Welcome to our expert Propur ProMax Shower Filter Review. In this guide, you’ll learn everything you need to know about the Propur shower filter before you buy it. By the end, you’ll know for sure if the ProMax is the one for you or if there are better options awaiting your home.
This month has been shower filter review month here at AWMS, and we’ve seen every type of shower filter currently on the market. There are several key considerations to make before you choose a filter, such as: what are you filtering?
Since more water utilities across the country are starting to use chloramines, it’s critical to reach for a filter that removes chloramines if you live in a chloramine-treated area.
The problem is not all shower filters remove chloramines (most don’t), and there are great shower filters on the market that don’t remove chloramines.
The good news for you is the Propur ProMax is a unique shower filter that removes the widest range of water contaminants of the filters we’ve reviewed, and we’ve seen just about every filter on the market.
Let’s begin our review by exploring the core features of the ProMax.
Propur ProMax Shower Filter Overview
| Model | Features & Highlights |
| Propur ProMax (PM-9000AB)
|
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What to expect?
To help you make the most informed buying decision, we perform a deep dive into current info for each product review. We then pass along our findings to you to help you identify the pros and cons of owning a product. This way, you know what to expect before you hit the buy button.
Here’s what we concluded after investigating the Propur ProMax shower filter:
- We recommend the Antique Bronze model (PM-9000AB) first because the filter housing is the sturdiest. If the Antique Bronze doesn’t match your bathroom finishes, the Chrome version (PM-9000C) is the next best option.
- There appears to be a quality control problem with the White model (PM-9000). You may experience cross-threading damage to the female threads of the filter housing because the supplied washers are too small. This leads to over-tightening, which then leads to leaks or broken filter housing. If you’re sold on the White version, Propur may have ironed out this problem, though it’s still a bit of a dice roll in our opinion.
- Softer hair & skin, chlorine odor removal, post-shower itchy skin relief.
- The Chrome version is not plastic-free, and the major drawback to the White version is inferior plastic.
- We recommend following the directions closely and wrapping your shower arm male threads three times with the included Teflon tape to get a leak-proof connection.
- Be aware that this filter is longer than others on the market. We recommend considering how it’ll affect your existing clearance space before you buy. If you’re tall without much clearance space in your shower to work with, the Pelican Shower Filter is a better option (it also removes chloramines).
- No problem with water pressure after installing the ProMax.
How to Install the Propur Shower Filter
To give you a better idea of how to apply the Teflon tape before attaching your Propur filter to your shower arm, we want to share this helpful Aqua Earth Shower Filter installation video:
After applying the Teflon tape, be sure not to overtighten the Propur filter. If the gasket isn’t making contact with the shower arm, then that’s Propur’s fault for sending the wrong gasket.
A trip to the local hardware store with the gasket and showerhead is a good idea. We know this isn’t the ideal scenario, but you may be able to find an easy solution and avoid the hassle of a return and/or broken filter due to overtightening.
Our Propur ProMax Shower Filter Review
Now it’s time for our two cents. There are certainly ProMax filter features that we like a lot and others that we don’t. I broke our review into two parts:
Dislikes
- While the filter does reduce an impressive number of water contaminants, it falls short in the chlorine department to be in the conversation for the best chlorine shower filters. At .9 mg/L chlorine concentration, the ProMax filter reduced chlorine by 57.1%. To give you an idea of how the top filters perform, the Pelican Shower Filter shows a 96%+ chlorine reduction rate on its lab test report.
- We recommend steering clear of the Propur ProMax White (PM-9000) model to avoid the issue with the filter housing threads. We also believe that plastic housing breaks easily. The Chrome and Antique Bronze models are undoubtedly better options.
- Propur’s customer service marks could be better.
- The required clearance space for the filter could be a dealbreaker for taller people or people with limited clearance space.
Likes
- We value company transparency, and we appreciate that Propur shows the lab test results for its ProMax shower filter. The ProMax is the only shower filter we’ve seen that shows fluoride and chloramine reduction rates instead of merely claiming that the filter reduces both. For this reason, we rank the Propur ProMax as the best shower filter for chloramine & fluoride removal.
- Chloramine reduction at .9 mg/L concentration: 71% (a significantly higher reduction than for chlorine)
- Sodium Fluoride reduction at .9 mg/L concentration: 48.2% (we find this figure to be impressive since most shower filters don’t remove fluoride)
- We like the multi-stage granular activated carbon technology used by Propur. It’s the only filter on the market we’ve seen with this type of filtration. We think if Propur added KDF redox media to the mix, they would boost their chlorine reduction rate. KDF media is the preferred choice for shower filters to be in accordance with NSF/ANSI Standard 177 for chlorine removal.
- Speaking of NSF/ANSI Standards, the ProMax filter is tested to be in accordance with NSF/ANSI Standards 42 & 53. These are the same NSF Standards most drinking water filters are tested to meet for chlorine and lead removal. Perhaps Promax wanted its shower water to be on par with filtered drinking water.
- Ample chlorine odor removal, despite the below-average chlorine reduction rate. We’re confident that this filter gets the job done and delivers the hair, skin, and nail benefits that people are after when they invest in a shower filter.
Final Score: 7.5/10
Bottom Line
After reading through the current Propur shower filter info and expanding upon our existing analysis of this filter, we’re confident that it’s a great filter. There’s no problem with the filter. The problem is with the White filter housing.
It appears that Propur may have remedied the problem. Nevertheless, we recommend choosing the other models before the White version.
If you’re shopping for a shower filter that effectively removes both chloramine and fluoride, the ProMax is the filter for you. We have yet to see another filter with lab test results to back up chloramine and fluoride removal claims.
