The best shower filters in Australia

Shower filters attract a lot of health marketing. We are going to ignore all of it and talk about what can be shown: they reduce chlorine, and in some cases chloramine, in shower water. If that is what you want, here is how to choose.

Questions to ask before buying a shower filter in Australia

• Is my water chlorinated or chloraminated? Ask your utility. Sydney Water says it adds chlorine; other utilities use chloramine, and that decides the filter: KDF and carbon suit chlorine, vitamin C handles both.
• How much chlorine is there to remove? The national guidelines give typical levels of 0.2 to 0.5 mg/L in supply, with an odour threshold of about 0.6 mg/L. Some people notice it and some don’t.
• Will it fix my skin or hair? We don’t make that claim. These reduce chlorine, and in some cases chloramine.
• I rent. Can I fit one? Victoria lets renters swap to a low-flow shower head without permission, as long as they keep the original. An inline filter on the arm comes off the same way, so keep what you took off.
• What happens if it fails after the warranty? The ACCC says the consumer guarantee of acceptable quality usually still applies after a warranty expires.

Three kinds of media

KDF is a copper-zinc alloy that converts chlorine to chloride through a redox reaction. It works in hot water, which matters in a shower, and it is the media behind most reputable shower filters, including the Philips unit. Activated carbon works in cold water but loses effectiveness as water gets hot, so carbon-only shower filters are weak. Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) neutralises both chlorine and chloramine instantly and is unaffected by temperature; the trade-off is that the cartridge is used up as it works and needs replacing more often. Multi-stage filters with “15 stages” or “20 stages” are mostly padding: look for KDF or vitamin C and ignore the count.

Chlorine or chloramine

Some Australian utilities, including Brisbane’s grid, metropolitan Adelaide and parts of Melbourne, disinfect with chloramine rather than chlorine; the Gold Coast’s own 2024–25 report says its network is chlorinated. Chloramine is more stable and much harder for KDF and carbon to remove. If your water utility uses chloramine, a vitamin C filter such as the Quoss is the one that will actually do the job. The vitamin C versus KDF guide sets out the trade-off, and do shower filters work goes through the evidence, including how to test one with a pool strip.

Fitting

Both picks screw onto the shower arm between the wall and your existing shower head (or replace the head with a filtered shower head), on the standard half-inch thread used across Australia. Filtering costs a little flow; on a low-pressure system you will notice it.

The picks

The Philips 3-stage is our pick for chlorinated supplies, the majority of the country. The Quoss universal chlorine filter costs more but is the right choice on chloramine. Bunnings sells it and its refills as a Special Order; our guide to shower filters at Bunnings lists everything it carries. If you are buying for coloured hair, read the coloured hair guide first; it says what a filter can and cannot do for you.