Before using one should know what is a shower filter and their features and benefits. After that, you can decide whether you need one or not. Hopefully our effort will help you decide on this matter.
Usually, we use water filter for drinking water purpose. However, we must not forget that contaminated shower water can harm our skin. Therefore, we should use shower filter to fully purify the shower water.
Shower filter filters out the harmful chlorine and skin damaging chloramines from shower water. Chlorine is harmful for both skin and hair. You may have dry hair problem if you use chlorine water for shower. Moreover, it can cause eczema and acne on your skin.
So, What is a Shower Filter?
A shower filter is a type of water purification or filtration system. It sort out harmful agents like chloramines, chlorine and other agents from water. Thus making the water harmless and good for your health.
We used chlorine to make the water odorless and free from contaminations. However, the chlorine himself isn’t good for our health. To prevent the greater evil, lesser evil will run us out.
Chlorine is a major cause for skin related problems. Acne, eczema, rash and other dirty and awful skin diseases have a way with chlorine mixed waters. These diseases may not be life threatening but surely will make your life a hell.
Our body naturally produce oil to keep the skin safe from harm. However, chlorine removes this oil. Thus the skin becomes dry and itchy. In addition, skin sensitive people will get allergy type problems too.
Moreover, it is highly toxic for hair health. Hair dryness and hair fall is a common cause for chlorine mixed water. A few splashes can’t be harmful. However, a full shower under chlorine water will become a cause of concern for your hair.
Dyed hair has most problem with chlorine. It removes the glossiness of the color. Soap and shampoo can’t work well with chlorine mixed water. That is to say, it increases the dandruff producing rates. So, dandruff can become your life long problem with chlorine water.
Why Chlorine in the Water?
If chlorine is so harmful then why bother mixing it with water? Because water treatment plants add chlorine into water to make it safer and contamination and infection proof.
Mixing chlorine in the water creates an acid named hypochlorous. This hypochlorous acid is really active against bacteria and other similar micro orgasms. The acid kills these harmful micro orgasms along with all types of bacteria and keep the water safe and pure.
However, after making the water safe, chlorine has no other benefits. Moreover, it makes the taste like chemical with acidic smell. Many water treatment plants also use ammonia along with chlorine to keep away contamination and infection.
However, when ammonia mixes with water, it creates another chemical agent called the chloramine. It is the main cause for the pool water smell. Chloramine has better effectiveness comparing with chlorine. However, it is also hard to remove them from water than chlorine.
Regular carbon or KDF filtration system can easily remove chlorine through adsorption. However, these filtration systems don’t work with chloramine. For chloramine, you need extensive and complex filtration systems.
Shower Filter Working Mechanism
The most popular water filtration systems use either carbon filtration or KDF. KDF means Kinetic Degradation Fluxion. Usually, water flows within the filters and the filter purify or negate harmful agents from the water.
After filtration, water becomes gentler and will pose no threat for your hair or skin from chlorine. KDF is a granular alloy of copper and zinc. It changes the property of the chlorine and other heavy metals. In other works change them into benign or harmless substances or agents.
KDF changes the water infused chlorine into chlorine ion or chloride version exactly. That is both environment friendly and harmless to the skin and hair. Moreover, the acidic taste will be removed and water becomes chemical odorless. It makes water tasty, and many top rated drinking water filter manufacturers use this technology.
The KDF infused electrolytic or galvanic reactions convert base chlorine into chloride. Moreover, other heavy metals like iron, copper or lead within the water becomes oxide substances or harmless for you.
KDF is a built-in antibacterial substance and make sure no bacteria passing or growing in the water. In addition, it prevents algae passing or build up from or within the water filtration systems.
Like the KDF carbon filters are renowned chlorine removal. They work perfectly to detoxify the chlorine water into pure, tasteful water. However, carbon filters work perfectly with low water temperature.
Its efficiency decreases as the temperature increases. That’s why, carbon filters are good for drinking water, where people like colder water to drink.
However, for shower, people usually prefer warm or hot water. Therefore, carbon filters will work less efficiently for showers. Although, you may use carbon filter along with KDF filters to get better results.
Which Filter is Good for Chloramines
Regular filters like the KDF or carbon filters work greatly to fully remove chlorine, bacteria and other harmful substances from water. However, these filters can’t get rid of chloramines.
There weren’t any effective solution for chloramines in the past until the vitamin C filter invention. Only, vitamin C water filtration system works perfectly against chloramines contamination.
Chloramines require more time for contact with the filtration substances. However, shower flows much water with higher pace. That’s why regular filters are unable to reduce chloramines from the water.
Filters those use reverse osmosis system can fully eradicate chloramines. Only vitamin C filters use reverse osmosis system to remove chloramines and only effective solution.
Pure and top grade vitamin C dissolve from the filter while the water flows within. The ascorbic acid from vitamin C solution successfully neutralize the chloramines along with chlorine and other harmful substances.
This is a highly advanced solution and its not cheap. Vitamin C filters are 90% successful again chloramines and chlorine with heavy water flow.
