Water Filters for Adelaide Homes: What Actually Works
Adelaide’s tap water is safe to drink and is treated and monitored before it reaches your home.
So when customers ask us about installing a water filter, it is usually not because their mains water is unsafe. More often, they want to improve the taste, smell and overall quality of the water they use every day.
Sometimes it is the chlorine taste in a glass of water. Sometimes it is sediment coming through the taps. In older Adelaide homes, deteriorating galvanised pipework can also contribute to murky, yellow or brown water.
And increasingly, homeowners simply want better-quality filtered water available at home without relying on bottled water.
The important thing is working out what you actually want your water filter to achieve before choosing a system.
What does a water filter actually fix?
Chlorine taste and smell. Chlorine is used as part of the water treatment process to help keep drinking water safe as it travels through the network. Some people are more sensitive to its taste and smell than others. A quality carbon filtration system can make a noticeable difference.
Sediment, rust and discoloured water. Dirt, rust and other fine particles can occasionally make their way into household plumbing, particularly following work on the water main. Older Adelaide homes with galvanised steel water pipes can also experience murky, yellow or brown water as the pipework corrodes internally with age.
Hardness and scale. Dissolved minerals such as calcium and magnesium contribute to scale around fixtures, shower screens, kettles and appliances. Standard sediment and carbon filters are not water softeners, so choosing the correct treatment system is important if scale is your main concern.
Drinking water quality and taste. Some homeowners simply want to take their drinking-water filtration further and choose a multi-stage or reverse osmosis system specifically for drinking and cooking water.
One of the biggest mistakes is buying a water filter before working out what you actually want to remove. The right system should be selected around the water problem, the property and how the filtered water will be used.
What if your brown water is coming from old galvanised pipes?
This is something worth checking before spending money on filtration.
Galvanised steel pipework was commonly used in older properties. As it ages, the inside of the pipe can corrode and deteriorate.
This can contribute to rusty, yellow or brown water and can also cause the inside of the pipe to gradually close over, restricting water flow to fixtures around the property.
A sediment filter may help capture particles before they reach your taps, but it doesn’t repair deteriorated pipework.
If we suspect old galvanised pipework is contributing to the problem, Harvey Trades can inspect the existing plumbing and advise whether sections of the old water service should be replaced or upgraded.
Sometimes a filter is the answer. Sometimes the plumbing itself is the problem.
Which type of water filter should you choose?
Harvey Trades can supply and install virtually any water filtration system, so we’re not tied to recommending one particular brand.
That said, there are certain systems we prefer working with because they offer a good combination of filtration performance, flow rate, reliability, replacement cartridge availability and value for money.
Our main recommendation for many Adelaide homes is Water Filters Direct, with options covering whole-home filtration, high-flow undersink filtration, reverse osmosis and rainwater filtration with UV treatment.
We also supply and install Puretec filtration systems and can install other brands or customer-supplied systems where required.
Ultimately, we’d rather recommend the system that suits your property, water and budget than sell you a particular badge.
1. Whole-home water filtration
A whole-home filtration system is installed on the incoming water supply so the water is filtered before it is distributed throughout the property.
That means you aren’t just filtering one drinking tap. Filtered water can be supplied throughout the home, including your kitchen, bathrooms, showers, laundry and household appliances.
For homeowners who want to improve more than just their drinking water, this is where whole-home filtration really comes into its own.
Depending on the cartridges and filtration media selected, a quality whole-home system can help:
- Reduce chlorine taste and odour throughout the home
- Reduce sediment, rust and fine particles before they reach your fixtures and appliances
- Reduce specific contaminants that the selected filtration media is designed to remove
- Provide better-tasting drinking and cooking water from multiple taps
- Reduce chlorine in the water used for showering and bathing, not just the water you drink
- Give your household greater control over the quality of the water being used throughout the property
It is a good option for people who don’t just want a small drinking-water filter under the kitchen sink. They want filtration from the point where the mains water enters their home.
Will a whole-home water filter kill my water pressure?
This is probably one of the biggest misconceptions we hear about water filtration.
A lot of people have experienced the slow flow from a small dedicated filtered-water tap and assume a whole-home filter will make every tap and shower in the house behave the same way. It won’t.
A properly selected whole-home filtration system is designed to handle significantly higher flow rates than a small undersink drinking-water filter.
When the filter housings, cartridges and pipework are correctly sized for the property, the impact on household water pressure and flow should generally be relatively minor.
There will always be some pressure loss when water passes through filtration media, but you shouldn’t be standing under the shower with water trickling out like a small filtered drinking-water tap.
The key is correct sizing.
At Harvey Trades, we consider the property’s existing water supply, pressure, pipe sizing and expected household demand before recommending a system.
