7 Best Shower Water Filters (2025), WIRED Tested and Approved

The marketplace for filtered showerheads remains young and mostly unregulated, and show claims are lone seldom backed up publically by autarkic data. We made tons of requests, but fewer ablution filter companies manus implicit their laboratory results. (Thank you, Aquasana, Weddell, Croix, and Curo for being exceptions.)

Some makers told america that autarkic labs and certifying bodies person been backed up, and that information is forthcoming. Many offered lawsuit restitution surveys oregon anecdotal studies instead. This each means that immoderate skepticism is warranted.

And truthful I got retired trial kits astatine home, instead. First I tested the full chlorine levels successful the h2o without immoderate filtering, a measurement that includes either chloramine oregon escaped chlorine that's interacted with whatever's successful your pipes. Then I tested the h2o filtered by the showerhead. I performed each trial aggregate times to relationship for imprecision oregon fluctuations successful investigating and successful municipal chlorine levels. In astir cases, I did this implicit aggregate days.

For testing, I avoided painfully unreliable location trial strips, and alternatively got retired somewhat nasty chemic indicators and utilized integer and chemic tests designed for pools and aquariums.

We besides tested full dissolved solids utilizing a TDS meter, and separately tested filters' effects connected pH successful bid to gauge effects but besides to verify the reliability of chemic trial results.

The effectiveness of filters goes down implicit time, of course, depending connected however overmuch contamination is filtered retired of the water—which is wherefore filters ever request to beryllium changed. As we update this guide, we’ll proceed to trial the astir effectual showerhead filters to spot however their efficacy changes implicit time—and adhd immoderate caller ablution filters we’re capable to recommend.

The champion ablution filters I tested volition amended your h2o quality. But ablution filters tin lone bash truthful much. The upshot is that you astir apt shouldn’t expect these ablution filters to soften the mineral hardness of your h2o oregon region astir substances. Hard h2o is much often solved by circumstantial h2o softeners, reverse osmosis filters, and whole-house h2o filtration systems.

After all, a filter indispensable beryllium comparatively tiny to acceptable into a showerhead. And yet it’s being asked to filter gallons of h2o each minute, pushed retired astatine some precocious somesthesia and precocious pressure. A showerhead filter poses a daunting engineering challenge, arsenic compared to countertop h2o filters that dainty lone a tiny magnitude of h2o astatine a time—or a bulky reverse-osmosis instrumentality that tin plug into your under-sink plumbing.

So what bash these showerhead filters really do, successful a mode we tin measure? They filter chlorine and chlorine compounds, mostly done chemic reactions. Pretty overmuch each American metropolis adds debased concentrations of chlorine oregon chlorine compounds to drinking h2o to termination perchance harmful bacteria. This is each good and bully erstwhile the water’s inactive successful the pipes. But chlorine’s not precisely large for your hairsbreadth oregon your skin, and fewer radical similar to portion it. Some are besides particularly delicate to the sensation oregon smell, oregon prone to tegument reactions.

The astir salient location ablution filters trust successful portion connected a zinc-copper substance called KDF-55, known to beryllium rather effectual astatine neutralizing “free” chlorine successful chlorine-treated systems. Other communal substances utilized to dainty chlorine and chlorine compounds see calcium sulfite and activated oregon catalytic carbon. The astir effectual filters usage these successful immoderate combination. The main happening I was capable to trial and verify was ablution filters' quality to region the full chlorine contented of h2o coming retired of your shower.

We’ve seen small grounds that the astir communal types of showerhead filters person overmuch effect connected the softness oregon hardness of water, oregon connected calcium buildup. In fact, some aboriginal world studies contiguous grounds that they don’t. The ablution filters we tested besides had precise small effect connected the sum full of dissolved solids successful our water, according to measurements with a TDS meter—i.e., the filters aren’t removing a ample magnitude of materials oregon minerals from the water.

I wasn't capable to trial claims by immoderate companies that these filters region dense metals similar pb and arsenic, which thankfully aren’t successful my pipes. We lone recovered 1 company, Weddell, whose filter was certified to region lead. So far, truthful good! Nonetheless, if you judge you person unsafe pb oregon arsenic successful your water, you astir apt shouldn’t effort to hole the occupation with a mail-order showerhead. Talk to a h2o attraction nonrecreational oregon your nationalist wellness authority.

If you unrecorded successful a large US city, chlorine is apt not what your metropolis uses to dainty the h2o successful its pipes. New York, Chicago, Seattle, and Phoenix usage chlorine, sure. But Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Boston, and astir large cities successful Texas don’t.

More than fractional of American large cities usage a substance called chloramine, a much unchangeable and enduring chemic that’s harder to filter and test. That's besides what was successful my h2o supply. To test, I got retired my useful digital h2o colorimeter and a somewhat nasty chemic indicator, and past tested the quality of each ablution filter to dainty immoderate of a fig of chlorine compounds successful the water.

Curious whether your metropolis uses chlorine oregon chloramine arsenic a disinfectant successful your pipes? Check present for an accounting of the 50 biggest municipal h2o systems successful the United States.