Installing a shower head filter is a necessary step that each homeowner should take. Filtered shower water is good for your skin and hair, as well as your overall health. Hair becomes frizzy and dull, while the skin becomes dry and itchy when you bathe in shower water that’s full of metals and chemicals.

However, deciding which shower head filter is best can be difficult given the many options available in the market. We’ve looked at a couple of options in our previous reviews, which proved to be reliable and quite effective, and today we’re going to share yet another one.

The SparkPod Shower Head Water Filter 12-Stage shower head filter is one of the few comprehensive shower filtration systems that we’ve looked at. It’s a product of SparkPod, an American company that creates shower products. It does an excellent job when it comes to filtering water.

It features twelve stages of filtration that include KDF 55, activated carbon filter media, calcium sulfite, and multiple layers of ceramic balls. The twelve filtration media prove to be highly effective as they remove a broad range of contaminants and drastically improve the shower water quality by adding several beneficial elements.

The shower head itself is easy to use and even offers multiple spray modes. Another fantastic thing is that it has a fast flow rate – it doesn’t affect the water pressure. It’s easy to install and maintain too.

Many users have reported that they felt the difference immediately. The appearance and health of their hair and skin were greatly improved after they started using the unit regularly. The only cons are that it’s made entirely of plastic and it’s a fixed showerhead (not handheld), although it can be adjusted to any angle. With that overview in mind, here is our in-depth take on this SparkPod 12-Stage shower head filter.

Filtration Performance

The 12-stage filtration process of the SparkPod shower head filter consists of two layers of polypropylene cotton, two layers of high-density metal mesh, KDF 55 media, calcium sulfite balls, germanium ceramic balls, maifan stone, far infrared mineralized balls, activated carbon media, vitamin C balls, and magnetic energy balls.

This combination of multiple media forms a comprehensive filtration system capable of completely removing chlorine, fluoride, and other chemical contaminants from the water. It also clears out all the heavy metals, sediment, and other common contaminants. The ceramic balls as well help to vitalize the shower water with beneficial properties that enhance its quality and make it remarkably healthy for the entire body, from hair to the skin.

When the water enters the filter, it first goes through the high-density metal mesh and the polypropylene cotton, which traps the sediments lurking in the water. The high-density metal mesh captures the large and medium-sized sediments, such as sand, silt, dirt, clay, and limescale, while the polypropylene cotton takes care of the fine sediments like dust and rust.

From there, the water goes through calcium sulfite, activated carbon, KDF-55, and the multiple layers of ceramic balls. Each medium performs a certain function to enhance the quality of the water further.

The calcium sulfite strips clear 99% of the chlorine content in the water. They are able to work effectively at high temperatures, hence can remove chlorine from both cold and hot water. The strips also effectively eliminate chloramine as well as heavy metals like lead, cadmium, mercury, and chromium. They as well get rid of the unpleasant chlorine smell.

KDF 55, which is a copper-zinc formulation, is the most effective media for filtering out harmful chemicals. It helps get rid of over 98% of all the organic chemicals present in the water, including chlorine, fluoride, hydrogen sulfide, pesticides, herbicides, pharmaceuticals, industrial solvents, and VOCs.

It further removes any residual heavy metals and as well kills bacteria, and prevents fungi, mold, and algae from growing within the filter system.

The activated carbon media is made from coconut shells, and it also aids in removing chlorine and foul odor from the water. Moreover, like the KDF 55 media, it also helps remove the other harmful chemical contaminants that might be present in the water.

The Vitamin C balls are yet another media in the filter system that clears out chlorine. The balls infuse the shower water with Vitamin C (ascorbic acid), which, together with the calcium sulfite, KDF 55, and the activated carbon media, eliminates 100% of the chlorine and chloramines in the shower water. They completely clear out all the chlorine, chloramine, and other chemicals from the water.

The maifan stone balls remineralize the water by adding back trace amounts of healthy minerals like magnesium, calcium, manganese, and zinc. They help activate the water, improve ion exchange, increase the pH alkalinity of the water, and increase the oxygen concentration to boost the water’s biological activity.

The stones are equally able to adsorb heavy metal ions and other toxins, thereby helping to clear any residual heavy metals present in the water. They are as well quite effective at inhibiting mold and bacterial growth inside the filter system.

Far-infrared mineralized balls emit far-infrared radiations, which are known for their powerful detoxifying and healing effects on the body. They suppress the growth of free radicals and activate the water molecules, which helps improve blood circulation and metabolic functions. They generally help improve overall skin health and strengthen the body’s immune system.

