Is it true that we can neutralize/remove the chloramine in residential water supply by using vitamin C? If so, at what ratio of Vit C to water should we apply?
I’m replying because I want to follow the discussion. I last studied chemistry some 50 years ago (yikes!)
According to Wikipedia, monochloramine, the variety typically used in water systems, is neutral in aqueous solutions. If there is any dissolution, an ammonia ion will be released, making it alkaline, so Vitamin C, or ascorbic acid, makes sense. It also says that the limit for chloramine is regulated by the EPA to 4 ppm, which is really, really low. That means it won’t take very much acid to neutralize it, to offer a possible answer to your original question. If you are using sourdough, the acidity of the starter should be more than acidic enough. Of course, Vitamin C is often cited as a dough enhancer, so my guess is that it will have more effect on the dough than just neutralizing the chloramine.
There are probably lots of chemists out there that will have more comprehensive answers and I’m looking forward to reading more.
I need dechlorinated water to brew compost tea with my worm castings. If there's chlorine/chloramine in the water, it might kill the microbes in the Our drinking water is filtered, so I never had any problem making sourdough with it. But we don't filter the water from the garden hose. It'd be a pain to install filters to the hose, so I am looking for an easy solution.
So now we share a vermiculture hobby. Well, I’ve always diluted my castings with chloramine-treated water, not even considering the fate of the microbes contained therein. My bad. Now I’m really curious about the answer to your question. -Brad
that we share two hobbies: breadmaking and worm keeping! :-)
I found an article from sfwater.org which mentions a ratio of 1000mg vitamin c to one bathtub of water. A standard bathtub holds 302 liters of water, so it's ~ 1mg:300ml?
Yes, your math is correct. 3.3 mg/liter is what I come up with based on the 300 liter bathtub size. The one caveat is that if you are using crushed tablets instead of granulated ascorbic acid, there may be other ingredients used to form the tablets, so weigh a tablet to calculate the fraction of ascorbic acid.
You will need a real sensitive scale to read 1/1000 gram! You may want to mix 1 gm in 3 liters of water, then dilute that 1:100 for use. But I may be overthinking this. Please let us know how it works out.
I will be brewing the compost tea in 5-gallon buckets, then I will need 6.3g of Vit C per bucket. 6.3g is not too minuscule for a spoon scale to handle. And I just ordered a pound of ascorbic acid, so I will use exactly 6.3g. Simple.
Can't wait to feed my plants with the compost tea. How many worms do you have? :-)
If 1 gm (1000 mg) is needed for 300 liters as in your tub example, then 5 gallons, or about 20 liters, is 67 mg, or 0.07 gm. Back of the envelope calculation.
I don’t have a clue how many worms I have. They’re on a big growth spurt right now, lots of baby worms. They love the warm weather and the melon rinds.
I have no idea. My municipality thankfully only uses chlorine. That being said, wowsers! You really took semola reground to the next level! Kudos, I am happy just to know I inspired you! Smile...
That a food safe acid, such as vitamin C (ascorbic acid) can neutralize chloramine, since chloramine is alkaline.
When we used to live near San Francisco and Chloramine was first added to the water there, a spokesperson for the City Of San Francisco that said that acidic items such as a slice of fruit or vitamin c will neutralize chloramine.
You can also boil water for 20 minutes to get rid of all the chloramine.
Yippee,
I’m replying because I want to follow the discussion. I last studied chemistry some 50 years ago (yikes!)
According to Wikipedia, monochloramine, the variety typically used in water systems, is neutral in aqueous solutions. If there is any dissolution, an ammonia ion will be released, making it alkaline, so Vitamin C, or ascorbic acid, makes sense. It also says that the limit for chloramine is regulated by the EPA to 4 ppm, which is really, really low. That means it won’t take very much acid to neutralize it, to offer a possible answer to your original question. If you are using sourdough, the acidity of the starter should be more than acidic enough. Of course, Vitamin C is often cited as a dough enhancer, so my guess is that it will have more effect on the dough than just neutralizing the chloramine.
There are probably lots of chemists out there that will have more comprehensive answers and I’m looking forward to reading more.
-Brad
Hi, Brad!
I need dechlorinated water to brew compost tea with my worm castings. If there's chlorine/chloramine in the water, it might kill the microbes in the
Our drinking water is filtered, so I never had any problem making sourdough with it. But we don't filter the water from the garden hose. It'd be a pain to install filters to the hose, so I am looking for an easy solution.
Yippee
Hi Yippee,
So now we share a vermiculture hobby. Well, I’ve always diluted my castings with chloramine-treated water, not even considering the fate of the microbes contained therein. My bad. Now I’m really curious about the answer to your question.
-Brad
that we share two hobbies: breadmaking and worm keeping! :-)
I found an article from sfwater.org which mentions a ratio of 1000mg vitamin c to one bathtub of water. A standard bathtub holds 302 liters of water, so it's ~ 1mg:300ml?
~63mg : 5-gallon water (18,890g)
Yippee
Yes, your math is correct. 3.3 mg/liter is what I come up with based on the 300 liter bathtub size. The one caveat is that if you are using crushed tablets instead of granulated ascorbic acid, there may be other ingredients used to form the tablets, so weigh a tablet to calculate the fraction of ascorbic acid.
You will need a real sensitive scale to read 1/1000 gram! You may want to mix 1 gm in 3 liters of water, then dilute that 1:100 for use. But I may be overthinking this. Please let us know how it works out.
-Brad
I will be brewing the compost tea in 5-gallon buckets, then I will need 6.3g of Vit C per bucket. 6.3g is not too minuscule for a spoon scale to handle. And I just ordered a pound of ascorbic acid, so I will use exactly 6.3g. Simple.
Can't wait to feed my plants with the compost tea. How many worms do you have? :-)
Yippee
If 1 gm (1000 mg) is needed for 300 liters as in your tub example, then 5 gallons, or about 20 liters, is 67 mg, or 0.07 gm. Back of the envelope calculation.
At least that's what I thought
You are right.
I don’t have a clue how many worms I have. They’re on a big growth spurt right now, lots of baby worms. They love the warm weather and the melon rinds.
I made for them today: (sundried eggshells + rye berries + oatmeal) powder, blend in Vitamix
Sounds yummy. Good luck with the compost tea.
At the end of this post.
Yippee ki yay!
I have no idea. My municipality thankfully only uses chlorine. That being said, wowsers! You really took semola reground to the next level! Kudos, I am happy just to know I inspired you! Smile...
That a food safe acid, such as vitamin C (ascorbic acid) can neutralize chloramine, since chloramine is alkaline.
When we used to live near San Francisco and Chloramine was first added to the water there, a spokesperson for the City Of San Francisco that said that acidic items such as a slice of fruit or vitamin c will neutralize chloramine.
You can also boil water for 20 minutes to get rid of all the chloramine.
The details can be found here:
https://www.sfwater.org/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentID=6920