What does chlorine in water do to wine starter

Always had well water till now. My wine always was great. Now I have city water and it seems to not work of the same. Sometimes it don't want to start.

chlorine is added to the water as a preservative. The best thing to do with chlorinated water is to either boil it first for at least 20 minutes to get most of the chlorine out or filter it.

Never had an issue with chlorinated water, but I bought a Britta filter because I moved to an area where the water just doesn't taste good. It claims to remove 99.99% of the chlorine.

You can dechlorinate your water with campden tablets... I assume you just use the prescribed amount before you make up the must, but truth be told I just remember that as I tend to retain odd facts from wikipedia articles I've skimmed over

Good point, for that matter the actual fermentation process will also remove the chlorine. chlorine is a gas at room temperature, and as the brew ferments the process of co2 working its way out of the liquid will also allow the chlorine to work its way out. Also just letting chlorinated water sit in a vented container for 12 to 24 hours will also get most of it out. so if your fruit and water sit in the primary for 12-24 hours, either fitted with an air lock or covered with a cloth, prior to pitching the yeast most if not all of the chlorine will be gone by the time you pitch the yeast.

Chlorine is not a preservative. The point is to kill micro organism to purify the water for drinking. If the OP has Chloramine instead of straight Chlorine then Campden tablets or the proper filtration system will get the job done.

Came down here but samc has already said it. In water treatment, chlorine is a disinfectant. It's actually sodium hypochlorite that's used. If you have the time, you can just let water sit out exposed to air for a few days and the chlorine will eventually dissipate on its own.

Alternatively, just buy some big bottles of water.

Dicky

pammycake01 said:

Always had well water till now. My wine always was great. Now I have city water and it seems to not work of the same. Sometimes it don't want to start.

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Chlorine evaporates after 24 hours out of the tap if you think chlorine is the problem?

samc said:

If the OP has Chloramine instead of straight Chlorine then Campden tablets or the proper filtration system will get the job done.

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I think samc is correct. I believe many water companies have switched from chlorine to chloramine, which is tougher to remove from the water. I use k-meta, aka campden tabs as well. You don't need much. I think one tablet will treat 10-20 gallons.