Why Your Tap Water Tastes and Smells Like Chlorine — and What to Do About It

A chlorine taste or smell in your tap water is one of the most common complaints among New Jersey municipal water customers — and one of the most misunderstood. The water is technically safe to drink. The disinfectant is there by design. But “safe” and “pleasant” are not the same thing, and for many households the chemical taste affects everything from the glass of water on the counter to the coffee made in the morning to the way clothes smell after laundry. Understanding why your water smells like a swimming pool, what’s actually in it, and what filtration options work — and which ones don’t — is how you move from tolerating the problem to solving it.

Why Does Municipal Water Smell Like Chlorine?

Municipal water systems in New Jersey add chlorine or chloramine to drinking water as a disinfectant — a practice that has been standard in the United States since 1908 and that prevents the waterborne illness outbreaks that plagued cities before modern treatment. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, chlorine and chloramine are added at low levels that kill harmful bacteria and viruses in the water supply and continue killing them as water travels through miles of distribution pipes to reach your tap. The residual disinfectant — the amount remaining by the time water reaches your home — is what you’re tasting and smelling. The EPA and NJDEP set maximum residual levels for these disinfectants, and utilities are required to maintain a minimum detectable residual throughout their distribution system to ensure continuous protection against bacterial growth in the pipes.

Most people can detect chlorine in water at concentrations around 1 part per million, and many find it objectionable at levels well below that threshold. The perception is highly individual — some people are far more sensitive to chlorine taste and odor than others, which is why one household finds their water perfectly acceptable while a neighbor with water from the same system finds it undrinkable. Water temperature also plays a role: cold water suppresses the volatilization of chlorine gas, while hot water releases it more readily, which is why the smell is often most noticeable in a hot shower or when running the kitchen tap for cooking.

What Is the Difference Between Chlorine and Chloramine in NJ Water?

New Jersey has two distinct populations of municipal water users when it comes to disinfection: those whose utilities use free chlorine, and those whose utilities use chloramine — a compound formed by combining chlorine with a small amount of ammonia. New Jersey American Water, the state’s largest utility serving approximately 2.8 million customers across multiple counties, has used chloramine as its primary disinfectant in its Raritan System since the 1970s and switched its Coastal System — covering Monmouth and Ocean counties — to chloramine in 2012. Many other NJ utilities have made similar transitions in response to EPA regulations that tightened limits on disinfection byproducts (DBPs), the chemical compounds that form when free chlorine reacts with naturally occurring organic matter in source water.

Chloramine produces significantly lower concentrations of the regulated DBPs — trihalomethanes (THMs) and haloacetic acids (HAAs) — than free chlorine, which is why utilities shifted to it. But chloramine creates its own distinct water quality considerations for homeowners. It has a different and often more complex taste and odor profile than free chlorine. It is considerably harder to remove from water with standard filtration. And unlike chlorine, which forms a protective oxidized layer on the inside of older metal pipes that can slow lead leaching, chloramine does not provide that same passivation effect — a relevant concern for pre-1986 NJ homes with lead solder or older service line infrastructure.

Why Does NJ Water Taste Worse at Certain Times of Year?

If you’ve noticed that your tap water tastes or smells more strongly of chlorine between February and April, you’re not imagining it. New Jersey American Water performs an annual seasonal switch at multiple treatment plants during late winter and early spring — temporarily changing from chloramine back to free chlorine for a period of eight to ten weeks as part of a distribution system maintenance program. The free chlorine flush is a regulatory and operational practice that provides an additional layer of disinfection through the full distribution network. Communities in Essex, Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Morris, Somerset, and Union counties are among those regularly affected by this annual switch. The utility notifies customers when the change occurs, and the taste and odor return to baseline once the system maintenance is complete and chloramine treatment resumes.

Seasonal changes in source water also affect taste. NJ surface water sources — the Raritan River, Delaware River, Passaic River, and associated reservoirs — carry varying loads of natural organic matter depending on precipitation, runoff, and seasonal vegetation cycles. Higher organic matter in the raw water increases the chlorine demand at the treatment plant and can shift the balance of DBP formation, sometimes producing a more pronounced taste even at the same disinfectant residual concentration. Spring runoff months, when organic loading in source water is typically highest, often correlate with the period when NJ municipal customers notice the most pronounced taste and odor issues.

Is Seasonal Chlorine Taste a Sign That the Water Is Unsafe?

No — the seasonal taste change is an operational reality of municipal water treatment, not an indicator of water quality failure. The water delivered during the annual free chlorine period meets all applicable EPA and NJDEP standards; the utility explicitly monitors residual levels and DBP concentrations throughout the process. The taste is more noticeable because free chlorine is more volatile and more easily detected by smell and taste than chloramine at comparable residual concentrations. Customers who find the seasonal taste change particularly disruptive are the households most motivated to install a whole-house or point-of-use filtration system — because a properly specified carbon filter eliminates the chlorine taste regardless of which disinfectant form their utility is using at any given time.

What Are Disinfection Byproducts and Should NJ Homeowners Be Concerned?

Disinfection byproducts form when chlorine or chloramine reacts with organic matter naturally present in source water. The primary regulated categories are trihalomethanes (THMs) — which include chloroform — and haloacetic acids (HAAs). Both are classified as possible human carcinogens at chronic exposure levels above regulatory limits, and the EPA’s Stage 2 Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts Rule sets maximum contaminant levels for these compounds in public water systems. NJ utilities are required to monitor and report DBP concentrations regularly and to take corrective action if levels exceed MCLs. For most NJ municipal water customers whose utilities are in compliance, regulated DBP levels are within legal limits — but they’re not zero, and long-term exposure at the upper range of legal limits is a consideration for health-conscious households.

