How Long Does A Shower Filter Last?

OK - so this is probably the number 1 question we are asked by our thousands of customers over the last 10 or more years that we've been in business selling shower filters. So we wanted to go ahead and write an article so that we could explain to all of our customers exactly what the definitive answer is to the question, how long does a shower filter last?

The quick answer to the question, how long does a shower filter last? Is; it depends! Some shower filters last around 3 months, some shower filters can last up to 12 months. But if you're looking for a definitive answer like all shower filters last 6 months, then you're out of luck. It's like asking how long does it take to eat a sandwich? It's impossible to give a proper answer to the question because there isn't only one type of shower filter. There are literally hundreds of different shower filters on the market and in those hundreds of different shower filters there are so many different types of filter mediums and within those types of filter mediums there can be literally hundreds of different combinations of filter mediums inside shower filter cartridges which all effect how long a shower filter will last. So if you see where we're coming from - it really is impossible to nail down an exact duration.

Another way of asking the question might be, how often should I change my shower filter cartridge? If that was the question then we could definitely give you a definitive answer for that. You must change your shower filter cartridges at least once every 12 months. If your shower filter manufacturer states that you should change a shower filter every 3 months but you forget or are lazy, truly you should really change the cartridge at least once every year. You've installed a shower filter to make sure that you get clean filtered shower water right? If that's the purpose of your shower filter, then why on earth are you not at least changing the cartridge once every year (or at least to the manufacturer's suggestions)? Not changing the cartridge means that there could be contaminants inside the shower filter cartridge which need to be removed by changing the cartridge. If you don't change the cartridge often, then you're going against exactly the reason you've installed the shower filter in the first place. So please, for Pete's sake - change your shower filter cartridges at least once every 12 months. Better still - change the cartridge in line with the manufacturer's instructions.

So back to how long does a shower filter last? Now that we know the answer to that question is, it depends. We need to ask ourselves, what does it depend on? There are a few major factors when it comes to working out exactly how long a shower filter cartridge will last, let's go through them below:

1. What does the manufacturer say?

Shower filter manufacturers will generally give you a range of how long the shower filter will last. That usually is based on testing that the manufacturer has done on their products in a controlled lab before the product goes to market. Usually it's given in months but more specifically it is given in how many litres of water can pass through the shower filter cartridge before you need to change the cartridge.

For example, our best selling shower filter the Paragon Luxury Hand-Held Filtered Shower Head has been tested by Paragon and the NSF to have a capacity of 37,000 liters before it needs to be replaced.

But remember, when the manufacturer says 37,000 liters they have calculated this in a controlled lab environment. When you get that shower filter home, it isn't the same as in a laboratory. In a lab all variables are controlled; the flow rate is controlled, the amount of contaminates in the water is controlled, the temperature of the water is controlled, everything is controlled so that the capacity of a shower filter is measured in a way that you can compare one shower filter to another.

When you get that shower filter home and you use it in your own shower, all those variables are not controlled, so it will generally mean that the shower filter will not work for the same capacity as stated on the box. But that number is not useless, it really does give you an indication of how long that particular shower filter should last. So use it to give you a general idea, but do not expect that your shower filter will last exactly that long, because it won't.

2. What is in the shower filter cartridge?

So we all know it's what's inside that counts, right? That goes the same for your shower filter. The highest quality shower filter filter material used in modern shower filters is KDF-55. If you're looking for a shower filter that is going to last a long time, remove a lot of chlorine, heavy metals and other contaminants - you want to look for a shower filter with a high amount of KDF-55. With a high quality KDF-55 type shower filter you can really get away with changing the cartridge every 8 - 12 months.

The second most popular shower filter medium (and water filter medium itself) is Granular Active Carbon (GAC). This product really is amazing because it has really really tiny pores inside it and when water passes through those pores any tiny little contaminants will get stuck inside the pores, therefore the contaminants are removed from your shower water and are kept inside the cartridge itself. So you can imagine, these type of shower filters do not last as long, because you need to change the cartridge because those little pores get full up of junk quickly. The more GAC you have in the shower filter cartridge, the longer the cartridge lasts. Then also when you combine GAC with other things like KDF-55 or ceramic ball shower filter balls it can extend the life of the cartridge even further, like we have done with our Slim Line Shower Filter and our Compact Shower Filter. For a shower filter with only GAC, we would say you'd have to change the cartridge every 3 months, but with our shower filters with GAC, KDF & ceramic balls, these type of shower filters will last around 8 - 12 months.

3. How often do you shower and what's the quality of the water in your area?

This is something people forget about when they're making a buying decision and thinking about how long does a shower filter last. How often are you going to use it? If you're a family of four who shower twice a day, then of course the shower filter is not going to last as long as a family of two who only shower once a day each. So the amount that you use the shower filter is going to have a huge impact on how long a shower filter will last.

Another thing customers need to understand is, if the water in your area is really bad (full of lime scale, full of chlorine and other chemicals, just obviously awful) then your shower filter is going to be working harder to filter your water and therefore it is not going to last as long. If it's a GAC primary filter, those pores in the GAC are going to fill up quicker. If it's a KDF primary filter the KDF is going to run out quicker because it's doing a lot more work to convert the harmful chlorine to harmless salt.

So in conclusion, when a customer asks us: how long does a shower filter last? We always say to them: 1) It depends on what shower filter you buy and what's inside the actual filter cartridge and 2) It depends upon how often you use it and also the quality of the water in your area. But please, please, always change your cartridges at the very least once every 12 months!

Have a great day and if you have any comments or questions please do not hesitate to leave them in the comments section below.