Whole-house water filtration in Joondalup and the northern suburbs

If you live anywhere from Joondalup up to Moore River, you’ve probably noticed it already: the white film on the shower screen that never quite comes clean, a kettle that needs descaling, and tap water with that faint “swimming pool” taste. None of that means your water is unsafe. It does mean it’s hard on your home, and not always pleasant to drink.

Here’s a plain-English look at why, what a whole-house filter actually does, and what to expect if you have one installed.

Why water up here is so hard on homes

Perth has some of the hardest water in Australia. Calcium and magnesium levels typically sit between 180 and 220 mg/L, well above the 60 mg/L mark where water counts as “hard”. Some of the areas we work in most, including Neerabup, Two Rocks and Yanchep, sit above 200 mg/L.

A lot of Perth’s water comes from groundwater, and much of it filters slowly through limestone on the way, picking up those minerals. That’s what builds up as scale on shower screens, taps, kettles and inside hot water systems and washing machines.

On top of hardness there’s chlorine. Water Corporation keeps chlorine at around 0.4 to 1.0 mg/L across the network to keep the water safe on its long trip through the pipes. That’s well within the guidelines, but many people start to taste it at about 0.7 mg/L. Add a bit of sediment from older pipes or mains work, and you’ve got the three things most northern suburbs families notice: scale, taste and the odd bit of grit.

What a whole-house filter does

A whole-house system is fitted where the water comes into your home, so every tap, shower and appliance gets filtered water: the kitchen, the bathrooms, the laundry and the hot water system.

That’s the big difference from a jug, tap or under-sink filter. Those look after drinking water at one tap, but the shower, the washing machine and every other tap are still on unfiltered water.

Our premium system has three stages, each filtering to 1 micron:

• Stage 1, polyspun sediment pre-filter: catches dirt, sediment, silt and algae.
• Stage 2, anti-scale coconut carbon block: reduces scale, chlorine, odours and heavy metals.
• Stage 3, carbon block filter: removes harsh chemicals and extends filter life.

The cartridges are 20” x 4.5”, about twice the size of most competitors’, which is a big part of why they last as long as they do. For perspective, most companies offer 5 micron filtration, and a human hair is about 70 microns across.

If hard water is your main headache, you can pair the filter with a Puretec softener to take out the calcium and magnesium as well. Sean recommends filtration with softening for most Perth families. There’s more on that in our post on water softeners in the northern suburbs.

What the install looks like

Every system is installed by a licensed plumber, and to WaterMark standards. Doing it properly makes sure it complies, works as it should and keeps your warranty intact.

Most of our installs go on an outside wall near where the water comes in: a garage wall, a side passage, a garden wall or a fence line. The photos below are from real jobs around the northern suburbs. The system is mounted on a frame, the three housings and copper pipework go in with pressure gauges so you can see it’s working, and then the cover goes on.

That cover matters. Our package includes both colour-coded and stainless steel covers, and they can be painted to match your brick or render. Have a look at real covers on real homes to see how they blend in.

You can also watch a sped-up install from start to finish, from bare wall to finished system.

Looking after it

This is the part people worry about, and it’s the easy bit.

• Filter changes: our whole-house filters typically last 15 months between changes, much longer than the 6-month filters some competitors use.
• Reminders: you don’t need to remember. We send an automated SMS when your filters are due.
• What comes out: after 12 to 15 months, the cartridges we take out of northern suburbs homes are usually brown, clogged and coated in mineral build-up. It’s a good reminder that if you don’t have a filter, your appliances and pipes are the filter.

A filter change is quick: we isolate the system, swap in fresh cartridges and check everything’s flowing. See filter changes and servicing for more.

Is it worth it?

For most homes up here, we think so. You get better-tasting water from every tap, less scale on screens and fixtures, and more protection for the appliances that hard water wears out early. One system covers the whole family.

We’re local, we don’t do lock-in contracts, and you can pay with Afterpay, PayPal or credit card, with interest-free financing available.

Book a free quote

We service Joondalup, Neerabup, Yanchep, Two Rocks, Moore River and the suburbs in between. Get a free quote or call Sean on 0424 999 002, and we’ll recommend the right system for your home.