Shower

Choosing a shower filter in New Zealand

Everything below is about how water feels and how hair looks. None of it is a treatment for any condition, and nothing here is a drinking-water filter.

Is New Zealand tap water chlorinated?

Almost every reticulated public supply in New Zealand carries a chlorine residual, and that is deliberate: it is what keeps the water safe between the treatment plant and your tap. The regulator, Taumata Arowai, publishes a register of supplies exempted from residual disinfection, and when we last checked it in August 2026 exactly one supply was on it. If you are on a public supply, assume your shower water is chlorinated. More on chlorine in NZ tap water.

What a shower filter does

It reduces chlorine taste and odour, and fine sediment, in the water running over your skin and hair. That is the honest list. What people notice is a difference in how the water feels, and hair that looks shinier once it dries.

What it does not do

It does not soften hard water, which means removing dissolved calcium and magnesium. Nothing that fits between a hose and a shower head has the capacity for that. It is not a drinking-water filter. And it is not a treatment for any skin or hair condition, so anyone selling one as one is overselling it.

A filtered shower head, or an inline filter?

Two ways to do the same job, and which one suits you depends on the shower you already have.

• A filtered shower head replaces the head you have, with the cartridge inside the handle. Pick this if your current head is old, or you would rather install one thing. That is the Ion Drop.
• An inline filter screws in between your hose and your existing head, so you keep the head you like. Pick this if you are happy with your shower head, or you have a fixed rain head you cannot swap. That is the Vitamin C filter.

What does it cost to keep running?

The Ion Drop takes PP-cotton cartridges that come twenty to a pack for $27.99. Changed every 30 to 60 days, one pack lasts well over a year, and the running cost works out under $1.50 a month. Change them on a schedule rather than waiting for a sign, because a spent cartridge does not look any different from the outside. Replacement cartridges.

Will it drop my water pressure?

Any filter adds some restriction, and how much you notice depends on the pressure you start with. The usual reason a filtered shower begins to feel weak is a cartridge left in far too long, which is another argument for changing them on a schedule. The longer answer.

Shipping and returns

Free shipping on every order, no minimum, to New Zealand, the United States and Canada. Dispatched in 1 to 3 business days with tracking. We are not shipping to Australia at the moment, because filtered shower heads and inline shower filters are regulated plumbing goods there.