If you already have a filter to remove sediment and contaminants in your drinking water, a shower filter should be your next product on your shopping list. This is not a poor-founded or paranoid worry as it might sound.
You may have heard stories of water supply contaminated with asbestos and heavy metals, even in developed countries like the US. And we haven’t yet talked about the chlorine that is intentionally put into water as a disinfectant.
Even when your water is safe to drink, nobody can guarantee that it isn’t harmful to your hair and skin. If you want to throw cold water after a hard working day with peace of mind, consider the best shower filters below.
Contents
- 1 7 Best Shower Filters By Consumer Reports 2021
- 1.1 AquaBliss AB-SF100 – Top Pick
- 1.2 AquaHomeGroup AHG12S – Best Showerhead Set
- 1.3 Aqua Earth Shower Filter – Best 15-Stage Filter
- 1.4 Culligan WSH-C125 – Best Wall-Mounted Showerhead
- 1.5 Barclay’s Buys Filtered Showerhead – Budget Choice
- 1.6 Berkey Shower Filter – Best KDF System
- 1.7 PureAction SH388 – Best Showerhead for Low Water Pressure
- 2 Final Words
7 Best Shower Filters By Consumer Reports 2021
AquaBliss AB-SF100 – Top Pick
If you want a shower filter with multiple stages to process the water, there is a model that many home improvement experts have adored: the AquaBliss AB-SF100.
This multistage design is able to eliminate various harmful substances that can affect your hair, scalp, skin, especially chlorine. This AquaBliss can also infuse skin-friendly minerals and vitamin C into the water supply.
Don’t worry about installation since this model is extremely easy to install in your bathroom. You don’t need too much effort or even to use any specialized tools.
These filters are made to last as well. Depending on how often your family uses the bathroom, each of them can last up to six months. Even the replacement parts are easy to buy.
But keep in mind that the AquaBliss AB-SF100 is only supposed to work with chlorine. If your area uses chloramine in water, it will stop working after a few weeks. And this is not a heavy-duty model like the AB-SF220, a similar product from AquaBliss.
Pros
- Great value for money
- Easy to install
- Able to infuses essential minerals and vitamins
Cons
- Not a heavy-duty model
- Not suitable for water with chloramine
AquaHomeGroup AHG12S – Best Showerhead Set
If your apartment complex isn’t equipped with a water filtering system, this showerhead set from AquaHomeGroup can save your hair from hard water.
The AquaHomeGroup AHG12S is a premium 15-stage showerhead that can reduce water hardness, remove harmful substances, and infuse minerals and vitamins into the water. It can make your water much softer, and the pesky smell of chlorine will disappear completely.
Though it is a 15-stage showerhead, you will face no trouble assembling and installing it. And once it has been installed in your bathroom, it feels like rain with the soft feeling, making your hair feel so light and clean.
This showerhead comes with a replaceable cartridge, which you should get a new one after every six months.
However, since it works like a complete set, there is only one fixed showering mode. And many customers have also reported there is a drop in water pressure when sediments start building up.
Pros
- A complete showerhead with a sleek design
- 15 stages with replaceable cartridge
- Easy to install
Cons
- Only fixed showering mode
- Water pressure drops if there is sediments build-up
Aqua Earth Shower Filter – Best 15-Stage Filter
If you like a 15-stage filtration system such as the AquaHomeGroup AHG12S above but don’t want a showerhead, you can have a look at the Aqua Earth 15-stage shower filter. It is also able to soften water, remove heavy metals, fluoride, sediment, and chlorine while infusing Vitamin C into your water.
On top of that, the Aqua Earth shower filter helps make your hair skin fresher and softer by neutralizing unpleasant odors in your water supply.
From handheld showers to overhead showers or rain showers, there is almost no shower style with which this model isn’t compatible. It’s highly versatile and uses the standard 1⁄2″ thread, which can fit most kinds of showerheads.
Installation shouldn’t be a problem. You can do it all by yourself without any tools or experience, all thanks to the clear and well-written instructions.
However, like most products above, it can’t work with chloramine systems. And the replacement cartridges are sometimes hard to find.
