Chlorine in Australian tap water sits at 0.5–5 mg/L. That sounds like nothing. But because you spend 10–15 minutes a day with hot water (which volatilises chlorine into a vapour you breathe in) hitting your skin and hair, the cumulative exposure is significant — and it's the single most common reason Aussie families install whole-house filtration.
The skin angle
Chlorine is added to municipal water specifically to kill micro-organisms. It does that by oxidising cellular structures. When that same chlorine hits your skin in a hot shower:
- It strips natural sebum (the oil layer that keeps skin supple)
- It can damage the skin's lipid barrier, making it more permeable to other irritants
- It's a known eczema trigger and worsens psoriasis
- Babies' and toddlers' thinner skin absorbs more readily
Australian dermatology associations have noted increased eczema referrals correlate with summer chlorination spikes in some networks. It's not the whole story, but it's part of it.
The hair angle
Chlorine binds to keratin (the protein hair is made of) and oxidises it. Over time:
- Hair becomes drier, brittler, less elastic
- Coloured hair fades faster — particularly red, copper and pastel tones
- Bleached or chemically-treated hair can develop a green tint (chlorine reacting with copper trace)
- Scalp can flake or itch from disrupted oil balance
This is why expensive salons quietly recommend shower filters or whole-house systems to clients with treated hair.
The breathing angle
This one's the sneaky one. In a hot shower, chlorine gases off into the air at concentrations 4–10× higher than in the water itself. You inhale this for the duration of your shower. For asthma sufferers and people with respiratory sensitivity, this is a measurable trigger.
Bath toys, towels, fabrics
Less talked-about: chlorine builds up in absorbent materials over time:
- Bath toys develop the characteristic black mould inside because chlorinated water creates the right pH gradient for biofilm
- Towels and bath mats retain low-level chlorine residue, which is why they sometimes smell of pool when wet
- Coloured fabrics in your washing machine fade faster on chlorinated supply
The fix: every tap, not just one
Under-sink filters and kitchen taps don't help with shower water. The two effective approaches are:
- Single-shower filter ($60–$200) — screws onto the shower head. Removes 80–90% of chlorine. Cartridge lasts 6–12 months.
- Whole-house filtration ($3,999 installed via our HPF-3 system) — filters chlorine before it reaches any tap, shower, bath or appliance. Includes the kids' bath, the laundry, the dishwasher, the hot water system.
The whole-house option is overkill if you only care about your shower. It's appropriate if you also care about your kids' baths, your appliances' lifespan, and your laundry coming out genuinely cleaner.
What customers say
The single most common feedback we get from new whole-house customers, three weeks after install: "my hair feels different." The second most common: "the kids' eczema is better."
It's not magic — it's just chlorine no longer hitting them in the shower 365 days a year.
Read next: Whole-house vs. under-sink — which one · Hard water in Queensland