Customer Reviews

VITASHOWER SF-1 (Vitamin C Shower Filter)

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(24)

 

 

I have had horrible skin irritation since moving to where I live now (south Texas coast). I noticed that I was always extremely itchy after showering and that I had spots on my skin that resembled some kind of excema, even though I had never in my life had any problems with my skin before. I also noticed that my skin cleared up completely after about three days of being away from home. I went to Europe twice and to California, and my skin cleared up and I had no more irritation while I was away, but upon returning my skin would break out again.

It was then that I started suspecting the water. I found out that they put a LOT of chloramine in the water here. They advertised the fact that they were putting a lot of chlorine in the system because they couldn't control the bacteria, and the city's website says they use chloramine.

I read about this filter and was so miserable from itching that I decided that trying it couldn't hurt. It is amazing! My skin cleared up completely after using this for about a week. It only lasted for a little over two months though, but they do say how much chlorine/chloramine is in the water affects the life of the filter, and there is a whole lot in the water here, so I'm not surprised. I am ordering another one, as my skin is starting to break out and I'm itching like crazy after my showers again. Well worth every single penny!

I installed this about 3 weeks ago and what a difference. Gone is the dry, lifeless, bodyless frizzy hair and dry skin. I had just assumed it was my diet or something that was causing the problem. It was my WATER.

This filter neutralizes Chloramine, which is a tricky little combo purfication chemical made of Chlorine and Ammonia, that many localities put in water. It has a Chlorine smell and also a pungent smell and is very damaging to skin and hair. After the very first shower I could see and feel the body return to my hair and suppleness to my skin and it has only gotten better with continued use. Vitamin C combined with water indeed does neutralize the bad stuff that is added to public water.

I am using the Vitashower with a low-flow 1.6gpm shower head. Obviously slowing the flow is using less water, but I think it is also maximizing the effects the Vitashower has on the water by allowing the water to be in contact with the filter longer as it passes through.

Installing this lowered my showerhead too much so I did have to replace my normal shower arm an inexpensive boom arm type that lets me raise the shower head. While not light, the Vitashower also is not heavy and does not stress the boom arm too much.

I highly recommend this one to those tired of their showers making them look ill.

Bought one late 2009 as a gift for my sister. I'd studied the available options and consulted with her. She is a pharmaceuticals production line validation engineer (means that she test and documents all will meet FDA inspection before FDA arrives).

She is familiar with the various filtration techniques and lives in an area with very high free chlorine in the water. She has a meter at works that they use to test their filtration systems for before-after free chlorine.

She has been very happy with the filter. It replaced a relatively ineffective carbon block one I'd bought her previously.

Later, I bought one even though I live in a place where chloramine (sp.) is used 8 months and free chlorine is used for 4 each year. It has worked very well for me and I am getting another after 5 months. My sister's is going strong after 11 months!

The filter should not work on chloramine, but is a major benefit in water smell (cannot explain why) - and now that the water people have witched to free chlorine for winter is continuing to do a great job.

Do not bother to try and refill - the plastic will not take it. Just buy another and install. Use teflon tape and be sure to NOT tighten to much or the plastic may crack.

Until there is a filter that has test results that prove it works with chloramine, this is my choice.

---- Update Jan 2, 2011

Replaced the old one after 5 months of no more than 1 shower per day. Cut open the old one. It was completely empty. It routes the shower water through the bottom cylinder which starts out filled with vitamin C. Given I didn't notice a shower water quality degradation with the filter being empty, I'll be curious if I notice a sudden improvement with the new one. Looking through the bottom port, the new filter is definitely chock full of a white crystalline powder - the vit C.

I ordered two of these shower head filters and one of them worked fine but the other one broke after several days. The nut that fits onto the shower line broke. I tightened it to stop the leak and evidently the nut was not strong enough to take that and the material the nut was made of must be somewhat subpar because it cracked in the middle of the nut during the shower and hit my wife in the middle of her back when it broke off. I had used these same filters before and never had this problem before. I want to add to this review and say that the other filter broke at the same place as the first one. I will not buy these again as the attachment hardware are subpar and probably due to the fact that they were made in China.

