If your tap water occasionally smells or tastes like a swimming pool, chlorine is almost certainly the culprit. For over a century, municipal water suppliers have used chlorine as a essential disinfectant to destroy harmful bacteria, viruses, and waterborne pathogens like cholera and typhoid.
While chlorinated tap water is strictly regulated and safe to drink, the chemical smell and harsh taste lead many homeowners to ask: Does boiling water remove chlorine, or are you better off using another filtration method?
The short answer is yes, boiling water removes free chlorine—but there are important nuances you need to know about boiling times, chloramines, and heavy metals.
How Boiling Eliminates Chlorine from Tap Water
Chlorine added to public water systems is a highly volatile gas. This means it naturally wants to evaporate when exposed to ambient air, light, and heat.
When you heat tap water to a rolling boil, the thermal energy speeds up this process dramatically, driving off free chlorine as gas bubbles:
- 5 Minutes: A rapid 5-minute boil will remove up to 80% to 90% of free chlorine.
- 15–20 Minutes: A full 15-to-20-minute boil eliminates virtually 100% of free chlorine.
Lazy Alternative: Don't want to heat up the stove? Simply leave a jug or open glass pitcher of tap water sitting at room temperature or in the refrigerator. Over 12 to 24 hours, free chlorine naturally dissipates on its own into the surrounding air.
The Catch: Free Chlorine vs. Chloramines
Before relying solely on boiling, you must understand what kind of disinfectant your local water department uses.
- Free Chlorine: Highly volatile and easy to remove by boiling or off-gassing.
- Chloramines (Chlorine + Ammonia): A more stable chemical compound increasingly used by municipal water providers because it stays in utility pipes longer.
Does boiling water remove chloramine?
Not easily. Chloramines resist heat and evaporation far better than free chlorine. Boiling tap water will reduce chloramine levels slightly over an extended period (20+ minutes), but it is significantly less effective and wastes a lot of energy.
What Boiling Water DOES NOT Remove
While boiling effectively kills microbial pathogens and off-gasses free chlorine, it is not a total water purification system.
Boiling will not remove:
- Heavy Metals (e.g., lead, copper, arsenic)
- Nitrates & Microplastics
- PFAS ("Forever Chemicals") & Pesticide Residues
In fact, if you boil water for too long and lose a large volume to evaporation, you actually increase the concentration of non-volatile contaminants like lead or mineral hardness per cup.
Is Tap Water Chlorine Safe to Drink?
From a public health perspective, the low levels of chlorine in public water systems are thoroughly tested and deemed safe for daily human consumption. The benefits of preventing waterborne illnesses far outweigh the mild aesthetic downside of chlorination.
However, if you are sensitive to the taste, use water for brewing specialty coffee or tea, or feed delicate aquatic pets (like fish, which are vulnerable to chlorine), removing it is a common goal.
3 Better Ways to Remove Chlorine and Chloramine
If boiling every kettle of water feels tedious, consider these faster, more effective alternatives:
| Method | Best For | Removes Chloramine? |
|---|---|---|
| Activated Carbon Pitcher (e.g., Brita, Pur) | Everyday drinking & cooking water | Partially / Varies by filter grade |
| Reverse Osmosis (RO) System | Total purification (Metals, PFAS, Chlorine) | Yes |
| Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid) Drops | Quick neutralization for bath water or cooking | Yes |
Final Verdict: Should You Boil Your Tap Water?
If your goal is simply to get rid of the chlorine smell and taste, boiling your tap water for 5 to 10 minutes is an easy, free method that works very well against standard chlorine.
However, if your city treats its water supply with chloramines—or if you want to filter out heavy metals like lead—investing in a simple activated carbon filter is a much faster, more reliable solution for clean-tasting drinking water.
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