Shower filters pass shower media, such as KDF, to reduce skin irritants in shower water, such as chlorine and chloramines. After the chlorine content is eliminated, the water on the hair and skin will become much milder and no longer have a pungent chemical smell. KDF is a granular zinc alloy that can exchange electrons with water pollutants and chemically convert chlorine and heavy metals into benign substances that do not aggravate the skin. KDF (short for "Motion Degradation Flux") is also widely used to improve the taste of water. Everpure is a brand known for its restaurant-quality water filtration products, and its filter elements widely use KDF media.
KDF eliminates dissolved chlorine in water by converting chlorine disinfectants into water-soluble, environmentally safe chloride ions. When the chlorinated water passes through the KDF filaments, the two different metals (copper and zinc) in the KDF will produce an electric or electrolytic reaction, thereby converting chlorine into chloride. Chloride will not antagonize any skin conditions, will not negatively affect the hair, and will not produce any bad taste. KDF is also good at eliminating heavy metals such as iron, lead and copper in the water supply. In addition, KDF medium has a bacteriostatic effect and inhibits the growth of internal bacteria. This medium prevents any accumulation of algae in shower filters and is increasingly used as a substitute for bacteriostatic silver in carbon filters.
Carbon filters are highly praised for their ability to remove chlorine from water. However, the effectiveness of carbon's chlorine reduction decreases with increasing water temperature. This makes them ideal for drinking water applications, as most people are filling their glasses with cold water. However, since most people are taking hot baths, activated carbon media is not a good choice for shower filters. The hot water flowing through the activated carbon block actually releases the pollutants released in the carbon medium back into the water. Unlike most filter media, the performance of KDF is not affected by water temperature.
Can shower filters remove chloramines?
Traditional shower filters cannot remove chloramines from water. Reducing chloramines requires a lot of contact time with the filter media. The shower causes too much water to flow through the filter at too fast a speed to be ineffective. The huge amount of water and high flow prevented it from having a major impact. In order to properly eliminate chloramines, it is necessary to feed water through more powerful filters (such as reverse osmosis systems, ultrafiltration units) or expose them to catalytic carbon.
The only shower filter that can reduce chloramines is called a vitamin C filter. Vitamin C filters use ascorbic acid tubes to neutralize chloramines. When the shower water flows through, the pure pharmaceutical grade vitamin C will dissolve. Even if the contact time is limited, the vitamin C filter can eliminate more than 90% of chlorine and chloramines. The Vitamin C shower filter is the most recent innovation in water filtration. However, compared with carbon fiber and KDF, they do have the disadvantage of a much higher cost. The life of the ascorbic acid tube depends largely on the chloramine content in the water and the frequency of showering. These filters are packaged in a transparent housing, so you will be able to visually monitor the ascorbic acid levels of the remaining reduced chloramines.