This type of filter is very costly. Moreover, it has less service life comparing with KDF or carbon filters. In other words, you have to change the filter cartridges more often.
Relation Between Shower Filter and Water Pressure
Usually, installing shower filters don’t hamper the water pressure. They are manufactured to maintain regular water pressure. Many top rated shower filters maintain water pressure between 20-100 psi.
Many filters work greatly with filtration while maintaining 40-80 psi water pressure. However, before buying please make sure to check the water pressure level of the shower filter.
Lower than 40 psi for water pressure isn’t adequate for home water flow. If the water flow is low, then the filtration process will take more time to filter water. If the pressure is lower than required then the water filter can slow the water pressure more.
To solve this low water pressure problem, some manufacturers designed and marketed low pressure water filter. However, these filters usually set within the shower head instead of water pipeline.
According to Energy Policy Act 1992, shower heads highest water flow rate is 2.5 GPM. A newer recommendation by EPA but not mandatory requires 2 GPM water flow. However, if your shower head was built before 1992 then it can use as much as 3.5 GPM water flow.
Shower Filter’s Service Life
So, how long can a shower filter runs for its lifetime? Usually, 6 months is the regular service life of a shower filter. But if you install it with RV shower head or electric shower head where water flow and pressure is lower, it can run longer.
Usually, the shower filter life cycle sets with 10,000-15,000 gallons of water. So, if only one using the shower, then it can run for more than six months. However, if 4-6 people daily using the shower or shower panel where water flow rate is much higher, it will last a few months only.
There is no certain way to check whether the shower filter is running out or still active. You should check the water chlorine level after using the filter for a few months. After that, when you see that you are having chlorine or chloramine related problems. Then please change the shower filter immediately.
Some filters come with cartridges where you will only need to change the cartridges. Its less complicated and cheaper. Try to use those ones so that you can just buy cartridges and change them.
Health Risks of Not Having Shower Filter
So far, we have known about shower filter, about its benefits. Now, we will discuss about the health risks of chlorine and chloramine. So that, you can know, why you must have a shower filter.
Risk of Bacterial Infection and Diseases
We may shower under a shower head while not knowing what is coming down. Unfiltered shower head may contains millions of bacteria and microorganisms. They may be piled up for many days.
So, how to prevent this. You need to install a shower filter with your shower head. The filter will kill most of the microorganisms along with bacteria. After that, you can have a pleasant shower without any worry.
Fairer Skin and No Skin Problem
Chlorine is harmful for your skin. Though, you may not notice at the first time. However, frequent shower with chlorine mixed water will fade the skin color and temperament.
You will look older and sick. The skin will have less immunity against regular germs and dust. Therefore, you should use filter to get rid of chlorine from shower water. And you will get the previous fairness and glossiness of your skin.
Chlorine Water Showering is Dangerous Comparing Drinking Same Water
Different researches showed that your body can take more chlorine by cells. This number is astonishing. Moreover, if you shower under hot chlorine mixed water, many chlorine and its byproducts will get into your body.
This number of chlorine is way more than you can get, if you drink 8 glasses of same water daily. In other words, direct drinking will cause less harm that hot chlorine mixed shower.
Feeling Strong and Fit
Usually, after hard work we take shower to feel refreshed and strong. But chlorine contaminated hot shower can do the opposite.
Researches showed that you may feel depression, fatigue, headache and itchy skin after 10-30 minutes of shower. However, situation can change. If you install a shower filter, soothing rain shower after hard work will make you refreshed. Moreover, you will get energized.
May Cause Cancer in the Future
Though it may not be full proofed but many researches indicates that. You may get long term lungs problem if you inhale vaporized chlorine for many days.
And hot shower is the main cause for vaporized chlorine. Other types of skin, hair and eye problems may rise in time. In the meanwhile, these may direct yourself towards more severe condition like cancer.
Pregnant Women Can Have Higher Risks
Though, chlorine contaminated water is harmful for all. However, women, more accurately pregnant women can get worst effect in short time.
Pregnancy makes women immune system weaker, so vaporized chlorine will make them feel uneasy and produce many health problems. The unborn child health will have higher health risk. After birth complexity for both mother and child may occur.
Children Must Be Protected
Children have less immunity to unwarted air agents and chlorine can harm them easily. Moreover, they are in the developing stages.
Researches showed that excessive chlorine in drinking water or shower water hampers children development. Both mental and physical health are in danger for it.
Do I really Need One?
If you get chlorine based water from suppliers then surely you need a shower filter. However, if the supplier ensures that they don’t mix chlorine or ammonia with the water. The water is just pure and contamination free. Then you don’t need a shower filter.
In addition, if you already have whole house water filtration installed, then you don’t need one installed with the shower. Moreover, whole house water filtration system will provide fresh and contamination free water for all purposes. Even, your drinking and kitchen water will be purified and filtered.
End Words
Some people always tell you, that they are using chlorine water didn’t have any problem so far. It can be true but you can’t be so sure of it.
They are already affected and sooner or later the symptoms will come out. After reading till the end, you should know what is a shower filter and why you need this. After that, our task is done. Your health your choice. We will only show the path. But you have to walk it yourself.