Introduction
Did you know that some water toxins might be more harmful to human health when inhaled than when consumed? Because of this, water quality is a significant issue for our drinking water and the water we use for showers. We will talk about the dangers that modern shower water contaminants pose to people’s health, why they are so dangerous, how to get rid of them from your home’s tap water, and more.
Why are Shower Water Contaminants Dangerous to our Health?
When we are in the shower, we are exposed to chemicals in the water that makes them much more dangerous. Many water contaminants are toxic when consumed, but they are not present in our drinking water. A recent study found that between 50 and 80 percent of the dissolved chemicals are released into the atmosphere when water is heated. These chemicals are released into the air when we take a hot shower, and we breathe them the entire time we shower. Toxins from heated water affect our health more quickly and intensely when we breathe them than when we drink them.
What Health Issues do Shower Water Contaminants Cause?
When it comes to shower water chemicals, trihalomethanes (THMs), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), chlorine, and chloramine are the most hazardous. When we are exposed to these toxins in the shower, they can have the following harmful effects on us:
- Your shower may become damaged by hard water.
- Breathing difficulties, asthma attacks, and other respiratory troubles (induced by THMs, chlorine, and chloramine).
- Increased chance of developing malignancies of the bladder, colon, breast, and kidney (due to THMs and VOCs).
- Symptoms of allergies include runny nose, itchy eyes, and coughing (caused by: chlorine and chloramine).
Hardness minerals like calcium and magnesium are typical shower water impurities that can harm your bathroom. The toxins listed above can harm our health. Additionally, anything that frequently comes into contact with hard water will develop limescale. Because of this, hardness minerals can block your shower drain and head and cover your shower’s walls and floor with unsightly limescale deposits.
How can you Eliminate Chemicals from your Shower Water?
Installing a water purification system in your home is the best way to clean your shower water. Many of the most dangerous toxins in shower water can be removed using a charcoal filter, a reverse osmosis system, or a combination of the two.
How to remove chemicals from water naturally? Eliminating chemicals from water naturally can be done using various methods. Natural filters are one of the most effective methods of removing chemicals from water. Using biological filtration techniques makes it possible to remove chemicals from water naturally. Different methods, such as filtration, sedimentation, and flocculation, can naturally purify water.
Additionally, a water softener installation makes it simple to remove hardness minerals. Lastly, get in touch with local water consultants to set up a free water quality analysis. This will help us determine what contaminants are in our shower water and suggest the right system(s) for treating them.
What is a Shower Water Filter?
By removing chlorine and chloramine from the water, a shower filter is a type of water filtering device that safeguards your skin and hair against dryness and irritation. Chlorine aggravates various skin conditions, including pimples, acne, and rashes. Your skin naturally makes oils to protect itself from damage and overexposure. Chlorine depletes the skin of these oils, causing it to feel dry and irritated. Even if your skin is already sensitive, the chlorine will quickly worsen it. This is especially true for babies and young children.
Chlorine also harms the health of hair. If you have colored hair, the chlorine will cause the color to fade prematurely and make your hair look flat and lifeless. If you wash your hair in water with chlorine, it will get scorched and stiff. Chlorine can harm your family and pets by causing dandruff, broken ends, and green tints in blonde hair.
The protective oils that keep your hair strong and healthy are removed by chlorine, just like they are with your skin. Dry, itchy scalps and lusterless hair cells are the results of this. Because of this, a shower filter is an important part of your home if the chlorine in your water makes your skin and hair feel itchy.
The warm water and steam in your shower open your pores. In a warm, moist atmosphere, your skin is significantly more permeable (hence why soap and skin care products often instruct you to apply to skin rinsed in warm water.) Unfortunately, this also means that your skin is much more likely to soak up pollutants and toxins while you shower. For instance, if you drink ten glasses of chlorinated water, you will be exposed to more chlorine than if you took a 10-minute shower.
How to Choose the right Shower Water Filter
As you browse shower filters and select the one that best suits you and your home, consider the following.
Appearance
Remember that the shower filter will be included in your bathroom’s design. When purchasing a new shower filter, there are numerous types and designs. There are a lot of chrome options from which you can choose to match your existing bathroom appliances. Other colors and metallic treatments are also available for them. These can be matched to your showerhead or bathroom tile. Of course, the ideal scenario would be to ensure your house is secure.
Household Water Use
Take note of the filter’s rated gallon capacity if you filter water for a big family or many bathrooms. Once the KDF (Kinetic Degradation Fluxion) media is gone, you won’t get any more benefits from a shower filter. Think about how often your family takes showers and buy a few extra filters, so you’re ready when your old ones wear out.
Water Quality
If you don’t have a whole-house water filtration system, you’ll need to monitor your water quality to ensure your shower filter works as well as possible. KDF Media will become more quickly exhausted with hard water than soft water. Rust, dirt, and other sediments will block the filter and make it useless if there is sediment in your water. Even though KDF can lower levels of heavy metals, chlorine, and other toxins in the water, the filter will eventually become less efficient as more contaminants are removed.
