Whole-Home Water Filtration: What South East Queensland Homeowners Need to Know

By Lachlan Cooke, General Manager – Plumbing, Fallon Solutions

Water is one of the most used resources in any home. We drink it, cook with it, shower in it, wash our clothes with it and run it through everything from dishwashers to hot water systems and the water supplied to Brisbane, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast and surrounding areas is highly regulated, treated and monitored. So a question I’m increasingly asked by homeowners is:

“If our tap water is already safe, why would I install a water filtration system?”

The simple answer is that home water filtration isn’t necessarily about making unsafe water safe. For most homeowners, it’s about having greater control over the water they use throughout their home; particularly things such as chlorine taste and odour, sediment and scale.

Let’s look at what whole-home water filtration actually does and what you should consider before having a system installed.

What is a whole-home water filtration system?

A whole-home water filtration system, sometimes called a whole-house or point-of-entry water filter, is installed where the mains water supply enters your property. Instead of filtering water at just one drinking tap, the water is filtered before it travels through the home’s plumbing. That means filtered water can then be supplied to areas such as:

• Kitchen taps
• Showers
• Bathroom taps
• Laundry
• Hot water system
• Water-using appliances
• Other connected household outlets

From a plumbing perspective, this is the biggest difference between an under-sink filter and a whole-home filtration system. An under-sink filter is a good option if your main priority is the water you drink and cook with. A whole-home system is designed for homeowners who want to address water quality before the water is distributed throughout the property.

Puretec’s FilterWall range, for example, is installed at the point where mains water enters the home and provides multi-stage filtration for the household.

What does a whole-house water filter remove?

This is an important question because not every filtration system removes the same things. Different filter cartridges and technologies are designed to address different water characteristics. Depending on the Puretec system selected, whole-home filtration can be designed to reduce things such as:

• Chlorine
• Chlorine taste and odour
• Sediment and fine particles
• Scale
• Certain chemicals
• PFAS in selected systems

For example, some Puretec FilterWall models are configured for chlorine, sediment and scale reduction, while selected models are specifically configured to reduce PFAS, chlorine and sediment. That’s why I wouldn’t recommend choosing a filtration system simply because it has the longest list of features. The first question should always be:

“What are you actually trying to improve about the water in your home?”

Once we understand that, we can look at the type of filtration that makes sense.

Under-sink or whole-home filtration: which is better?

Neither option is automatically better. It depends on what you want filtered.

If your main priority is improving the water your family drinks and cooks with, an under-sink filtration system may be all you need. It treats a specific point in the home and can be a straightforward way of reducing unwanted tastes and odours in drinking water. Whole-home filtration is different because it treats the mains water as it enters the property.

That means the filtration isn’t limited to one drinking-water tap. For households that want filtered water supplied more broadly through the home, a point-of-entry system can make more sense. The important thing is not to pay for a larger system if it doesn’t match what you’re trying to achieve.

Does a Puretec whole-house filter need to be installed by a plumber?

Yes. Puretec specifies that installation of its FilterWall whole-house systems must be completed by a licensed plumber.

There are practical reasons for that. The plumber needs to correctly connect the system into the mains water supply, check operating pressure, provide appropriate valves and connections where required, test the installation and make sure the home continues to receive the appropriate water flow. A good installation should also consider future maintenance. You don’t want a filtration system installed somewhere that makes changing filters unnecessarily difficult later.

Why do we install Puretec water filtration systems?

When we’re talking to customers about water filtration, we want to be able to provide different options based on what they’re trying to achieve. Puretec has a broad range of Australian mains-water filtration systems, from drinking-water filtration through to whole-home systems with different filtration configurations and flow capacities.

That gives us the ability to look at the home first and recommend an appropriate solution rather than trying to make one product fit every household. For example, one homeowner may simply want to reduce chlorine taste in their drinking water. Another may want sediment and chlorine filtration throughout their home. Another may be particularly concerned about scale. And another may want a filtration configuration designed to reduce PFAS. They’re different objectives, and they can require different solutions. Good water filtration starts with understanding what you want to achieve – not simply choosing a filter from a catalogue.

Is a whole-home water filtration system worth it?

For the right household, whole-home water filtration can be a worthwhile home improvement. The decision to install filtration is more about the experience you want from the water once it reaches your property. If you’re considering a whole-home system, think about:

• What you want to reduce or filter
• Whether you want one tap or the entire home filtered
• Your household’s water usage
• The ongoing maintenance
• The right filtration technology for your needs

From there, a plumber can assess your property and explain the available options.

Water filtration is becoming a more common conversation with South East Queensland homeowners, and I think that’s a good thing. Not because people should be frightened of their tap water, they shouldn’t. It’s because homeowners are becoming more interested in understanding and controlling the environment inside their home, whether that’s the air they breathe, the energy they use or the water coming through their taps.

A properly selected water filtration system can give you greater control over things such as chlorine taste and odour, sediment, scale and other specific water characteristics. But the most important part is getting the right filtration system for the right home.

At Fallon Solutions, our plumbers can assess your existing plumbing, understand what you’d like to achieve and provide different water filtration options to suit your home, priorities and budget, including Puretec whole-home water filtration systems.

Because when you’re dealing with something your family uses every day, it’s worth understanding your options before deciding what’s right for your home.

📞 Call us on 1300 712 028 to book today