Chloramine, also known as monochloramine, is a chemical compound that is used as a disinfectant in water treatment plants. It is a colorless and odorless gas, so it is not possible to smell chloramine.
It is important to note that chloramine can be harmful if inhaled or ingested, so it is important to avoid exposure to it.
As a disinfectant in water treatment plants, chlorine, in particular monochloramine, a compound that is comprised of chlorine and ammonia in a concentrated form, is used.
Monochloramine is a compound derived from chlorine and ammonia. As a disinfectant, monochloramine has a longer half-life when used at low concentrations compared to other disinfectants.
Depending upon the circumstances, this residual is capable of keeping water clean for up to two days even in a stagnant setting.
While monochloramine is more stable than sodium hypochlorite, which is the more common counterpart used in water treatment, the presence of monochloramine may only last a short time before it starts to break down before it gets to your tap, depending on how long it has been transported via pipes and reservoirs.
When the water temperature is at its highest during the time of the year, monochloramine is normally broken down more rapidly. Monochloramine disinfection is more effective during this time.
Eventually, the disinfectant will lose its effectiveness, and microbes will start to multiply, thereby turning the situation into a laboratory experiment where all kinds of microorganisms go crazy.
The broken-down monochloramine molecules begin to generate minute amounts of dichloramine and trichloramine, which are noted to cause problems with the taste and odor of your drinking water compared to monochloramine.
Although trichloramine and Di are both formed by the breakdown of monochloramine molecules, they are not harmful.
It is the same thing that happens when people reuse portable water filters while they are camping. There is no problem keeping a filter nearby that can be stored in a dry environment. The problem is, as soon as you store the filter after it gets wet, bacteria begin to grow on the filter media as soon as it gets dry.
It isn’t long before you get sick on your next camping trip, and you can’t figure out why yet you used a water filter the last time you went camping.
Additionally, in the event of a natural disaster, the water reservoir might get affected by trihalomethanes causing muck in the water lines. I would not drink a lot of tap water due to the trihalomethanes that could be present in it.
What To Do
When there has been a long overdue shut-off of the water supply, when you turn the water back on, the water is likely to smell.
As a rule of thumb, it is recommended to let the water run for an additional five minutes and to keep it on until all the water has been flushed away.
As for whether or not the water is safe after that first flush, you need to do a sample tap test first.
Having a small amount of chloroform in the water won’t kill you, but it’s absolutely not something that you should ingest over an extended period of time. Boiling won’t accomplish much, but a good charcoal filter will provide you with a considerable amount of reduction.