There’s no point installing a filter that works beautifully with one tap running but can’t keep up when someone is showering, the washing machine is filling and another person turns on the kitchen sink.
Cartridge maintenance matters too. If cartridges become heavily loaded with sediment and aren’t replaced when required, they can eventually restrict flow.
For most residential installations, Water Filters Direct whole-home systems are one of our preferred options because they allow us to provide a practical, high-flow filtration solution at a competitive installed price.
We can also supply and install Puretec or another suitable brand if the property or customer requires something different.
The goal is simple: better-quality water throughout your home without sacrificing the water performance you’re used to.
2. Rainwater filtration with UV treatment
Rainwater is a different conversation to Adelaide mains water.
If collected rainwater is going to be used for drinking or other potable purposes, an appropriate treatment system may incorporate several filtration stages together with UV treatment.
UV treatment is used to reduce microorganisms in water, and pre-filtration is important to its effectiveness. UV itself does not remove chemicals from the water, which is why the overall filtration system needs to be selected for the water source and intended use.
The correct setup depends on the rainwater supply, tank condition, pump arrangement, existing plumbing and how the water is going to be used.
Harvey Trades can supply and install Water Filters Direct whole-home rainwater filtration systems with UV treatment, including the plumbing required to properly integrate the system with the existing rainwater supply.
We can also install Puretec and other rainwater filtration systems where required.
Rainwater systems require ongoing maintenance too. Filter cartridges need replacing and UV components need to be maintained according to the manufacturer’s requirements. It’s not something you should install and forget about.
3. High-flow undersink water filters
If you’re happy with the water throughout the rest of your home and simply want better-tasting water for drinking and cooking, you probably don’t need to filter the entire property.
A high-flow undersink water filter can be installed beneath the kitchen sink to provide filtered water directly where you use it most.
This is one of our go-to options for customers whose main complaint is the taste or smell of chlorine in their drinking water.
The system is compact, relatively straightforward to maintain and generally costs considerably less than installing whole-home filtration.
Water Filters Direct high-flow undersink systems are one of our preferred options for this type of installation because they provide a practical balance between filtration, flow and value.
We can also supply and install Puretec or another brand if there’s a particular system you prefer.
4. Reverse osmosis water filters
For customers wanting to take their drinking-water filtration further, reverse osmosis (RO) is another option.
Reverse osmosis uses a specialised membrane as part of a multi-stage filtration process and is generally installed underneath the kitchen sink.
Unlike whole-home filtration, RO is typically used specifically for drinking and cooking water.
Why do people choose reverse osmosis?
Some customers simply want a higher level of filtration for the water they drink.
Others start looking into reverse osmosis because they or someone in their household has a particular health condition or has been advised by a healthcare professional to pay closer attention to a particular substance in their drinking water.
This is one area where RO differs considerably from a basic carbon drinking-water filter.
Depending on the particular system and its tested or certified performance, reverse osmosis can reduce a broad range of dissolved substances. These may include substances such as sodium, lead, copper, chromium and chloride, while some systems can also reduce levels of arsenic, fluoride, nitrate and other dissolved minerals and contaminants.
However, that does not mean everyone with a health condition needs reverse osmosis, and Harvey Trades does not recommend water filtration as a treatment for any medical condition.
If your doctor, dietitian or another healthcare professional has advised you to monitor or reduce a particular substance in your drinking water, tell us exactly what they’ve recommended.
We can then look for a filtration system with the appropriate performance specifications or certifications rather than guessing.
That distinction matters because not every RO system removes every contaminant to the same level. If a particular contaminant is important to you, we want to look at what that specific system is actually tested and certified to reduce.
Is RO right for everyone?
Not necessarily.
If your only complaint is the taste or smell of chlorine, a quality high-flow undersink system may give you everything you want at a lower cost and with a simpler setup.
RO systems are more involved. They require additional equipment beneath the sink, have their own servicing requirements and remove a much broader range of dissolved substances from the water.
But for customers specifically looking for more comprehensive filtration of their drinking and cooking water, RO is where we’d normally start the conversation.
Harvey Trades can supply and install Water Filters Direct reverse osmosis systems, which are our preferred option for many residential installations, along with Puretec and other RO systems depending on the customer’s requirements.
We’ll consider the available cupboard space, incoming water pressure, filtration requirements and how you want the filtered water delivered before recommending a system.
Don’t want another filtered-water tap on the bench?
This is one of the first questions we get when discussing undersink and reverse osmosis systems.
You don’t necessarily need another little drinking-water tap drilled through your sink or benchtop.
We can upgrade your existing kitchen mixer to a three-way filtered-water tap.
A three-way tap provides your normal hot and cold water along with a separate filtered-water supply through the same tap assembly.
