Why filter your shower

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Why filter your shower?

Why filter your shower?

For less free chlorine in the water you shower in. That’s the honest reason, and the only one we’ll give you.

UK tap water is disinfected by law, so a little chlorine stays in it all the way to your shower. Waterhush reduces free chlorine. It doesn’t soften water or remove limescale, and we won’t pretend it does.

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Dispatched next working day
No minimum term on refills

Morning light and steam in a quiet bathroom

UK tap water

Why is there chlorine in your shower water?

Because it’s the same tap water you drink. Water companies must disinfect it, and a small amount of chlorine stays in it to protect it on the way to your home.

A glass of tap water on a white windowsill, with terraced houses across the street

How much chlorine is in UK tap water?In mg/l (milligrams per litre), as published

Typical at the tapEngland and Wales · DWI

0.5 or less mg/l
Reaching homesOne network · Bristol Water

0.1–0.8 mg/l
A typical swimming poolFor comparison · Bristol Water

1.5–5.0 mg/l
WHO guideline valueFor drinking water · WHO

5 mg/l

Levels vary across a network. Your water company will send a free report with the minimum and maximum where you live, on request (DWI).

In England, regulation 26 of the Water Supply (Water Quality) Regulations 2016 requires that disinfection. The Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) says companies typically keep chlorine at 0.5 mg/l or less, a level it calls perfectly safe to drink.

The shower is often where you notice it. Hot water can’t hold as much chlorine, so it escapes as the water leaves the shower head, particularly when a combi boiler or an electric shower heats it, Bristol Water explains.

5,618consumer contacts about chlorine taste or odour were reported by water companies in England in 2025, the DWI says.

So filtering your shower is a preference, not a safety fix. If you’d rather have less free chlorine in it, that’s exactly the job a filter shower head is designed for.

Chlorine in UK tap water: the full guide

Does and doesn’t

What a filter shower head does, and doesn’t

One job, stated plainly. Then everything it isn’t, so you can decide with the full picture.

What it does

Reduces free chlorine.

That’s the one performance claim we make for Waterhush, and the one job a filter shower head is designed for.

How much it reduces depends on your water’s temperature and flow, and on the cartridge’s age, so we don’t quote a percentage. We make no claim about chloramine, which some areas use instead of free chlorine.

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What it doesn’t do

Soften water

Hardness is dissolved calcium and magnesium, the DWI explains. Changing it takes a water softener, not a shower head.
Remove limescale

In a hard water area, any shower head, filtered or not, needs cleaning as its leaflet says.
Treat the water you drink

It filters your shower only. For chlorine taste in a glass, the DWI suggests a jug of tap water in the fridge.
Promise skin, hair or health results

We make no such claims. By law, tap water must be suitable for drinking, cooking and washing (DWI).
Last for ever

Its filter media are used up as they work. We suggest a new cartridge every 3 months, or every 2 in homes of two or more.
Fit every shower

It needs a hose outlet. Electric showers aren’t confirmed, so check your shower’s manual first.

Inside the handle

How Waterhush reduces free chlorine

Water runs through a cartridge in the handle on its way to the 10 jets. Inside are four filter media, each chosen to act on free chlorine.

Four small bowls of filter media: white mineral granules, clear crystals, copper and silver granules, and black carbon — Material illustration. Appearance and proportions are illustrative.

Your hose
Cartridge in the handle
10 jets

Calcium sulfite: A mineral salt that reacts with free chlorine. A 2000 US patent for shower filter media sets out the chemistry.
Vitamin C: Neutralises chlorine, in a reaction the USDA Forest Service described in 2005 as very fast.
KDF: Copper-zinc granules. Their maker, Kymera International, says they change free chlorine into chloride and suit hot water.
Carbon: Activated carbon, which the DWI says to look for in a filter bought to improve the taste or smell of tap water.

We don’t state the order or amounts of the media. Refills are the same cartridge, each sealed in its own airtight sachet.

