Drinking water is not the only activity that brings harmful chemicals of water in contact with your body. Showering and bathing in unfiltered water puts you at more risk than most are aware. Your body’s skin is a large, permeable surface that releases water and minerals through perspiration and absorbs chemicals through water exposure.

During a shower, chemicals can be absorbed through the skin and inhaled from the rising steam. The levels of this absorption and inhalation vary with body size and type but can be significant. Possibly 50% of your daily intake of these chemicals can come from showering and bathing activities.


Chlorine
Perhaps the most well known of these chemicals is chlorine. Chlorine is a wonderful and a well-need chemical for disinfecting your water -- making it safe from most bacteria and biological contaminants. It also stays active in the water for extended periods of time, maintaining it's disinfection power as your water travels through the pipes into your home. Unfortunately, chlorine not only attacks the bad organics in water, but also attacks the human body as well.

The obvious side effects from chlorine include dry skin and hair because it robs moisture and elasticity and results in a less vibrant and youthful appearance.

Chlorine Vapors
Less noticeable, but more important to health, chlorine returns to a gas state in the hot steam of your shower and is readily breathed into the lungs. Additionally, a warm shower opens up the pores of the skin and allows for accelerated absorption of chlorine and other chemicals in water.

Because chlorine and most other contaminants vaporize at a lower temperature and faster rate than water, the steam we inhale while showering can contain up to 50 times the level of chemicals when compared to tap water. In addition, inhalation is a much more harmful means of exposure since the chlorine gas we inhale passes directly into our blood stream. In contrast, When we drink contaminated water, the toxins are partially filtered out by our kidneys and digestive system.

Chlorine vapors are known to be a strong irritant to the sensitive tissue and bronchial passages inside our lungs. Because of it's harmful effects, it was even used as a chemical weapon in World War II. The inhalation of chlorine is a suspected cause of asthma and bronchitis, especially in children, which has increased 300% in the last two decades.

Removing Chlorine
The good news is that chlorine is one of the easiest substances to remove from our water. Because of this fact, chlorine should continue to serve it's purpose of keeping our water free from harmful bacteria and water borne diseases right up to the time of consumption. Continuously utilize a shower and/or bath filter to remove chlorine from your bathing water.