Germanium ceramic balls in the filter system activate water and release negative ions, which are helpful in preventing skin diseases by giving vitality to the skin. The balls also increase the emission of far infrared rays into the water, which helps slow down aging and promote body blood circulation, among other benefits we’ve mentioned above.

The ceramic balls equally release trace amounts of over 20 different kinds of healthy minerals and stimulate perspiration to improve metabolism and let you relax.

The magnetic energy balls consist of natural magnetic mineral materials as well as other functional materials that energize the water with oxygen so as to help nourish the hair and the skin.

After going through the different ceramic balls and filtration media, the water finally goes again through the polypropylene cotton and the high-density metal mesh to ensure there’s no sediment left.

This 12-stage filtration process greatly improves the quality of the shower water. The water produced is completely free from chemicals, heavy metals, sediments, and other contaminants like microorganisms, plus it has no foul smell and leaves no residue.

Many users said that they could feel a huge difference when they showered. The water felt much better on the skin and instantly relaxes you. They mention too that there was a significant improvement in their skin and hair. The skin seems softer and less itchy after using the filter regularly. The hair also becomes much smoother and shiny.

In short, the SparkPod Shower Head Water Filter is ideal for everyone looking to have better skin and hair. It’s especially beneficial for those with dry skin, eczema, dandruff, and frizzy hair or hair loss effects. Moreover, all the filtration media are made using natural materials, so they don’t have any side effects on the body, making filtered shower water safe for babies.

Most of the users even mentioned that the unit makes the water softer, although it doesn’t really achieve the softness of a water softener. Still, it does make hard water softer.

Using the Shower Head

Using this shower head was quite pleasing for many. It’s a fixed shower head filter, not a handheld one. The incredible thing about it is that it puts out good pressure. It has a wider (3.8 inches in diameter) sprayer plate with rubber Nano nozzles that are tapered.

This design helps to pressurize the water and allows it to come out at high volumes when showering. Therefore, shampoo and soap rinse away much quicker, leaving you cleaner while cutting your shower time down equally.

Some reported noticing a slight reduction in their water flow after setting up the unit, mainly due to the restricting ring inside the showerhead. It actually has two kinds of water restrictors which come already pre-installed. There’s a 1.8 GPM restrictor and a 2.5 GPM restrictor, both of which work at 80psi water pressure.

The 1.8GPM is a low flow restrictor, which is mainly the reason for the slight reduction in the water pressure. This can be easily fixed by simply removing it from the SparkPod 12-Stage shower head so that you are left with just the 2.5 GPM flow.

It provides a nice strong shower stream, and some even mentioned that their water pressure actually became much better than before installing the shower head filter.

Moreover, the high pressure doesn’t really hurt the skin when showering. The showerhead is designed such that the water spray feels gentle and soft, almost champagne-like, but with the same great pressure, making each shower comfortable.

The best part is that you can change the spray/stream pattern to your liking. The shower head comes with three spray modes/settings: therapeutic rain, mixed gentle rain, and a focused massage. This allows you to customize the water spray and your shower experience to your preference.

The therapeutic rain setting is a wider water stream which gives the body a water massage, but when it gets a bit too much, you can switch to the mixed stream setting, which gives a more gentle water stream. On the other hand, the focused massage setting provides a narrower water stream ideal for thoroughly rinsing shampoo and hair masks.

Making the actual adjustment from one spray setting to another is pretty simple. There’s a handle on one side of the shower head that you just effortlessly turn to set the spray pattern of your choice.

The other great thing about this SparkPord unit is that you can still adjust it to any angle despite being a fixed showerhead filter, which is a feature you don’t see on most other fixed shower head filters. The filter unit is fixed, but the shower head has a swivel that allows you to adjust its angle such that it shoots straight where you want/where you point it.

However, if you are tall, then you may end up standing above the shower head. SparkPod does offer an adjustable shower arm extension, though, which can help resolve this issue. It’s a very convenient tool that can raise the showerhead height by 12 inches if you find it a little short for you.

Moreover, it allows you to adjust both the showerhead angle and height as you desire.

When it comes to water usage, this SparkPod 12-Stage shower head filter is very efficient. Since it puts out strong pressure, no water trickles out/drips on the sides. The spray from each nozzle shoots straight out to where it’s intended or where you point it – no water goes to waste.

Furthermore, the good pressure allows shampoo and soap to rinse away so much faster, which cuts down shower time, allowing you to save on both your water and electricity bills.