The shift from free chlorine to chloramine in many NJ systems was driven specifically by the goal of reducing regulated DBP formation. Chloramine produces substantially lower THM and HAA concentrations than free chlorine reacting with the same organic matter. However, chloramine produces its own set of byproducts — including iodoacetic acids and N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) — that are not fully regulated under current EPA rules and that some researchers have flagged as warranting further study. The water quality picture is therefore more nuanced than “chloramine is cleaner than chlorine” — it involves different tradeoff profiles rather than an outright improvement in all dimensions. For homeowners who want to minimize exposure to both categories of DBPs, point-of-use reverse osmosis or catalytic carbon filtration at the kitchen tap is the most effective approach.

• Trihalomethanes (THMs) — form when free chlorine reacts with organic matter; regulated under EPA Stage 2 DBPR; most commonly include chloroform
• Haloacetic acids (HAAs) — a second regulated DBP category; five specific HAAs are regulated under federal rules
• NDMA — an unregulated chloramine DBP; classified as a probable human carcinogen; present in some NJ systems using chloramine
• Iodoacetic acids — emerging chloramine DBPs; some studies suggest higher genotoxicity than regulated HAAs; not yet federally regulated
• Chloronitramide anion — identified in a 2024 study in all chloramine-treated water samples tested; may be toxic at concentrations above regulated DBPs

Does Chlorine in Water Affect Skin, Hair, and Household Use?

The effects of chlorinated and chloraminated water extend beyond drinking. Chlorine strips the natural oils from skin and hair, which is the same mechanism it uses in pools — it’s a reasonably effective disinfectant because it degrades organic material on contact. For NJ households on municipal water, daily showering and bathing in chlorinated water can contribute to dry skin, brittle hair, and scalp irritation, particularly for people with sensitive skin conditions or those who shower frequently. The effect is cumulative rather than acute, which is why it often goes unrecognized as a water quality issue rather than a personal care issue. A whole-house carbon or catalytic carbon filter eliminates chlorine and chloramine before water reaches any fixture in the home, addressing the bathing and laundry exposure alongside the drinking water concern.

Chlorine also affects aquatic life — both chlorine and chloramine are toxic to fish and aquatic invertebrates at very low concentrations, which is why NJ homeowners with aquariums or backyard ponds need to dechlorinate tap water before introducing it to any aquatic environment. Standard dechlorination products available at pet stores neutralize free chlorine effectively, but chloramine requires a product specifically rated for chloramine removal, since the ammonia component of the compound is not addressed by standard sodium thiosulfate treatments. This distinction — chlorine vs. chloramine — matters in several practical household contexts beyond drinking water.

What Actually Removes Chlorine and Chloramine from Tap Water?

This is where many NJ homeowners make a costly mistake: installing a filter that works well against chlorine but poorly or not at all against chloramine. Standard activated carbon — the media used in most pitcher filters, basic faucet-mount filters, and many entry-level whole-house systems — is effective at reducing free chlorine through adsorption. It is significantly less effective against chloramine, which has a different chemical structure that doesn’t adsorb as readily onto standard carbon surfaces. NJ households served by utilities that use chloramine as their primary disinfectant — which includes the majority of New Jersey American Water customers — need catalytic carbon, not standard activated carbon, for effective chloramine reduction. Catalytic carbon uses a modified carbon surface that accelerates the chemical breakdown of chloramine rather than relying on simple adsorption.

How Do I Know Whether My NJ Utility Uses Chlorine or Chloramine?

The most reliable way is to check your utility’s annual Consumer Confidence Report (CCR), which is published each year and available on the utility’s website or by request. The CCR identifies the disinfectant type used and reports residual concentrations and DBP levels. You can also call your utility directly and ask — it’s a straightforward question any customer service representative can answer. If you’re a New Jersey American Water customer in the Raritan or Coastal system, you’re on chloramine as the primary disinfectant for most of the year, with a temporary switch to free chlorine each winter through spring. Once you know your disinfectant type, specifying the right filter media is straightforward. Our water filtration service covers the full range of systems we install for NJ municipal water customers, and our whole house filter guide explains how different media types are selected for different NJ water conditions. For drinking water specifically, pairing a whole-house catalytic carbon system with an under-sink reverse osmosis unit gives you comprehensive protection across both chloramine and DBP concerns — our page on reverse osmosis vs. whole house filtration walks through when that combination makes sense.

Getting Chlorine and Chloramine Out of Your NJ Home’s Water

A chlorine or chloramine taste in your tap water is one of the most straightforward water quality problems to solve — once you know what you’re actually dealing with. The key is matching the filter media to your utility’s disinfectant type, and sizing the system for whole-house coverage if your goal is to address the bathing, laundry, and appliance exposure alongside the drinking water concern. Jersey Radon’s licensed water treatment team serves municipal water customers throughout New Jersey, and every recommendation we make starts with identifying your utility’s disinfectant type and your household’s specific priorities — drinking water quality, whole-house protection, or both.

If you’re tired of the chlorine taste in your tap water, or if you want to understand what filtration option is right for your specific NJ utility and home, contact us for a free estimate or call us at (732) 357-1988. We serve all of New Jersey and are available any time. You can also explore our bad tasting water solutions page for more on what causes off-tasting municipal water and how we address it.