Most of us use filters for our drinking water, because tap water contains chlorine and other elements that taste bad are harmful for human consumption. But did you know that the chlorine coming through your showerhead can be harmful too?

When chlorinated water heats up to a steaming hot temperature, the chlorine molecules turn into chlorine gas, which is toxic in high amounts. Not only that, but chlorine dries out your skin and hair. Once I realized that I didn’t even like taking a deep breath in the shower, I decided it was time for action. I bought an Aquasana shower filter. The Aquasana uses carbon to filter chlorine from the water.

One drawback to this is that carbon doesn’t filter very well at high temperatures, so if you enjoy taking extremely hot showers, check out the Crystal Quartz Shower Head, which stands up better to high heat.

Getting a showerhead filter was more than worth the expense because now I breathe easy in the shower. It’s not quite like bathing under a waterfall, but at home it’s the closest I can get!

Image: jurvetson