Re: Chloramine ??

   From: "David Field" <dtfield@supanet.com>
   Date: Wed, 17 May 2000 20:24:31 +0100

   And, I think, chloromine is not added to the
   water all year round.  It is added, primarily, in the spring when the
   invertibrate eggs are hatching.

It depends where you are.  A friend of mine in Mass has it for only part of
the year.  Where I am in Northern Calif it's year round.

   Fortunately, you can soften the water and remove the chloromine, simply, in
   a single process.  Take a container, such as a bucket, watering can, etc.
   and quarter fill (approximately) with either peat or a water softening
   resin, available at aquarium stores, place a mesh on top to stop the
   peat/resin from floating.  Then fill with water.  Try to circulate the
   water.  You can get air pumps quite cheaply from the aquarium store.
   Circulating the water helps the chloromine to escape into the atmosphere and
   passes the water through the peat/resin.  After 24 hours or so, you should
   have soft, chloromine free water.

This works for chlorine but not for chloramine.  Chloramine is meant to
last for a long time.  That's part of why the water districts are using
it. 

Someone else said they weren't sure if carbon removes chloramine.  Only the
better carbon filters are supposed to work but, yes, they do work.  I know
because I can taste the chloramine and it makes me ill, but after passing
through my high-grade shower filter or my whole house filter, it is fine.
I don't think somehting like a Brita filter would work.  The water
district's literature says the water needs to be in contact with the carbon
for several minutes.  That doesn't makes sense given the way my filters
work but it does indicate the need for a better class of filters.

Cyndi

_______________________________________________________________________________
Oakland, California            Zone 9 USDA; Zone 16 Sunset Western Garden Guide
Chemically sensitive/disabled - Organic Gardening only by choice and neccessity
_______________________________________________________________________________
"There's nothing wrong with me.  Maybe there's                     Cyndi Norman
something wrong with the universe." (ST:TNG)           cyndi@consultclarity.com
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