Yes, a reverse osmosis system removes chlorine from your drinking water, but the membrane is not what does it. The carbon block ahead of the membrane strips the chlorine out, and it has to, because free chlorine chemically attacks thin-film composite membrane material and will wreck it in short order.
Carbon takes the chlorine, the membrane takes the rest
Activated carbon adsorbs chlorine readily, which is why every household reverse osmosis system puts a carbon block between the sediment cartridge and the membrane. By the time water reaches the membrane the chlorine is already gone. The membrane's job is the dissolved mineral and salt load that carbon cannot touch. Describing the finished water as chlorine-free is fair; crediting the membrane for it is not, and that distinction matters when you decide which cartridge to keep on schedule.
Neglect the carbon stage and you pay for a membrane
A spent carbon block stops holding chlorine long before it looks any different, and chlorine then reaches the membrane on every fill. Thin-film composite material degrades under that exposure, and the symptom is not a leak but a quiet loss of rejection: the water still flows, the taste creeps back, and a total dissolved solids reading shows the membrane is passing what it used to hold. Replacing carbon prefilters on time is the cheapest membrane insurance there is.
Chloramine is a harder problem than chlorine
Many utilities disinfect with chloramine, a chlorine and ammonia compound that is deliberately more stable in the distribution network. Standard activated carbon removes it far more slowly than it removes free chlorine, so systems on chloraminated supplies need catalytic carbon and generous contact time, or the residual reaches the membrane anyway. Check which disinfectant your utility uses before assuming a standard cartridge set is enough, because the two look identical on a spec sheet and behave differently.
Find out what is in your supply first
The EPA requires every community water system to publish an annual Consumer Confidence Report and maintains a finder for them. That report names the disinfectant your utility uses and reports on disinfection byproducts, which is exactly what you need in order to specify carbon correctly. If chlorine taste is your only complaint, a simple carbon filter solves it without a membrane, a drain line or a storage tank; reverse osmosis earns its place when dissolved solids are the problem too.
Questions people ask about does reverse osmosis remove chlorine
Will reverse osmosis remove chlorine if the prefilter is old?
Not reliably, and worse, the chlorine then reaches the membrane and degrades it. Change carbon prefilters on schedule to protect both taste and the membrane.
Does reverse osmosis remove chloramine too?
Only with catalytic carbon and adequate contact time. Standard activated carbon removes chloramine slowly, so a supply dosed with it needs the upgraded cartridge.
Do I need reverse osmosis just for chlorine taste?
No. A carbon under-sink or countertop filter handles chlorine taste and odor without a drain line, a storage tank or the slower production rate of a membrane.