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

2 months ago

Compare Our Top 6 Shower Chlorine Filters

Honorable Mention Shower Filters

Photograph: Matthew Korfhage

Filterbaby Diamond Series Shower Filter for $113: This inline select was capable to trim full chlorine levels to undetectable amounts, 1 of fewer filters connected nan marketplace capable to do so—and nan truth that it's an inline select intends you'll beryllium capable to support your existing showerhead and conscionable slot this select successful betwixt nan tube and your showerhead. That said, it's a bulky filter, which intends your showerhead will beryllium astir 4 inches little than it utilized to be, and nan screw-in strategy is simply a small awkward: It's 1 of nan only showerheads I really needed a wrench to instal properly. The replacement filters are designed to usage minimal plastic, but they're are besides much costly than most, astatine $42 each 3 months.

ShowerClear Filtered Shower Head, pictured arsenic installed astatine a WIRED reviewer's home.Photograph: Matthew Korfhage

ShowerClear Shower Head for $139: OK, you sewage me. This isn't a filter. The ShowerClear is alternatively designed to lick a problem you astir apt hadn't thought astir but now whitethorn support you up astatine night: Potentially infectious germs called mycobacteria, prone to causing respiratory lung infections, enjoy increasing wrong showerheads and are resistant to chlorine-treated water. They turn successful colonies, a spot for illustration fungus. Hence, nan name. What's worse, if you can't unfastened up your showerhead, you can't spot them and you don't cognize they're there. Gives you nan willies. Anyway, this ShowerClear has a hinge and a latch. This intends you tin unfastened it up, look inside, and cleanable its interior completely, pinch soap aliases vinegar aliases disinfectants. This is simply a very uncommon value moreover among filtered showerheads. I'd beryllium happier if nan ShowerClear's h2o travel fanned retired a small better, aliases if nan latch were little of a defining creation feature. But what's each that for a small bid of mind? (That said, if you want a select to region chlorine, you'll besides request an inline select for illustration nan Weddell Duo.)

Photograph: Matthew Korfhage

Croix Filtered Showerhead for $129 and Croix Handheld Showerhead for $129: Shower select institution Croix was founded by chemic technologist Spencer Robertson, an aged manus astatine h2o filtration. The fixed showerhead is handsome, and nan handheld ablution has a overmuch broader array of spray settings than most—including a fun, ultra-broad spray mounting that's for illustration a savagely powerful misting device. This said, nan KDF-55 and calcium sulfite select didn't select moreover adjacent to nan mostly of full chlorine levels from my chloramine-treated h2o system. Based connected results I've reviewed from Croix's soul testing, I'd much apt urge this instrumentality for chlorine-treated systems for illustration nan 1 successful New York City. WIRED was capable to reappraisal soul testing showing that Croix's filters were successful astatine filtering astir free chlorine from water, successful accordance pinch NSF standards. Replacement cartridges and filters are reasonably priced and recommended erstwhile each 4 months, a longer interval than astir brands connected nan market.

Photograph: Matthew Korfhage

Aquasana Inline Filter for $150: Aquasana's funnily bulbous two-layer select removed nan mostly of full chlorine successful my chloramine-treated system, and it was besides 1 of nan only ablution select companies to connection independent testing information backing up its claims for chlorine-based systems. So far, truthful good. So why’s it not up adjacent nan apical of our list? A flimsy ablution wand pinch mediocre spray unit and radius, a flimsy but unfortunate inclination toward leakiness astatine nan ablution connection, and unforgiving geometry that intends it doesn't nexus up good pinch each showerheads arsenic an inline filter. Still, it useful and it's lab-attested for free chlorine removal, and I happily urge it.

Photograph: Matthew Korfhage

Jolie Filtered Showerhead for $165: Jolie pioneered nan influencer-centric, testimonial-driven trading exemplary that has made ablution filters truthful ascendant successful nan nationalist conversation. Its design, which looks a spot for illustration a elephantine Monopoly playing portion and comes successful chrome, gold, black, aliases red, is eminently likable. The instrumentality offers moreover h2o spray and a soft, stippled faceplate that feels luxuriant successful nan strangest of ways. But Jolie didn't respond to requests for independent testing erstwhile we asked successful precocious 2024, and our ain testing put it location successful nan mediate of nan battalion successful position of removing full chlorine from a chloramine-treated system.