Cost Over Time
A shower filter is an investment in terms of cost over time. You will need to replace the filters a few times a year, even though it offers plenty of benefits by enhancing the quality of your skin and hair. Choose a shower filter that fits your household’s demands and is within your budget, and be sure to replace the filters promptly when they need to be replaced.
Types of Shower Water Filters and how they Work
You can get rid of chlorine and extra organic matter in your home with carbon and granulated activated charcoal. In addition, this type of filter may also remove VOCs like benzene, trichloroethylene, carbon tetrachloride, toluene, and xylene. But carbon filters don’t work well when put on the showerhead because of the extreme heat and pressure.
Less often used vitamin-C-based filters can get rid of both chlorine and chloramines. Cation-exchange water softeners can also remove calcium and magnesium from the water. But this may cost money because they add sodium chloride (table salt) or potassium chloride to the water to make it work. Too much sodium may be harmful to one’s health.
Health Canada advises that the filter be appropriately certified if you install one in your home’s water system.
Installing a filter in your home’s water system or shower head is a simple way to protect your family’s health. Unfortunately, there are different shower filters, and not all do the same thing.
Granular Activated Carbon Filter
Activated charcoal is used in this shower filter to remove a quarter of the chlorine from shower water. This is the shower filter that is most widely used.
Kinetic Degradation Fluxion (KDF) Filter
This shower filter uses positive and negative currents to get rid of mercury, lead, and other harmful substances. It utilizes both zinc and copper as the basis for the reaction.
Vitamin C Filter
Vitamin C is commonly used to remove chlorine and chloramine from shower water. In addition, it is also efficient at removing sediment from the water. This filter is one of the most popular due to its performance.
Why Would I Need a Shower Filter?
Shower filters have several beneficial aspects. A shower filter can benefit your skin, hair, and overall health.
Chlorine can have a Harmful Effect
Chlorine is used in water treatment plants to help reduce the number of bacteria in our water. But the results could be detrimental to your health. For example, when you shower in chlorinated water, it can harm your health. So, without a shower filter, you are more likely to be exposed to chlorine and its byproducts when you shower.
Showering in Chlorinated Water can cause Cancer
Chlorine vapors can harm your lungs just by inhaling them. The study has shown that hot shower users are more likely to be exposed to chlorine than tap water consumers. This is because heating the unfiltered water helps the chlorine dissolve into a gas absorbed through the skin or breathed.
Chlorinated Showers could be Risky for Pregnant Women
Pregnant women should always use a shower filter since it will decrease chlorine exposure and the risk to both the mother and the unborn child. A study in England found that pregnant women who drank or took showers with tap water that hadn’t been filtered were more likely to have problems during their pregnancy.
What are the Benefits of a Shower Filter?
Shower filters have the following advantages: they are an excellent way to improve the water quality in your home. Installing a shower filter in your bathroom can help you in several ways, like making your skin look and feel better and reducing exposure to harsh chemicals, which can cause breathing problems and skin irritation.
You will Look Younger
The chlorine and other contaminants trailing through your shower should wreak havoc on your skin or hair and can cause pimples or an itchy scalp. Shower filters can help get rid of these chemicals, making your skin and hair smoother and less likely to get damaged.
You will Save Money
You spend a lot of money treating your itchy skin and dry hair because you don’t want chemicals and fragrances to worsen the problem. However, using a shower head filter will cost you a small sum for several replacement filters.
It will Make you Feel Healthy
Your body may suffer negative effects from repeated exposure to chemicals in the shower, such as fatigue and impaired immune response. These effects can make it more difficult for your body to fend off diseases. Installing a shower filter will remove these vapors and strengthen your immune system, which will help you feel better.
Protects Children
Chemical compounds in your baby’s shower water, such as chlorine, may cause health problems. To protect the health of young children, they should get chlorine and other chemicals out of their shower water. Kids will observe healthier growth and stronger health right after you begin filtering their shower water.
People with Sensitive Skin
People with sensitive skin or scalp, children, and especially babies should use these filters. For example, taking a shower with water that has been filtered can help with skin problems like eczema, rashes, dandruff, and an itchy scalp.
People with Compromised Immune Systems
Numerous germs can be found in showerheads. If you aren’t carefully cleaning your showerhead frequently, these bacteria may become aerosolized each time you shower. A showerhead filter can help keep you healthy by stopping germs from growing in the first place. This is, of course, in addition to routine cleaning.
Conclusion
In conclusion, shower water contaminants can have serious health risks for humans if not cleaned up properly. Showering in locations with high concentrations of these chemicals should be done with caution, and people should take steps to remove them from their tap water at home. The shower filters are a great way to protect sensitive skin while taking a shower. They are also appropriate for children and babies whose skin or scalps may be more susceptible.
