Shower Water Filters: A Complete Guide

What Is a Shower Water Filter?

A shower water filter is a filter that attaches directly to a showerhead and filters out various compounds depending on the type of the filter.

Before you buy a shower filter, you should first consider what compounds are in your water, which varies depending on the water source. You can test your water with home kits, send samples to labs, or hire a professional to test various aspects of your water quality. These test results can help you determine if you should invest in a water filter at all, and if so, which filter to pursue.

What Types of Shower Filters Are Available? 

Shower filters can be broken down into two main classes – filtered showerheads, requiring you to swap out your showerhead, and in-line filters, which allow you to use whatever showerhead you like. These products use a variety of different filtration technology, including:

• Activated Carbon Filters: Often regarded as the most effective all-around filter type that filters a wide variety of compounds. 
• Vitamin C Media Filters: A Vitamin C filter reduces chlorine and chloramine fluoride but doesn't remove much else. If you are primarily concerned about chlorine, this is a solid choice.
• KDF filters: KDF filters are made out of zinc and copper, which create a small electrical-chemical charge between them. This works to dissolve mercury, cadmium, arsenic, aluminum, and even chlorine.
• Shower Water Softeners: The ShowerStick is a unique shower water filter that successfully makes your water softer. Not many shower filters can claim this, and if they do, it might not be accurate. The minerals in hard water can cause the top layers of skin to break down and become less effective at holding moisture and protecting you from environmental pollutants. Water softeners utilize a process called ion exchange. As water travels through the ShowerStick, hard water ions such as calcium, magnesium, and iron are attracted and stick to the resin beads due to their opposite electrical charges. After a few showers, the resin needs to be 'regenerated' using a mixture of saltwater poured into the filter is a simple process. The filter comes with a kit to test your water hardness.

Why Invest in a Shower Filter?

If you live in an area with subpar or questionable water quality, a shower filter can help reduce the chemicals and toxins your skin comes in contact with. But first, remember to test your water to determine if a shower filter is warranted.

If you are prone to skin irritations like redness, eczema, dandruff, psoriasis, or atopic dermatitis, shower water filters have proven effective for many at managing these conditions.

What do Shower Filters Remove From the Water?

The answer depends on the type of filter you use. A clarification should be made that filters will reduce targeted compounds from the water, and complete removal can be a misleading term. Shower filters can reduce a host of potentially toxic compounds. Ordinary filters are typically successful in removing:

• Bacteria 
• Chlorine (activated carbon filter or Vitamin C media work best)
• Fluoride
• Lead
• Sulfur odor
• Water-soluble heavy metals 
• Sediment

More advanced filters can reduce additional compounds such as:

• Pesticides (activated carbon filters work best)
• Calcium (salt-based water softeners work best)
• Magnesium (salt-based water softeners work best)

Some brands claim to remove arsenic, copper, and chromium-6 from water; however, it is unlikely to be successful because reverse osmosis is required to remove these compounds. Reverse osmosis is more suited to a whole house water filtration system. Some brands also claim to act as a water softener; however, this is unlikely unless they utilize a salt-based water softener like the ShowerStick.

Are There Health Benefits to Installing a Shower Filter?

Shower filters can reduce a host of potentially toxic compounds and bacteria from your water supply. Filters can improve the health and condition of your hair and skin.

How Long do Shower Filters Last? 

The majority of shower filters have a similar life span of 6 months to 1 year; however, this depends on shower lengths and intervals. Many filters last for 10,000 gallons, with some even reaching 25,000 gallons of water filtration capacity. If you choose between various lifespans, choose the longer one to reduce landfill waste and maintenance costs in the long run.

How Much Do Shower Water Filters Cost?

Overall, a shower filter is affordable, most often well under $100. The installation costs are much less expensive as it's a more straightforward DIY project. In contrast, a whole house filter might require a professional's help and cost up to several thousand dollars.

Are Shower Water Filters Cheaper Than Whole Home Filtration?

Installing a water softening shower filter like the ShowerStick is significantly cheaper than a whole house water softener. A ShowerStick costs about $200, while a whole house softener could cost several thousand dollars.

Shower water filters are an outstanding option for people on a budget or people renting their living space where they need something simple to install and remove. If you live in a rental unit, a whole house filtration system might not be an option.

How To Install Shower Filters?

Shower water filters are straightforward to install as a DIY project. The process is simple, and each filter will come with a set of instructions. The basic premise is to unscrew your current showerhead from the threaded pipe, screw a filter onto the pipe, then reattach the showerhead to the filter. Some filters might be slightly more complicated to install than others, but a simple task overall. If you can open a jar of jam, you can install a shower filter; there is no need to hire a plumber for this job!

If that's too easy and you are looking to do more bathroom upgrades beyond this, then check out how to build a healthy bathroom!

What Are The Drawbacks of Shower Filters?

Shower water filters can reduce the water pressure and flow ratings of a shower. However, this can be beneficial in improving water efficiency. Different shower filters have different water flow rates. A filter with a slower flow will conserve more water and be more effective at filtering since it moves through the filter more slowly.

Shower filters also come at a cost. While some filter units can be cheaper in the $30 range, others can reach several hundred dollars. On top of that, filter cartridges need to be replaced once or twice a year at an additional cost, albeit cheaper than the initial filter unit cost.