What does it cost to put a water filter in?
It depends on which system and what the house already has. An under-sink cartridge unit going into a cupboard with a working cold feed is the cheap end. A whole-house system at the meter, with a bypass built in so the house keeps water during servicing, is the dear end, and reverse osmosis sits in between with more components than either.
We do not publish prices, and that is deliberate. Where the main enters the property, what the pipework there is made of, whether the cupboard takes a unit, and whether the benchtop is laminate or stone all move the figure, and they are different at every house. A licensed plumber comes out at no charge and leaves you with a written price before anything is touched.
Whole house or under sink — which should I get?
Start with what is annoying you. If it is the taste of a glass of water or a cup of tea, under-sink fixes it and you do not need to spend on more. If it is the shower, the laundry, or filtered water being available at exactly one tap in the house, that is whole-house.
Whole-house costs more and takes longer because it means cutting into the incoming main and building a serviceable bypass. Under-sink is a couple of hours in a cupboard. Neither is right for everybody, and the plumber will tell you on site which one actually suits the house.
How often do cartridges need changing?
Manufacturers generally nominate a period and around twelve months is the common one, but treat that as a starting point. What moves it is how much water goes through — a big household drinking and cooking from a filtered tap all day gets through a cartridge faster than a couple who use it for tea.
The signs you will actually notice are the flow dropping off and the taste creeping back. Either one is enough to ring about.
Do I need a licensed plumber to install a water filter?
For anything connected to the mains water supply, yes. A whole-house unit is cut into the incoming water main, which is plumbing work on the drinking water supply. Under-sink units are smaller but they are still a permanent connection to the mains, and the connection is what the licence covers.
Ours is Plumbing Licence 8396, held by Tim, who does the work himself.
Will a filter make my tap water safe?
Your tap water is already treated. Water Corporation adds chlorine to all of its water supply schemes as a disinfectant, and says it is especially effective where long pipelines and high water temperatures increase the potential for harmful organisms to grow.
A filter is about taste, odour, sediment and chlorine. That is a perfectly good reason to fit one, and it is the real reason most households do. Anyone telling you the mains supply is dangerous is working towards a sale.
Why does my water taste different at different times of year?
Because Perth water is not drawn from one place. Water Corporation supplies more than 1.2 million properties from 43 surface water sources, 92 groundwater sources, two major desalination plants and one groundwater replenishment scheme, and the blend shifts through the year.
That is exactly why a filter is a steadier answer than waiting for the tap to come good on its own.
Can I have filtered water come out of my existing kitchen mixer?
Yes, and plenty of people do. The trade-off is that everything through that tap then runs through the cartridge — including rinsing plates and filling saucepans — so the cartridge does a lot of work for the small share you actually drink, and it comes up for replacement sooner.
A dedicated filtered tap beside the mixer avoids that, at the cost of a hole in the benchtop. Most households who want filtered drinking water end up preferring the separate tap.
My benchtop is stone. Can you still fit a filtered tap?
Yes. It is a slower and more careful job than drilling laminate, and it needs to be priced and planned as one rather than attempted casually.
The first thing the plumber looks for is a spare hole — kitchens that once had a soap dispenser, a spray head or a different tap arrangement often have a redundant hole under a blanking cap, and that is the quick version of this job.
What is the difference between reverse osmosis and a normal filter?
A normal cartridge filter passes water through media — sediment stages catch particles, carbon stages take out chlorine and the taste that comes with it. Reverse osmosis forces water against a fine membrane instead, which is a higher level of purification.
The practical differences are that reverse osmosis needs a storage tank, a drain connection for the reject water, its own dedicated tap, and meaningfully more room under the sink. It is a bigger install for a household that has decided it wants to go further.
I have no idea what filter is under my sink. Is that a problem?
Not at all, and it is very common — particularly where a filter came with a kitchen renovation or with the previous owners. You do not have to identify it or take anything apart.
Ring, and the plumber works out what is there when he arrives. If it is worth keeping he changes the cartridge; if it is long past its useful life he tells you that instead and you decide.
Do you work on units and apartments?
Under-sink systems, yes. Whole-house is usually not possible in a strata building, because it has to go where the water enters the property and that point is generally not yours to work on. Tell us what you are in when you ring and we will tell you straight away which options are open.
What are your hours?
Monday to Friday, 7:00am to 4:00pm. We do not run after-hours or weekend work. If you ring outside those hours, leave a message or send the form and we will get back to you. Contact details
Do you charge to come out and quote?
No. The call-out is $0 and the quote is free. If the answer turns out to be a cartridge rather than a new system, you have lost nothing by asking. Cartridge replacement