There is no substitute for having clean and purified water daily. If you are dealing with hard water, there are numerous shower filters for hard water that can change your daily life.
Not everybody has the luxury of having full-scale water softening and filtering system. Purchasing a simple filtering showerhead can immediately benefit your hair, skin, and nails. On top of that, many water supplies have a chlorine smell that sticks with you all day after a shower; nobody wants that!
In addition to the health benefits of softened water, you will notice an improvement in limescale buildup in your showerhead and an overall cleaner shower experience.
Investing in a new water-filtering shower head will not regret it! In my easy-to-follow guide, I will break down what makes shower filtering water heads so valuable, and hopefully, with our guidance, you can choose the best shower filter for hard water.
Recommended Hard Water Filter |
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Aquasana AQ-4100 Deluxe Hard Water Filter |
EDITOR’S CHOICE |
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Hydroviv Shower Filter for Hard Water |
BEST ADD-ON FILTER |
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View Latest Price |
Jolie Filtered Showerhead |
BEST WIDE SPRAY |
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View Latest Price |
My Top Shower Filters for Hard Water Reviews
(Tested & Rated by myself and the team)
| Shower Head | Contaminants Removed | Type | Filter Life | Flow Rate | Warranty |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aquasana AQ-4100 | Chlorine, lead, and other pollutants | In-Line & Head | 6 months | 2.5 GPM | 90 days |
| Hydroviv | Chlorine, sediment, and other pollutants | In-Line | 12 months | 2.5 GPM | 180 days |
| Joile | Chlorine and other pollutants | Filtered Showerhead | 6 months | 2.5 GPM | 90 days |
| Culligan WSH-C125 | Chlorine, sediment, and other pollutants | Filtered | 10,000 gallons | 2.5 GPM | 1 year |
1. Aquasana AQ-4100 Deluxe Shower Filter for Hard Water (Best Overall)
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Aquasana is a household name in water filter products, and this shower head filter is no exception. The easy installation is a breeze for anyone who can reach the showerhead.
It has a standard operating pressure of 80 psi, which is above average for filtering showerheads. Combining that with its maximum flow rate of 2.5 gallons per minute, the shower experience, even without the filtering component, is an immediate step up from the hard water environment I was in before installing.
Coming with a one-year warranty, this plastic-based filter showerhead focuses on chlorine removal, one of the biggest issues most people report with their water. Chlorine can cause itchy scalps, skin, and dry fingernails, but thanks to Aquasana, you have the option to rid yourself of these things.
What I Like:
What I Didn’t Like:
2. Hydroviv Shower Filter (Best In-line)
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Inline water filters are becoming increasingly popular, and the Hydroviv model is one of the better ones on the market. 15 distinct and unique stages of filtration and softening can make even the hardest water immediately healthier and purer.
If you are looking for a high-quality in-line filter tailored for your local water, then this ‘As Seen On SharkTank’ filter is the one you want. The flow rate is 2.5 gal/minute, which is standard during my testing plus, this runs your water through multiple stages that remove all the hard chemicals your local water source may have.
Hydroviv shower filters are designed to remove chlorine, chloramines, and other contaminants from your shower water.
It is an excellent option for people living in apartments or condo buildings since it is very rare for apartment units to have designated water softening systems, so adding a simple showerhead is smart.
Some of the benefits I experienced with using the Hydroviv shower filter included:
- Improved skin and hair health: Chlorine and other contaminants can strip your skin and hair of natural oils, leading to dryness and irritation. The Hydroviv filter can help keep your skin and hair moisturized and healthy by removing these contaminants from your shower water.
- Reduced chlorine exposure: Chlorine is a potent oxidizing agent that can cause respiratory issues, eye irritation, and other health problems when inhaled or absorbed through the skin.
- Improved water quality: In addition to chlorine and chloramines, Hydroviv filters can also remove other contaminants, such as heavy metals and bacteria, from your shower water. This can lead to a more pleasant and refreshing shower experience overall.
