Ask three filtration companies for a price and you’ll get three different answers, none of them a real number.

Here’s what we actually charge and what it adds up to over five years.

What a whole house system actually costs upfront

Our 3 stage whole house filter unit is currently $1,800, down from its usual $2,300. That covers the full system, sediment pre filtration, KDF for chlorine and heavy metals and activated carbon for taste and odour, installed at the point water enters your property so every tap in the house runs through it.

If you’d rather handle the plumbing side yourself or already have a plumber you use, the unit is also available supply only, and a stainless mounting frame runs $350 if you need one for the install.

What ongoing costs look like after installation

A lot of cheap units make their money back on you at service time.

A 3 pack of filter cartridges including a service call for install is $500 a year. If you’re comfortable swapping cartridges yourself, the 3 pack supply only is $350.

Individual replacements are also available if you only need to swap one stage rather than the full set, the scale carbon filter and the coconut carbon filter are each $150, and the antibacterial pleated filter is $50.

Most Perth households only need a full service once a year so realistically you’re looking at somewhere between $350 and $500 annually depending on whether you do it yourself or have us handle it.

The real five year cost

Run the numbers and a whole house system lands around $1,800 upfront plus roughly $400 a year in servicing. That’s for a system treating every tap in the house, the kitchen, every shower, the laundry and any outdoor taps.

Now compare that to what hard water is already costing you without a filter. A hot water system alone can cost $2,000 to $3,000 to replace, and scale from Perth’s hard water is one of the leading causes of early failure.

Add in dishwashers and washing machines needing to be replaced. Bottled water if you’re buying it for drinking. Or the extra detergent and cleaning products hard water forces you to use. That’s real money leaking out of an unfiltered house every year.

Where reverse osmosis fits into the cost picture

If you want your drinking water purer again than the rest of the house, you can pair your whole house system with a reverse osmosis unit at the kitchen tap or wherever you drink the most water.

It adds to the upfront cost but it’s treating a small volume of water to a much higher standard rather than duplicating what the whole house system already does.

Is it actually worth it

North of the river especially, the appliance savings alone usually cover the cost before you’ve even factored in better showers and better tasting water. Plus softer skin and hair. Also not having to scrub shower screens every week is a bonus.

If you want exact numbers for your own home our team at Home Filtration WA can run a free water assessment and walk you through what your setup would actually cost, install through to ongoing servicing, with no guessing involved.