Bath and shower filters

First off, I have to apologize to all readers that have beautiful designer bathrooms because you're going to really dislike this post. Bath and shower filters are hideously ugly - especially the weird bath balls (if anyone finds a decent looking one please let me know!) BUT, filtering is critical because of all the unbelievable harmful crap that is added to our tap water. Your skin is extremely absorptive and each shower we expose ourselves to about 25 gallons of water (double that amount for me…). Plus your body is made up of 60% water, so it is critical to make sure that the water you're bathing in is pure and free of chemicals.

Our Sprite High Output Shower Filter from Amazon, $59.99 - you attach your  shower head to the bottom

Suffer from dry or irritated skin? Eczema or psoriasis? Allergies, asthma or other respiratory problems? Brittle hair or itchy scalp? A shower and bath filter could help and this is ESPECIALLY a must try for children. 

Bathing in chlorinated water robs skin and hair of their natural protective oils causing scaling, itching and bacterial imbalances. Skin disorders like eczema, psoriasis, dandruff, and chronic dryness are all effected by the moisture content of the skin - makes perfect sense to me not to take a bath in what is contributing to your problem!!! Chlorine also kills most of the beneficial bacteria on the surface of your skin which destroys your body's natural defense against skin disorders.  

Chlorine is also BRUTAL on your hair since it strips it of natural oils. You know how summertime pool hair is brittle, dry and the color bleaches out? Pool levels and tap water levels aren't that different - the health department recommends between 1.0-3.0ppm  for swimming pools and the EPA allows 4.0ppm for municipal tap water. Imagine the difference it will make to eliminate!! Your hair will appear stronger, thicker and softer. If you color your hair, you'll notice the color lasts longer. The performance of your soaps, shampoo and conditioners will be enhanced because they aren't competing with the pitfalls of chlorine. No-brainer!!

 Our Sprite White Bath Ball Filter  from Amazon, $26.82 prime. Good news is they also come in silver and brass :)

When you take a hot bath chlorine is vaporized it converts to chloroform gas, which is a seriously potent irritant that causes the air passages to constrict. This can cause respiratory problems like asthma when inhaled. Chloramines in the water are also linked to cancer in adults (rectal and bladder) and an increased risk of heart disease. According to Global Healing Center,

These chlorine byproducts trigger the production of free radicals in the body, causing cell damage, and are highly carcinogenic. The Environmental Defense Fund warns that, “Although concentrations of these carcinogens (THMs) are low, it is precisely these low levels that cancer scientists believe are responsible for the majority of human cancers in the United States.”

We currently live in a one bathroom house, which was probably remodeled in the 80's so I don't really mind additional ugliness. Our plan is to tear down and have Ed build us a house in a few years which will include a whole home water filtration system (and more than one bathroom!). In the meantime these Sprite filters are working great for us - other popular brands include Culligan, Aquasana, and Berkey. Ed was able to install them quickly and easily. It does take a few minutes longer to fill the tub, but luckily our shower pressure wasn't compromised. My hair and skin are softer and I don't recall any itchy skin since installing it - looking forward to seeing the difference this winter. It is most noticeable though when you shower at a hotel or gym - the chlorine smell is so offensive all of a sudden! Olivia thankfully doesn't have any allergies or asthma, so I can't share any personal experiences - however there are tons of testimonials online of how filtering water has improved their conditions. 

Additional reading:

• Center for Disease Control, Disinfection By-Products and the Safe Water System
• National Toxicology Program (Department of Health and Human Services), Report on Carcinogens: Twelfth Edition (2011): Bromodichloromethane
• National Toxicology Program (Department of Health and Human Services), Report on Carcinogens: Twelfth Edition (2011): Chloroform
• EU European Commission, Recommendation from the Scientific Expert Group on Occupational Exposure Limits for Chloroform (.pdf)
• US National Library of Medicine, Chlorine Gas Inhalation
• Global Healing Center, Chlorine, Cancer, and Heart Disease
• Citizens Concerned about Chloramine, Chloramine Facts