- Enhanced lathering and sudsing: Chlorine can interfere with the performance of soap and shampoo, making it difficult to lather and suds. By removing chlorine and other contaminants from your shower water, a Hydroviv filter can help improve the lathering and sudsing of your soap and shampoo.
Installation is as simple as any installation could be. Simply screw off your existing shower head, add some plumber tape and screw on the filter. Once snug, then screw on your shower head to the filter.
What I Like:
What I Didn’t Like:
3. Brondell VivaSpring Filtered Shower Head (Best For Wide Spray)
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The Luxuryfiltering showerhead does make you feel like a luxury. It feels like your opening a Rolex box when you open this for the first time. In terms of performance, they did not leave anything behind either. 15 stages of water filtering and purification are unheard of in the water filtering industry, and you can tell the difference from the first shower.
The water goes through several tried and proven filtering techniques, including Maifan stone, germanium balls, and coconut-activated carbon, starting with an ultra-fine mesh stainless steel trap.
Coming standard with a 2.5 gallons per minute flow rate, you will see little to no water pressure issues with this showerhead filter. Everyone tends to like the feel of a classic rain shower, and this luxury showerhead provides just that, without compromising water quality.
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4. AquaBliss High Output Revitalizing Shower Filter for Hard Water (Best Low Priced In-line)
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If you are looking for an affordable filter that will soften your shower water and filter out impurities, then the AquaBliss may be the one you want. While there is not much information about the flow rate on the market, we do know that the 12-step filtration process that the AquaBliss runs through has multiple stages that inject your water with beneficial elements to help with your hair, skin, and nails.
Installation is a breeze with this filtering head, and the AquaBliss SF100 will show cleaner, clearer water results immediately. An advanced revitalizing filter adds numerous stages for your water to pass through, boosting water oxygen and adding revitalizing minerals. (Add this is an excellent filter for any shower to your existing showerhead).
It starts with an ultra-fine stainless-steel fine mesh that rids the water of more significant impurities and ends with another mesh layer combined with micro-porous PP cotton to capture any sediment that may have squeaked through.
What I Like:
What I Didn’t Like:
5. Culligan WSH-C125 Wall-Mounted Filtered Shower Head (Best If You Have a Whole House System)
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Culligan is one of the most trusted names in water products worldwide. From water cooler technology to full house water softening products, they have provided the world with quality products for years, and the WSH-C125 is no exception.
One thing I liked about this one was the rubber coating over the spray nozzle. It provides a seamless water delivery, and the 5 different spray methods are an excellent feature that everyone can customize to their needs. Combined with the maximum operating temperature of 120 degrees and its ability to filter out 99% harmful chemicals, the WSH-C125 is a great economical choice.
The stainless-steel fine mesh rids the water of larger impurities and ends with another mesh layer combined with micro-porous PP cotton to capture any sediment that may have squeaked through. This helps with hard water stains.
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6. Vitamin C Filter Inline Shower Head for Hard Water (Best For Added Vitamin C)
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This showerhead add-on on our list is unique because you add it to your existing showerhead. Without adjusting your current showerhead setup height or angle, you can add this vitamin-C injection showerhead component to help your water with chlorine removal and add valuable minerals to help improve your hair, skin, and nails.
The Sonkai system installs easily with most standard showerheads, and we have yet to see any issues with decreased water pressure or flow rate. In prior models, the housing for the unit had issues, but Sonkai took those user notes and rebuilt the housing to be made of brass, making it highly durable.
If you love your current shower setup but wish the water was a bit friendlier to your hair, skin, and nails, the Sonkai vitamin C injection model is an excellent choice for you.
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7. Water Softener Shower Head – (Best Budget)
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The all-metal construction on this full-filtered showerhead unit is solidly built and easily installed by many homeowners without the need for tools. For homeowners and renters alike, this small package comes with three spray settings for the user to choose from, which is not a standard characteristic.
