Definitely not a matter of safety, just preference. The chlorine levels in my tap water are high enough to smell. I used to RO my water with a 5 stage filter.

Definitely not a matter of safety, just preference. The chlorine levels in my tap water are high enough to smell. I used to RO my water with a 5 stage filter. Lately I bypass the last two stages and just do one stage of 5micron sediment and 2 stages of charcoal block. Chlorine smell is gone, taste is great, and the filters in bulk cost $1.50 each for the sediment and $3.00 each for the charcoal. I change the sediment monthly (it gets quite discolored) and the charcoal every quarter. So $42/year in filters. My wife had a pretty bad bottled water habit before I filtered, so it’s a huge cost saver. We fill water bottles several times a day for us and the kids, so probably ~1,000 gallons a year? Plus it also goes in the coffee machine, and for cooking.