It gives you the convenience of an undersink or reverse osmosis filtration system while keeping the kitchen looking clean and uncluttered.
If you’re renovating the kitchen or already planning to replace your existing mixer, this is an upgrade worth considering.
What about the water going to your fridge?
Plumbed refrigerators are another area where water filtration and pressure protection can easily be overlooked.
If your fridge has a water dispenser or automatic ice maker, Harvey Trades can install or replace an inline fridge water filter on the dedicated water supply.
We can also install an inline pressure limiting valve where required to help protect the fridge, filter and associated water connections from excessive supply pressure.
These can be incorporated when we’re installing a new fridge water point or added to an existing fridge connection.
If you’ve just bought a new plumbed fridge, it’s worth getting the water connection set up properly rather than simply connecting it to whatever is already behind the fridge.
Whole-home, undersink or reverse osmosis?
The easiest way to decide is to think about where you actually want filtered water and what you’re trying to improve.
If your main concern is the taste and smell of your drinking water, a high-flow undersink filter may be all you need.
If you want more comprehensive filtration specifically for drinking and cooking water, reverse osmosis may be worth considering.
If you want to reduce sediment and chlorine throughout the property, including your kitchen, bathrooms, showers and appliances, a whole-home filtration system is generally the better option.
If you’re relying on rainwater for drinking, the conversation changes again and you may need a properly designed rainwater filtration and UV treatment system.
And if your actual problem is deteriorating galvanised pipes or hard-water scale, simply installing a standard filter may not solve the underlying issue.
That’s why we prefer to work out what the problem is first.
What we would ask before recommending a system
- What are you trying to improve: taste, smell, sediment, discolouration, scale or overall drinking-water quality?
- Do you want filtered water at one tap or throughout the entire home?
- Are you connected to Adelaide mains water, rainwater or a combination of both?
- Does the property have older galvanised water pipework?
- Do you have a plumbed fridge that also needs filtered water?
- How much space is available for the filtration equipment?
- Would you prefer a dedicated filtered-water tap or a three-way kitchen mixer?
- Are there any particular contaminants or substances you specifically want the system to reduce?
- How much ongoing maintenance are you comfortable with?
Those answers usually make it fairly clear whether you need a high-flow undersink filter, reverse osmosis system, whole-home filtration system or rainwater filtration with UV treatment.
And if a water filter isn’t actually going to solve the problem you’re experiencing, we’d rather tell you that before you spend the money.
Cartridge changes and servicing matter
Installing the water filter is only the beginning.
Filter cartridges have recommended replacement intervals based on the manufacturer, cartridge type, water quality and household usage.
As cartridges reach the end of their service life, filtration performance and water flow can deteriorate. Reverse osmosis and UV systems can have additional maintenance requirements as well.
This is particularly important with whole-home filtration. A system may have excellent flow when properly maintained, but heavily loaded cartridges that haven’t been changed when required can eventually begin restricting water flow through the property.
When Harvey Trades installs a filtration system, we can advise you on the correct replacement cartridges and recommended servicing requirements for that particular unit.
That means you’re not left twelve months later staring at the filter under the sink or outside your house wondering which cartridge you’re supposed to buy.
So, which water filter is best for your Adelaide home?
There isn’t one water filter that’s right for every Adelaide property.
For one household, a high-flow undersink filter might be all they need.
Another might prefer reverse osmosis with a three-way mixer tap for their drinking water.
A family wanting filtered water throughout the property may get far more value from a whole-home filtration system.
And a property relying on rainwater may require a completely different filtration and UV treatment setup.
Harvey Trades can supply and install virtually any water filtration system. However, Water Filters Direct is our preferred range for many residential installations because it gives us a good selection of whole-home, undersink, reverse osmosis and rainwater filtration options while allowing us to provide customers with a competitive installed solution.
We also work with Puretec and can supply or install other brands and customer-requested filtration systems where required.
Water filtration services from Harvey Trades
- Whole-home water filtration
- Whole-home rainwater filtration with UV treatment
- High-flow undersink water filters
- Reverse osmosis drinking-water systems
- Three-way filtered-water mixer taps
- Inline fridge water filters
- Inline fridge pressure limiting valves
- Filter cartridge replacement and servicing
- Customer-supplied water filter installation
- Inspection and replacement of deteriorated galvanised water pipework
The goal isn’t to sell you the biggest filtration system we can.
It’s to work out what you don’t like about your current water, where you want it treated and which system gives you the best value to fix it.
If you’re considering a water filter for your Adelaide home but aren’t sure where to start, Harvey Trades can assess your existing plumbing and recommend a filtration setup based on your water supply, available space, budget and what you actually want to improve.