If you are dealing with hard water, this is one of the better options because it uses bead technology on the outside layer of filtering. You can see the white beads when looking at the spraying side of the showerhead. The beads are there to filter out impurities within your water.
The filter life on these models is the best we have seen, sometimes lasting up to 8 months. They are also effortless to change in and out. Another reason I love the filtering on this model is that it is effortless to see when you need to change the filter. Most are guessing games, but you can see the filter and change it at the perfect time with these models.
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8. Berkey Shower Filter WITHOUT Shower Head
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The Berkey inline shower head is a simple design. You can add it to your existing showerhead set up in no time, and softening water’s benefits will be noticeable immediately.
The 10,000-gallon filter features multiple levels that will remove or reduce several chemicals and contaminants. Using a KDF 55 process with filtration granules will remove water-soluble metals and elements such as hydrogen sulfide and other microorganisms. Just like Berkey water filters, another thing the Berkey water filter showerhead does is reduce chlorine and kill bacteria.
Not every filtering showerhead can remove bacteria, but Berkey’s filtering technology can manage that and a lot more. A cleaner shower was one of the most noticeable things I noticed after installing the Berkey system. There were less limescale, mold, and fungi left over.
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9. 15 Stage Shower Water Filter to Remove Impurities
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At a price point of less than $$, this 15-stage shower water filter is a great inline option for cleaner shower water. The water filter comes in a smooth chrome-plated finish that can be matched to many existing showerheads.
It comes with 2 extra filters, lasting up to 1.5 years of regular shower use. The filters have 15 stages of filtering, including a Maifan stone stage that helps with the ion exchange process to clean water of impurities.
The easiest installation of any model we’ve tested thus far was a pleasant surprise. It was installed in about 3 minutes. After we ran the water for about a minute to ensure that any activated carbon was out of the filter, and from there, it was clean and pure water.
What We Like:
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10. PureAction Luxury Filtered For Hard Water (Best Luxury)
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The only water filter on our list that includes a hose attachment, we loved what the PureAction device did to our hard water. The filter eliminates 99.9% of water-based containments and has a smooth, chrome-plated finish.
The hose attachment is great for people that prefer that in a shower, and we were surprised to see that it came with a replaceable hose. The filtering process has 3 unique parts that all have a major role in softening your shower water.
You will notice an improved soap lather upon installation, while the cleaner water reduces acne, eczema, and dry skin.
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What To Consider Before Buying A Shower Filter for Hard Water
When selecting your perfect water-filtering showerhead, several factors come into play. Some of these are technical things you must investigate, like water quality. Other things that must be addressed are opinions and personal preferences for what you’d like in the perfect shower experience.
What’s in your water?
Before investing in a water filter head, you must know precisely what you’re dealing with. You can purchase a water testing kit from several places to do this. The testing kit will tell you precisely the hardness level of your water and what exactly is in your water that needs to be filtered out. If your water has high iron levels or other metal elements, you may want to look for a specific showerhead that filters out iron better than others.
Water will vary from home to home, but some consistencies with the environment and water type. If you use well water, you will realize that metal, sulfur, and more natural elements will be more present in your water supply.
On the flip side, if you are in an urban environment, you are most likely on the city’s water supply, and we have realized that the water is higher in additives like chlorine and fluoride. While these things can be healthy in moderation, city water supplies are usually too high in these elements.
Installation
Over time, the evolution of filtering showerheads has made massive strives in filtering capability and flow rate technology. One thing that many homeowners struggle with is the installation of a new filtering showerhead. If you are not necessarily a tool-savvy person, you will want to ensure that the showerhead you choose requires no tools and is hand-tightening.
Luckily, there are numerous options where the easy install was part of the manufacturer’s design of the filtering showerhead. However, some models do require wrenching, taping, and in some cases, re-routing water lines. This is something that we highly suggest hiring professionals for if you were to choose a highly technical shower filtering system.
