This is my second brand of shower filter, the first was a Paragon shower filter (approx $40) which I also returned. The manufacturer's hype says that the filter was supposed to last for approx 1 year based on "average water conditions" and 4 people showing once daily. By the end of 6 weeks our water pressure in the shower is reduced to a trickle, a sign that "it's time to change the filter". Filter replacement cost: appox $20, making the operating cost over the coarse of a year over $170.

What the marketing hype DOESN'T explain is how they define "average water conditions". For obvious reasons, they don't disclose anywhere in the product packaging or in product details that in hard water areas the filter will clog up quickly from the sediments in the water. I only found this out after complaining about the dramatically shortened filter life. The manufacturer and web retailer site do not feel at all that they are misleading consumers by failing to disclose these facts. I disagree, and give all the players big black marks for not disclosing this important piece of information. The customer service person mentioned something about "backwashing" to remove the sediment build up. Geez...where was that information to be found? Certainly not anywhere on their web site, the manufacturer web site or in the product packaging. Maybe because this would cut into replacement filter sales????

The customer service person feels that I am being unfair by posting negative reviews of these products on the web. My response was that when they disclose the true facts about these filters so that customers can make a fully informed decision about their purchase, I will change my reviews. Until then, I consider the marketing to be untruthful.

We do love the quality of the water when the filter was working, but at the annual operating cost we are now planning on a whole house water filter, which would pay for itself pretty quick considering the filter replacement costs for both the shower and drinking water filters. For anyone who is truly interested in learning about standards and water quality in general I suggest they spend a lot of time at www.nsf.org researching and only buy NSF Certified products.

Recommended: No