See how the head works What’s inside a shower filter

Is it for you?

Who a filter shower head suits

You notice chlorine in a hot shower

And you’d simply rather have less of it. That’s a preference, not a safety fix, and it’s the one job Waterhush is designed for.
You rent

On a shower with a hose, you change the head and hose, not the plumbing. Keep the originals to put back when you move, and ask your landlord first.
Your shower has a hose

Mixer and power showers with a flexible hose are the natural fit. The kit brings its own 1.5 m hose, a washer and PTFE tape.

Probably not for you if

Your shower has a fixed head and no hose outlet.
Your electric shower’s manual rules out other heads.
You’re after softer water or less limescale.
You’d rather not change a cartridge every few months.

Changing a shower head when you rent

Side by side

Waterhush vs a standard shower head

Same shower, same hose outlet. Here’s what changes, and what doesn’t.

Feature	Waterhush	Standard head
Reduces free chlorine
Filter cartridge	In the handle	None
New cartridge	Every 3 months (or 2)	—
Running cost	£26.99 a refill on the plan	None
Softens water or removes limescale
Spray patterns	10, numbered	Varies
Hose in the box	1.5 m	Varies
Price	£64.99, or £48.99 with the plan	Varies

A standard head has nothing to replace. A filter head needs a new cartridge on a schedule: that’s the running cost of the one thing it does.

Questions

Questions about filtering your shower

Short answers first, with the detail and the source underneath.

All questions

Is it worth filtering your shower water in the UK?

It’s worth it if you’d rather shower with less free chlorine. UK tap water is safe as it is: the DWI says the low levels of chlorine used are perfectly safe to drink. So a filter shower head is a matter of preference, not safety. If you want softer water or less limescale, it won’t help: that’s a water softener’s job.

Why does my shower smell of chlorine?

Hot water can’t hold as much chlorine as cold, so the chlorine escapes as the water leaves the shower head. Bristol Water says this is particularly noticeable when a combi boiler or an electric shower heats the water. Other smells have other causes: see why shower water smells.

Does a filter shower head soften water or remove limescale?

No. Hardness is dissolved calcium and magnesium, the DWI explains, and a filter shower head is designed to reduce free chlorine instead. Softening takes a water softener, which swaps calcium and magnesium for sodium by ion exchange. See shower filter vs water softener.

Will Waterhush fit my shower?

Waterhush needs a shower with a hose outlet, such as a mixer or power shower with a flexible hose. It isn’t confirmed for electric showers, so check your shower’s manual before fitting any other head. A fixed head with no hose needs a hose outlet before any handheld head can go on. Check your shower in three questions.

How often do you change the cartridge, and what does it cost?

We suggest every 3 months, or every 2 months in homes of two or more people. That’s a suggestion, not a tested lifespan. On the refill plan each refill is £26.99, with no minimum term: skip or cancel online before a refill ships. A single refill without the plan is £32.99.

Can I fit a filter shower head if I rent?

Ask first. Check your tenancy agreement and get your landlord’s agreement before you change anything. On a shower with a hose you only swap the head and hose, so keep the originals to put back when you leave. Our guide for renters covers the details.

The Waterhush shower head: a round chrome head with ten numbered jets (studio visualisation)

The Waterhush Shower Kit

Shower with less free chlorine.

£64.99The head with its cartridge fitted, a 1.5 m hose, a washer and PTFE tape.

Or £48.99 with the refill plan, then £26.99 per refill every 3 months (or every 2). No minimum term.

Shop the kit Will it fit your shower?

Free tracked deliveryDispatched the next working day, then usually 6–10 working days with Royal Mail. Delivery details
A refill plan on your termsNo minimum term: skip or cancel online before a refill ships. We email you before every charge. How the plan works
ReturnsBy law you can cancel within 14 days of delivery. Return postage is yours unless an item is faulty. How returns work