Puretec CB95MP2-C Composite Carbon Block 0.5 Micron Water Filter cartridge 4.5" x 20" effectively reduce chemicals including chloramines and chlorine often used in mains water, helping to reduce skin irritations and dryness as well as providing great-tasting drinking water. The composite carbon block technology enables the chloramines to have longer contact time with the carbon, enabling the reaction required for the bonded chlorine and ammonia to break apart from each other and effectively be filtered out of the water. Chlorine and chloramines are used as a means of sanitising drinking water supplies. Chlorine, however, produces a byproduct called THM’s; which is a known and proven carcinogen. Due to this, and the low residual life of chlorine, councils and authorities are moving towards the use of chloramines. Chloramines stay in the water longer than chlorine and continue to disinfect in the extremities of extensive pipeline systems but they require more contact time for equivalent disinfection. Because they do not tend to react with organic compounds, chloramines tend to have less taste and smell than chlorine, meaning many consumers do not detect it in the water and it can still be in the water even after regular filtration. The downside of chloramines is the difficulty in removing them from drinking water supplies. Chloramines are formed by bonding chlorine and ammonia, and because of this, it makes the disinfectant extremely resilient to oxidation. This means chloramine cannot be removed easily from water by boiling it, nor is it removed by standard filters. Chloramines can also aggravate and dry out skin, especially for people with skin conditions such as eczema and psoriasis. Chloramines are toxic to fish, reptiles and amphibians, exposure can also kill plants by disturbing their nutrient balance and will affect the flavour profile of any beverage it is introduced to like beer, tea or coffee. Chloramines can also be difficult to control and monitor and can cause nitrification if too much free ammonia is allowed to remain in the distribution system. The nitrification process has the potential to locally lower the pH in alkaline waters and can ultimately corrode pipes, leaching lead and copper into the water system. The Puretec CB-C Series range of cartridges are specifically designed to reduce chloramines from drinking water. The composite carbon block technology enables the chloramines to have a longer contact time with the filter, enabling the chlorine and ammonia to break apart, effectively filtering it out of the water.