Not Recommended

Photograph: Matthew Korfhage

Sproos! Filtered Hand Shower for $148 ($99 pinch subscription): Sproos is simply a quirky, kicky, kooky ablution marque aimed squarely astatine young “renters and DIYers”—offering a rainbow of bold colors for handheld filtered showerheads. But select testing was mediate of nan pack. Also, nan valve connected Sproos’ heavy, side-mounted select collapsed nether its ain weight aft 2 days erstwhile we tested successful 2024, causing an alarming bang and a spot of a mess.

Kohler Cinq for $150: Kohler is simply a venerable Wisconsin marque pinch a number of h2o curen options for showers and faucets. The Cinq filtered showerhead is admirably classical successful form, and its five-layer select looked arsenic promising, advertizing successful peculiar KDF-55 and activated carbon. Home testing didn’t show awesome results pinch my chloramine-treated water, however, and for nan value I felt entitled to precocious expectations. Requests for independent laboratory testing information successful 2024 didn’t get results.

Act + Acre Showerhead Filter (Out of Stock): Beauty institution Act + Acre’s filtered showerhead didn’t execute arsenic good arsenic others successful my location testing of full chlorine. We besides didn’t autumn successful emotion pinch nan showerhead itself, which looks a spot for illustration a gooseneck table lamp and droops awkwardly from nan ablution pipe. The showerhead was listed arsenic retired of banal erstwhile we checked successful aggregate times during 2025.

Frequently Asked Questions

How We Tested and What We Tested

Photograph: Matthew Korfhage

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

Some makers told america that independent labs and certifying bodies person been backed up, and that information is forthcoming. Many offered customer restitution surveys aliases anecdotal studies instead. This each intends that immoderate skepticism is warranted.

And truthful I sewage retired trial kits astatine home, instead. First I tested nan full chlorine levels successful nan h2o without immoderate filtering, a measurement that includes either chloramine aliases free chlorine that's interacted pinch whatever's successful your pipes. Then I tested nan h2o filtered by nan showerhead. I performed each trial aggregate times to relationship for imprecision aliases fluctuations successful testing and successful municipal chlorine levels. In astir cases, I did this complete aggregate days.

For testing, I avoided painfully unreliable location trial strips, and alternatively sewage 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 nan reliability of chemic trial results.

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

What Shower Filters Probably Don’t Do

The champion ablution filters I tested will amended your h2o quality. But ablution filters tin only do truthful much. The upshot is that you astir apt shouldn’t expect these ablution filters to soften nan mineral hardness of your h2o aliases 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 select must beryllium comparatively mini to fresh into a showerhead. And yet it’s being asked to select gallons of h2o each minute, pushed retired astatine some precocious somesthesia and precocious pressure. A showerhead select poses a daunting engineering challenge, arsenic compared to countertop h2o filters that dainty only a mini magnitude of h2o astatine a time—or a bulky reverse-osmosis instrumentality that tin plug into your under-sink plumbing.

So what do these showerhead filters really do, successful a measurement we tin measure? They select chlorine and chlorine compounds, mostly done chemic reactions. Pretty overmuch each American metropolis adds debased concentrations of chlorine aliases chlorine compounds to drinking h2o to termination perchance harmful bacteria. This is each good and bully erstwhile nan water’s still successful nan pipes. But chlorine’s not precisely awesome for your hairsbreadth aliases your skin, and fewer group for illustration to portion it. Some are besides particularly delicate to nan sensation aliases smell, aliases 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 effective astatine neutralizing “free” chlorine successful chlorine-treated systems. Other communal substances utilized to dainty chlorine and chlorine compounds see calcium sulfite and activated aliases catalytic carbon. The astir effective filters usage these successful immoderate combination. The main point I was capable to trial and verify was ablution filters' expertise to region nan full chlorine contented of h2o coming retired of your shower.

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

I wasn't capable to trial claims by immoderate companies that these filters region dense metals for illustration lead and arsenic, which thankfully aren’t successful my pipes. We only recovered 1 company, Weddell, whose select was certified to region lead. So far, truthful good! Nonetheless, if you judge you person vulnerable lead aliases arsenic successful your water, you astir apt shouldn’t effort to hole nan problem pinch a mail-order showerhead. Talk to a h2o curen master aliases your nationalist wellness authority.

If you unrecorded successful a awesome US city, chlorine is apt not what your metropolis uses to dainty nan 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 half of American large cities usage a constituent called chloramine, a much unchangeable and enduring chemic that’s harder to select and test. That's besides what was successful my h2o supply. To test, I sewage retired my useful digital h2o colorimeter and a somewhat nasty chemic indicator, and past tested nan expertise of each ablution select to dainty immoderate of a number of chlorine compounds successful nan water.

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

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