Ascorbic Acid for Chlorine and Chloramine reduction
Your tap water is most likely treated with either chlorine or chloramine.
Unless you have a full house filter that is removing chlorine and/or chloramine (like a reverse osmosis with carbon or a multi stage carbon based filter) the water you bath yourself and your little ones in contain chlorine and or chloramine.
The problem with chlorine and chloramine
Both are used to disinfect, however they are different chemicals. You can call your local water company to find out which one they use.
CHLORINE
- chlorine reacts with naturally-occurring organic material found in surface water, forming disinfection by-products. and can created trihalomethanes (THMs)
- THMS can produce 4 chemicals: chloroform, bromodichloromethane, dibromochloromethane and bromoform.
THMs are directly linked to increase risk of bladder cancer - and studies have shown a significant uptake of THMs through showering & bathing (some point to a higher intake vie dermal exposure than drinking water)
A study from Canada found “Those exposed to chlorinated surface water for 35 or more years had an increased risk of bladder cancer compared with those exposed for less than 10 years “
2. CHLORAMINE
Other water utilities are using chloramine (chlorine + ammonia) . In California, for example, two-thirds of the water companies use chloramines to disinfect their drinking water, LA has reportedly completely switched to chloramine.
Chloraminated vapor from showers, baths, hot tubs, dishwashers, and other household appliances contains volatilized chemicals that can be inhaled and cause irritation to the respiratory tract.
The toxic exposure to chemicals (like chloramine) in water is greater from taking a shower than from drinking the same water mostly because Inhaled chloraminated vapor can enter the bloodstream directly through the lungs, bypasses the digestive tract where it would be broken down and excreted
In a study by Zierler, et al (PDF, 821 KB), it was found that there was an increase in deaths from influenza and pneumonia in the communities that used chloramine. (Communities in Massachusetts that used chlorine for disinfection were compared to those that used chloramine). The Reason is that Chloramine exposure damages lung mucosa, making the lungs more susceptible to allergens and infections.
Chloramine tap water can cause severe skin reactions: Chloramine can aggravate other skin conditions such as eczema and psoriasis. Rashing, itching , dry skin, flaking
HOW ARE WE AFFECTED
Our skin is our largest organ and it absorbs everything it is exposed to. However, some people are more vulnerable to toxins in our bath water:
If you take frequent long baths (vs short quick showers)
if you are pregnant, immunocompromised, and/or have respiratory issues
young children: not only are they smaller and more vulnerable but they are also more likely to be drinking the water in the bath/shower
HOW TO DECREASE CHLORINE AND CHLORAMINE IF YOU BATH WATER
Bath/shower filter. I have a full post on how to choose a shower filter with my top picks, but in a nutshell there are some good shower filters for chlorine removal , but chloramine is not removed as efficiently with shower filters
Full house filter that removes or reduces chlorine or chloramine (whole house multi stage carbon based filter and reverse osmosis filters (which usually contain some sort of carbon filtration) are two options).
Ascorbic acid powder is a form of Vitamin C in powder form that can neutralizes both chlorine and chloramine. Ascorbic acid is actually synthetic vitamin C, usually derived from GMO corn, so if possible look for GMO-free vitamin C powder (it will cost a bit more)
USAGE : one tsp in a large bathtub or about 1/8 tsp on a small baby tub
4. Taking shorter showers/ fewer baths : will not decrease the amount of chlorine nor chloramine but will reduce your exposure level.
sources: http://www.chloramine.org/researchstudies.htm
https://www.fs.fed.us/t-d/pubs/html/05231301/05231301.html
https://academic.oup.com/aje/article/165/2/148/98015
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF00051702
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16556748/
https://nj.gov/health/eoh/rtkweb/documents/fs/0359.pdf