — the same chemicals used to disinfect pool water.

This normally doesn’t happen — but unfortunately, Texas is an exception to that rule.

The EPA says that “trichloramine formation can occur at a pH between 7 and 8”. That’s the normal pH range of Dallas-Fort Worth’s water supply.

We live in an area dominated by sedimentary rocks, clay soil and hard water minerals. These factors elevate our water’s pH between 7.2 and 8.2 — that’s why your home’s tap water can smell and taste a whole lot like pool water.

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Our local landscape is beautiful, but creates alkaline water

When the pH level of water rises above 7 (neutral), it becomes alkaline in nature. Alkalinity is what causes the disinfectants in your water to become harmful trichloramines.

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) explains that the DFW “drainage basin composed primarily of limestone tends to be alkaline because the slightly acidic nature of rain rapidly weathers the soft rock releasing minerals that buffer the water and slightly raise the pH.”

Short version: the beautiful rock formations in our landscape help make your water taste like chlorine.

Ammonia-Free Water Treatment Tastes Even Worse

Once a year, the NTMWD alters its water treatment process. Each spring, over 2 million North Texans receive water treated by free chlorine instead of chloramines.

This treatment process doesn’t increase chlorine levels in your tap water. But the Dallas Express and WFAA reported that customers severely disliked the change in their drinking water’s taste. 

Your water may be treated with free chlorine once per year if you live in the following cities:

• Allen
• Farmersville
• Forney
• Frisco
• Garland
• McKinney
• Mesquite
• Plano
• Princeton
• Richardson
• Rockwell
• Royse City
• Wylie

Chlorine in Tap Water Has Long-Term Negative Effects

Even if your water disinfectants aren’t transformed into trichloramines, they’re still detrimental to your health and plumbing system.

Chloramines can irritate your skin and respiratory system

The Virginia Department of Health released a report on the negative impact chloramines have on your body. They clearly state that chlorinated drinking water leads to the following health issues over time:

• Eye irritation
• Nasal irritation
• Respiratory issues
• Congestion
• Wheezing

The study also warns that individuals on kidney dialysis should never drink chloraminated water. The chemicals interfere with dialysis machines and may cause anemia.

Chlorinated water kills your home’s plumbing system

We spoke to our Master Plumber Josh Dudley, an Arlington resident with 20+ years experience serving DFW homeowners. Josh told us that chloramines are devastating to plastic fittings.

“Any kind of harsh chemical that’s used to kill bacteria in the water is going to be harsh on anything plastic or rubber in your plumbing system,” Josh explained. “That includes your gaskets, O-rings, faucets and toilets.”

Chlorinated water also directly contributes to corrosion in copper and steel pipes. Prolonged exposure leads to leaks and premature pipe failure.

Chlorine’s effects on metal pipes worsens in water with high pH levels. Dallas-Fort Worth’s water alkalinity causes faster pitting, pinhole leaks and cracks, especially in copper pipes.

Get Chlorine Out Of Your Dallas Tap Water

Once chlorines and chloramines properly disinfectant the public water supply, they’ve done their job. There’s no more reason for them to enter your water line or household plumbing.

There’s also no benefit to drinking chloraminated water once it’s been delivered to your house.

Get these disinfectants out of your tap water before you shower, clean clothes, cook or drink it. The best way to eliminate chloramines from water is with a whole house water filtration system.

“Besides filtration, there’s not any kind of at-home remedies for improving water quality,” Josh explains. “You have to take the chemicals or hardness out of the water by some sort of filter or softening — there’s no other quick fixes for city water.”

The right whole home water filter for chlorine removal

Our expert plumbers install WaterTech water filtration systems in Dallas-Fort Worth homes. 

Our team spent months vetting water filtration suppliers, weeding out scams and less-effective products. WaterTech tests their systems with 4 separate national labs to verify their effectiveness.

In short — independent labs confirm that WaterTech products do what they say they do.

WaterTech products like their Infinity Series safely remove chlorine, ammonia and other harmful chemicals from water before it enters your home. They’re also rated to remove these other contaminants:

1. PFAS (forever chemicals)
2. Lead
3. Heavy metals
4. Pesticides
5. Herbicides
6. VOCs (volatile organic compounds)

Fight Chlorine with DFW Whole Home Water Filter Installation

Chloramines disinfect the public water supply, eliminating harmful bacteria, microorganisms and cysts. But once it reaches your home, chlorine in tap water is unnecessary.

If your water tastes like chlorine and you’re tired of it, install a whole house water filtration system. Our local plumbers are trained and certified by WaterTech to install their advanced filtration, softening and conditioning systems in all DFW homes.

Stop drinking pool water, and start loving the way your water tastes again. 

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