If you are going to buy a shower filter, there are only two kinds that really work for hot water: Ones that use vitamin C like the Vitashower or the Sprite filter. Most filters rate their effectiveness using cold water. Independent tests using hot shower temperature water show that most other types of filters are ineffective in hot water.

The problem with the Vitashower is its plastic body. I have owned three and they all leaked at the upstream connection to the water pipe. the leaks get progressively worse until you have to throw it away - I mean like spraying onto the shower ceiling and walls kind of leak.

Last one I bought actually had a two inch long crack on its side right out of the box -water sprayed everywhere!

I've given up on the Vitashower and bought a Sprite instead. I will go back to the Vitashower if they ever come out with a model that has a metal body and replaceable filter media.

Cleared up the chlorine & the chloramine (sp?) very well but after 1 week the housing on the top of the canister opened up in a long jagged tear. Quality issues with the plastic must be the problem. We are returning it.

So I might have given this two stars if their customer service was a little better. I thought the product was pretty decent at first, but then the cheap plastic started to crack and now is sprays everywhere. In the box, there was an advertisement for a filter thats the same thing only it bends to the side, giving you much more space to fit under. This one is simply too long. Well I contacted the company and asked them about that, and for some dumb reason, its only available in the Asian market. Umm thats the dumbest thing I have ever heard. So I asked them if I can purchase it and they never replied. I finally got them to reply to me after a rude email telling them they have lost my business 6 months later. So after all of this, I would suggest NOT buying ANYTHING from this company.

I am very happy with the filtration result of this product. I did not have troubles with skin or hair but very often noticed a sharp chlorine/ammonia smell when showering. With this filter installed, that smell no longer happened.

I did notice the dark colored drips that others have noted, but it did not stain my body, hair or shower. The drips rinsed right off my white shower wall, floor and showerhead.

i have had the unit installed for many months and have not had the chemical smell occur since installation. I recently noticed the smell again, although the "window" in the bottom of the unit still remains the same color. I expected that window to be an indicator of sorts for replacement time.

The biggest issues I have with this unit are 1) that it lowered my showerhead significantly 2) it leaked. I have a handheld showerhead and if I leave the showerhead in the holder, the leak is only a trickle down the back of the unit. I'm guessing due to the weight of the handheld holding the nut against the pipe. If I take the handheld head out of the holder, the leak "sprouts" around the top and bottom of the top nut. Due to others' issues with breaking the nut, I did not overtighten it, I just lived with the leak and 3) the whole unit has to be replaced vs a replaceable cartridge. The material waste and cost are just too much.

I will be getting another vitamin C filter but I won't be getting another one of these, at least until I try the other units available for comparison.

didn't really have a chance to test the product out since the filter broke at the connector when I was trying to attach it to my shower head. I tried to not tighten it too much initially, but on performing the initial 5-min test, I noticed that there was a slight leak which prompted me to tighten the connection to the shower pipe - that's when the connector broke; seemed like it was made out of some combination of plastic and metal rather than something purely out of metal which would have made it more sturdy.
Now, I need to see if the seller is willing to give me a replacement for this. I still believe in the concept behind the product because of which I'll try it again if I get a replacement, but I'm just not sure if it is sturdy enough.

Yes, it works in that it makes the water feel cleaner, it removes the chloramine. BUT...this thing is made of the cheapest low-grade Chinese plastic possible. It even feels cheap. On the first use of hot water, the entire top of the casing cracked clean across and started spraying water. I was able to seal it with silicone, as it's too much hassle to send back, but I will be buying one of the other brands next time.

To the manufacturer: THIS IS WHY CHEAP CHINESE PLASTIC IS NOT WORTH THE SAVINGS.

Don't buy this, people. It'll immediately crack.