Showerhead Size and Inline Filters
This is one of those factors that comes down to personal preference. I love a bigger showerhead for more surface area of water. But this comes with some downfalls (unfortunately.)
Most often, showerheads with built-in filters are in a smaller size. This isn’t necessarily bad, but if you want a full rainfall shower with a 12″ surface area, you may want to look into an inline filter addition that can be added to your existing showerhead setup. These can be a little harder to install, but this is a very popular option and still provides awesome filtering.
If you don’t care about the size of your showerhead, then getting a combined unit that includes the filter and the showerhead in one big unit, you will have plenty of options.
This is the more popular option, and while you can find larger showerhead sizes in the filtering showerhead, the flow rate may be compromised the larger you go. This is due to how many levels of filtering and softening that water goes through.
Filter Life and Usage
Any showerhead filter, whether combined unit or inline, must have filters that must be replaced. The time between filter changes will vary depending on the showerhead and the filter it works with. When you’re looking at deciding on a filtering showerhead, usage should be a big factor in your decision.
If you have a large family taking many showers daily, finding a water-filtering shower head with a large-capacity filter will be essential. Most filters are rated to handle a certain number of gallons or liters throughout their lifetime.
Throughout all my research and experience installing showerheads, it has been my experience that they rarely last if advertised. I advise you to find the largest filter capacity and buy them in bulk.
Budget and Value
Like any home project or other consumer goods, price and value will be on our minds. In most situations, the budget and price would be much higher up on the buying guide.
Luckily, when it comes to filtering showerheads, they are typically cheaper for appliance additions. The peace of mind you can get from having clean water is invaluable. Almost all the options you will find are less than $100, and for usually less than $100, you can get the most luxurious and high-quality water filter showerhead on the market.
When looking at alternatives to softening and filtering your shower water, outside of showerheads, the other options are wildly more expensive. If you do not have the luxury of having a full-home water softening system, which can be thousands of dollars, the water-filtering shower head is of great value and can do wonders for your health.
Frequently Asked Question And Answered
Why do I need to install a shower filter head?
Suppose you are dealing with a hard water situation, specifically a water supply with high metal elements levels. In that case, showerhead filters are a good option to soften and filter water. Additionally, shower filters are a great way to get softer and cleaner water if you would rather save money and not install a full system water purification system and softener.
What is the difference between a full showerhead unit and an inline assembly?
A full showerhead unit uses the filtering aspects in cohesion with the physical showerhead to combine it into one unit. An inline unit is installed onto your existing showerhead to filter and purify the water that goes through your existing showerhead.
Are inline assemblies better than a full showerhead filter?
As with most personal household decisions, the right answer depends entirely on the situation. Some people love their showerhead and current assembly and do not want to change the height or angle of the water stream; therefore, the inline assembly would be better. Full showerhead units are more popular, however. They typically come in so many options that nearly everyone can find one that works for their situation.
How does filtering shower water help me?
Removing thousands of toxins and contaminants from your water supply will help your skin be less dry along with healthier fingernails and hair.
Do water filter showerheads remove bacteria?
The short answer is no. Bacteria are microscopic and are typically airborne, while water filters remove toxins like iron, magnesium, and limescale, bacteria are different.
Conclusion
As we’ve discussed in previous sections of this article, having a quality water filter head in your shower can do wonders for the water quality and the effect that it will have on your hair, skin, and nails. In many living situations like apartments and condos, having a dedicated water softener is extremely rare and can make your shower water hard and unhealthy. Shower filter heads are a great, economical option to improve water quality.
With so many showerheads available for under $40, the investment is well worth it and is something we swear by in a hard water situation. Because there are so many options on the market, beginning your search can be a little daunting. Don’t let that scare you; however, this article should have given you a great start in your search.
If you have any questions, please leave a comment below.
