POWERBOX™ 25-Stage Shower Head Water Filter for Hard Water

Australian tap water carries chlorine. Water authorities add it to keep the supply safe. You can
smell it in a hot shower.

Our cartridge uses KDF-55, calcium sulfite and activated carbon to reduce chlorine.

What that gives you:

• Less of that pool smell in the bathroom
• Less chlorine landing on your skin and hair
• KDF-55 keeps working in hot water, which is what a shower runs on

No. A shower head filter is not a water softener. It has no resin bed and no salt tank, and it cannot treat the rest of your house. A real softener uses ion exchange and salt. This reduces calcium and magnesium in your shower water only.

Lots of people search for a water softener shower head. We know why. Hard water leaves skin tight and hair rough, and a softener is the fix everyone has heard of.

Our cartridge cuts the mineral load at one outlet instead. We say reduces, not removes, on purpose. We will not publish a percentage until the supplier lab report is on file.

Want the full side by side? Read water softener vs shower filter. It covers cost, fitting, sodium and what each one cannot do.

Water hardness changes a lot across Australia. Perth’s northern suburbs sit at the hard end.
Two Rocks averages 228 mg/L as calcium carbonate in the Water Corporation aesthetic tables.
Sydney and Melbourne are soft for the most part.

Hardness bands, from the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines

Signs you have hard water:

• White scale on the shower head and the tap spouts
• Spotting on the shower glass after it dries
• Soap and shampoo that will not lather
• Skin that feels tight after a wash

Your water retailer publishes hardness figures for your supply area. You do not need a hardness reading to use this filter. Chlorine is in the supply everywhere in Australia, so the chlorine reduction works wherever you live. In a hard water suburb the filter also reduces calcium and magnesium.

Hardness is published city by city, so check your own supply area before you buy.

Limescale is what hard water leaves behind. It blocks the spray holes, so the spray goes crooked and the flow drops off.

Our filter reduces calcium and magnesium in the water. That may help limit limescale on the shower head and the fittings around it.

Worth knowing:

• It will not strip scale that is already sitting on your fittings
• Clean the shower head first, then fit the filter
• On glass, hard water shows up as white spotting

Got scale on the head already? A descaling soak will shift most of it at home.

Chlorine and hardness minerals both work on your skin in the shower. Chlorine strips the natural oils. Hardness minerals react with soap and leave a film behind.

A shower filter may help, because it reduces both. Some people notice less tightness after a wash.

Read before you buy:

• A shower filter is not a medical treatment for any skin condition
• If you have a diagnosed skin condition, see a dermatologist
• Hard water can also make hair feel rough and prone to breakage

The research on skin and hair is mixed, and we will not overstate it.

If eczema is the reason you are here, keep your expectations low. Two trials of home water
softeners found no measurable drop in severity. See a dermatologist before you change anything.

The filter fits standard 1/2-inch shower arms. That is the common thread size in Australian bathrooms.

It works with:

• Wall-mounted shower heads
• Fixed rain shower heads
• Handheld showers on a hose
• Combo rails that have both

On a handheld shower the order matters. The housing screws onto the shower arm first. Your hose screws onto the filter, and the handset stays where it is.

Check your own thread before you buy. Unscrew the shower head by hand and look at the arm.

You do not need tools, a plumber, or to touch a pipe in the wall. Renters can fit it and take it with them when they move.

Six steps, about five minutes:

1. Unscrew your old shower head by hand
2. Wrap the thread tape around the shower arm
3. Screw the filter housing onto the arm
4. Seat the rubber ring
5. Wrap tape on the filter outlet and screw your shower head back on
6. Turn the water on and check for drips

Want to see the whole job first? Our guide shows how to fit a shower head filter step by step.

The cartridge holds 25 layers of media. Water passes through each layer in turn before it reaches your shower head.

Together those layers reduce chlorine, heavy metals, sediment, calcium and magnesium. More layers means more contact time with the media.

The media in the stack

Fitment: standard 1/2-inch shower arm

Shower types: wall-mounted, rain, handheld and combo

Position: between the shower arm and the shower head

Cartridge life: 2 to 6 months in normal home use

Cartridge rating: about 38,000 litres, or 10,000 US gallons

Cartridges in the box: 2

Media layers: 25

Media: PP cotton, stainless steel mesh, KDF-55, calcium sulfite, activated carbon, mineral and ceramic media

Reduces: chlorine, heavy metals, sediment, calcium and magnesium

Tools needed: none

What comes in the box: 1 filter housing, 2 cartridges, rubber sealing rings, thread sealing tape

One cartridge lasts 2 to 6 months in normal home use. The manufacturer rates it at about 38,000 litres, or 10,000 US gallons. Hard water and long showers shorten that. Two cartridges come in the box, so your first change costs you nothing.

Your water hardness and your shower habits decide where you land. A big household in a hard water suburb changes it sooner.

Two signs it is time:

• The flow drops off
• The chlorine smell comes back

You keep the housing and swap the cartridge only. Two come in the box, so that is 4 to 12 months of use before you buy again.

Order a shower head filter cartridge when the second one runs out. Our guide covers how long shower filter cartridges last and how to change one over.