Unfiltered shower swap to Shower filter

Why make the swap

• Why switch to shower filter

  The filter’s cartridge is certified by IAPMO R&T to NSF/ANSI 177 for free chlorine only, so it isn’t certified for chloroform or chloramine. Sprite says it hasn’t been evaluated in water treated with chloramine, and EPA says more than one in five Americans uses such water; your water quality report says which your supplier uses. The housing is solid brass.

• What's the concern with unfiltered shower

  Chlorinated tap water carries disinfection by-products like chloroform, and showering takes them in through your lungs and skin. In Weisel & Jo’s study, shower doses spread through the body, while swallowed doses were metabolised before reaching the blood. In a bathing study run between 30 and 40 °C, the same people breathed out about 30 times more chloroform at the warmest temperatures than at the coolest.

• General information, not medical advice. Ask your doctor, especially if you’re pregnant, nursing or have a health condition.

• Good to know before you buy

  The free part still matters: shorter, cooler showers cut the chloroform you take in, which the filter isn’t certified to remove, and a fan or open window clears the steam. Swap the cartridge every 12 months or 25,000 gallons.

  Sprite HOB-CM brass shower filter, chrome: Solid brass housing, chrome-plated over a nickel undercoat; Sprite gives a California Prop 65 warning for nickel. The maker doesn't say what the cartridge's clear casing is made of. Certified for chlorine only; replace the cartridge every 12 months or 25,000 gallons.

• Sources (6)

  1. Weisel & Jo 1996, Environ Health Perspect: shower inhalation and skin doses reach the blood; swallowed doses are metabolised first (opens in a new tab)
  2. Gordon et al. 1998, Environ Health Perspect: bathing at 30-40 °C, subjects exhaled about 30 times more chloroform at the highest temperatures than at the lowest (opens in a new tab)
  3. EPA: more than one in five Americans uses drinking water treated with chloramines (opens in a new tab)
  4. IAPMO R&T certificate W-9269: Sprite HOB-XX-R shower filters, NSF/ANSI 177, reduction claim chlorine (opens in a new tab)
  5. Sprite manual: tested to NSF/ANSI 177 for free chlorine; not evaluated in the presence of chloramines (opens in a new tab)
  6. Sprite: finished housings are triple-plated over a nickel undercoat (Prop 65 notice) (opens in a new tab)

  Health and safety facts on this page come from these sources. What a pick is made of comes from its maker's listing or website, as stated on the date we checked.