Compare Shower Filters
Which scores higher on safety? R3 breaks it down.
R3 scored the Pentair Premium Shower Filter with Showerhead 5.8/10 and the Multipure Aquashower (AQSH) 6.0/10 on the same shower filters scoring system, weighing safety, efficacy, and usability. The overall scores are close; the pillar breakdown below shows where they differ.
The most important dimensions, side by side.
See which one actually scores higher — and why
Free account unlocks full safety scores, spec-by-spec breakdown, and the R3 verdict on Pentair Premium Shower Filter with Showerhead vs Multipure Aquashower (AQSH).
Unlock the full Pentair Premium Shower Filter with Showerhead vs Multipure Aquashower (AQSH) breakdown
Free account unlocks all safety scores, complete spec comparison, scoring rationale, and the R3 verdict on which one to buy.
Everything you need to make the call - who each one is for, and who should skip it.
Go for it if you...
You want genuine chloramine protection from catalytic carbon media with proven industrial water treatment expertise behind it
You value 96% chlorine removal and 15,000-gallon capacity in a single product
You are comfortable buying direct from Pentair's website and can accept brand-spec rather than lab-confirmed flow rate
Certification is less important to you than demonstrated filtration performance data
Your water uses free chlorine and you want the most complete certification stack in the KDF-55 segment — WQA Gold Seal, NSF 61 media, and NSF 61 compliant housing together
Replacement frequency matters to you — 25,000 gallons means you might replace the cartridge once or twice per year versus monthly for short-capacity filters
You want verified NSF 61 housing compliance rather than an unverified brand claim about materials
The main thing to know
Pentair's shower filter lacks formal NSF/ANSI 177 certification despite the brand's extensive water treatment expertise and lab infrastructure. The filtration performance is excellent; the transparency layer is not.
KDF-55 media cannot remove chloramine — if your water utility uses chloramines, this filter will not address your primary disinfectant regardless of its certification depth.
Skip this if you...
Formal NSF/ANSI 177 certification is required — Pentair is independently tested but not formally certified
You want independent THM lab data — Pentair has not published this despite the capability to do so
Amazon availability matters — this product is only available on Pentair's brand site
Budget is primary — Sprite HOC delivers equivalent chloramine protection and better chlorine removal at $47/year vs $165/year
Your water utility uses chloramines — KDF-55 media cannot remove chloramine and you will need calcium sulfite or catalytic carbon media instead
Your first priority is THM protection — Multipure has not published independent THM lab data
Budget is the primary driver — Sprite HOC delivers similar chlorine performance with added chloramine protection at $47/year vs $133/year
Neither of these quite what you're looking for?
I've reviewed all Shower Filters options at every price pointEvery Shower Filters in our database is scored using R3's deterministic scoring system - the same inputs always produce the same score. For this comparison, we evaluated Pentair and Multipure across 2 independent criteria: Safety (68%), Efficacy (31%). No sponsored rankings. No paid placements.
Straight answers - no sponsored content, no filler.
Both scored close to 5.8/10, so the better choice depends on your priorities. Safety is our top-weighted scoring pillar, followed by efficacy. Check which pillar matters most to your family and compare those specific scores.
R3 uses a deterministic scoring system - the same inputs always produce the same score. We evaluate each Shower Filters across Safety, Efficacy using independently verified data. No sponsored rankings. No paid placements. Every score is fully reproducible.
Not necessarily. The overall score reflects how we weight those three pillars, but your priorities may differ. If you care most about safety, compare the safety scores directly. If budget drives your decision, the prices tell a clearer story. The "right" pick is the one that matches what matters most to your family.
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