Installation

The set-up process is straightforward. You won’t have any challenges at all. You just remove your old shower head by simply unscrewing it from the shower water connection pipe.

From there, you screw the new SparkPod shower head into the SparkPod water filter and then install a rubber gasket (included in the kit) in the shower filter. Once that is set, you put the plumber’s tape (also included in the package) around the end of the shower water pipe such that it coats the threads of the pipe. You then screw the water filter onto the pipe and ensure all the connections fit nicely and tightly to avoid any leaking.

When you first turn on the shower, the water that comes out is black, so you have to rinse out both ends of the filter to clear any residual particles of the activated carbon block media. Once you do that for about 10 minutes, the water comes out clear after installation.

You may have to remove the 1.8 GPM flow restrictor in case the pressure of your shower water gets reduced. Removing it will allow you to get a 2.5 gallons flow, which is more powerful.

The whole installation process won’t take more than 5 minutes to complete, plus the kit includes an instructions manual to guide you – it’s very clear and easy to follow.

The water filter capsule can screw on any standard ½-inch pipe/shower arm and any standard shower head with a ½-inch connection thread. The whole unit is mainly designed to be set as a fixed shower head, but you can still attach a hose to it if you want to use a handheld shower head – you’ll need a male adapter (½-inch) on your hose for installation.

There was hardly any report of leaking. When installed correctly, you certainly won’t have any problems with leaking. If you use the plumber’s tape that’s provided and ensure the threads are lined up properly while tightening, then you would be good. The kit includes one filter cartridge, several gaskets, a shower head, and the filter capsule/housing.

Maintenance

The SparkPod Shower Head Water Filter doesn’t really have a long lifespan. It can filter up to 10,000 gallons of water before requiring replacement, which equals around 500 showers or an average lifetime of four to six months for a single household. If you take a shower often, you may have to replace it after around three to four months.

If there are several people (2 or 3) in the house and they take more than one shower in a day, you may have to replace it in around one to two months, or even less.

The replacement process itself is not difficult whatsoever. You unscrew the filter capsule/housing from the pipe, open it, remove the old filter cartridge, and insert the new cartridge while making sure the O rings are seated in place. From there, you close the filter housing and screw it back in on the pipe. You have to hand-tighten it to avoid damage, so no tools are involved at all.

The other unfortunate thing is that there’s no indicator on the unit to let you know when it’s time for filter replacement. You can only know when you start to notice a chlorine smell, when your skin starts to become dry and itchy again, or when your hair becomes frizzy and dull.

Build Quality and Design

The shower head and the filter capsule are made entirely out of plastic. Although they may not be as strong and durable as the shower head filters that are made of metal, there weren’t many complaints that the unit doesn’t last long. The plastic is ABS and rustproof and seems sturdy. It doesn’t feel cheap at all.

The design of the whole unit is really pleasing. It looks very modern with a sleek chrome-plated finish that looks great and would undoubtedly add elegance to any modern bathroom. Besides the chrome-plated finish, SparkPod offers the unit in four other color variations, which include gold, matte black, oil-rubbed bronze, polished brass, and brushed nickel finish. All of them are aesthetically nice as well.

Both the water filter and the shower head are not humongous once they are set up. They measure just 9.5 x 6.2 x 3.9 inches, hence they are pretty compact and won’t take up a lot of space or look bulkier in the bathroom.

Final Remarks

This is one of the most reliable and effective shower filtration systems. It utilizes a very comprehensive filtration process that clears out all the common contaminants found in municipal water. It as well gives the shower water additional beneficial properties that make it healthy for both the skin and the hair.

Generally, this is a great option to consider if your shower water has high chlorine content as well as other chemicals like fluoride and VOCs. It will clear out all the chemicals in your water and even heavy metals, debris, and foul smell.
It’s an ideal option if you want a shower filter that can produce healthy water that would be beneficial to your skin, hair, and entire body. The various ceramic stones give water-beneficial properties that will rejuvenate your skin and hair.

It doesn’t really have any serious downsides apart from maybe the short lifespan of the filter, which isn’t actually a scale breaker. SparkPod offers a Combo 3 Pack cartridge that you can purchase with the filter shower head and would last you a whole year.

Furthermore, the company has received lots of praise for its customer service. Users mentioned that they respond very quickly and go over and above to ensure the customer is satisfied. The product is also covered by a 1-year warranty, and SparkPod as well offers a 30-day money-back guarantee in case you get a faulty unit.

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SparkPod 12-Stage Detailed Images