Pros
- 15 stages with activated carbon technology
- Able to get rid of unpleasant odors in the water
- Can be used with most kinds of shower
Cons
- Not an option for water with chloramine
- Replacement cartridges are often out of stock
Culligan WSH-C125 – Best Wall-Mounted Showerhead
The Culligan WSH-C125 is your best bet when you need a wall-mounted showerhead at a reasonable price. Featuring both activated carbon and KDF filtration technologies, it can get rid of most chlorine while taming the annoying smell of sulfur in the water.
Chlorine, scale, and sulfur are not a problem with this showerhead, which will help you reduce scalp and skin irritation that usually comes from hard minerals. It also features patented bacteriostatic filter media in order to limit the growth and passage of bacteria.
If your area is currently having a drought, you are in luck with the WSH-C125! It’s one of a few products with an EPA WaterSense certification, which is intended to conserve water.
However, while it works great with chlorine and sulfur, the Culligan WSH-C125 is not the best choice if your water has heavy metals such as lead. And when you switch to the massage mode, the water stream isn’t targeted for your hair but more for your body.
Pros
- EPA WaterSense-certified
- Clog-free design
- Reduce odors from sulfur and chlorine
Cons
- Not suitable for water with heavy metals
- Massage setting doesn’t work like intended
Barclay’s Buys Filtered Showerhead – Budget Choice
This showerhead from Barclay’s Buys is inexpensive, can reduce chlorine, and lasts long. Doesn’t this sound too good to be true?
It’s indeed a solid filtered shower head, especially when you have a tight budget. By using a filter sponge and iron box, the Barclay’s Buys showerhead can remove most chlorine in your water supply (up to 90% as Barclay’s Buys claims). This leaves you with softer and healthier hair and skin.
You can even choose one between three settings: massage, rain, and a combination of both.
This showerhead is extremely light. The simple design also speeds up the installation process or when you need to clean or replace the filter.
But as a budget option, it must have a few flaws. Although the Barclay’s Buys filtered showerhead includes some metal parts, most of the construction is made from plastic. It’s also normal if you occasionally see clogs or leaks.
But all things considered, this showerhead is still a great bargain for a working light-duty filtration system.
Pros
- Inexpensive
- Lightweight
- Easy to install
Cons
- Mostly made from plastic
- Occasional clogs and leaks
Berkey Shower Filter – Best KDF System
We must admit that this filter from Berkey doesn’t have an attractive look like other products. But don’t let this make you underestimate its capacity.
The Berkey shower filter, which is made from only BPA-free materials, works well with both cold and hot water. Plus, there is no significant drop in water pressure, even though many customers have seen clogs in their units.
Berkey knows this and has equipped it with a backflush feature, allowing users to remove debris that has accumulated over time.
However, there is a major issue when it comes to filtering capacity, which doesn’t reach the claimed value. The filter still works, but you may need more replacements than necessary.
And this model isn’t designed to deal with odors of chlorine either, which is why you may not see any difference in smells.
Pros
- Work with many types of showerhead
- BPA-free materials
- Include a backflush feature
Cons
- Unimpressive capacity
- Can remove odors
PureAction SH388 – Best Showerhead for Low Water Pressure
A water supply with low pressure isn’t an ideal environment for a shower filter to work in. But the PureAction SH388 can offer a spa-like shower experience even in this situation.
It is good at softening water, eliminating most contaminants like calcium, fluoride, chloramine, chlorine, sediments, rust iron, and heavy metals. This helps very much when you face skin issues such as allergies, eczemas, or itchy skin.
The PureAction SH388 provides three showering settings: rain, power rain, and massage. You can install it easily in any wall-mounted or fixed shower system, even though it’s compatible with handheld hoses.
PureAction includes Teflon tape and replacement cartridges besides the showerhead itself.
The most common problem people have with the PureAction SH388 is the sound it makes. You can’t apparently have a quiet shower with it due to the loud and annoying noise.
Pros
- Work great even at low pressure
- Two replacement cartridges included
- Easy to install
Cons
- Not compatible with handheld hoses
- Noisy
Final Words
Out of the best shower filters and showerheads above, the AquaBliss AB-SF100 comes first for a reason.
It effectively washes away all the harmful chemicals in your water while infusing vitamin C to improve your hair, scalp, and skin health. The best part is its reasonable price, making it a top pick even for home-improvement experts.