Whole-home filtration
Whole-home water filtration for Treasure Valley city water
Most city water systems here disinfect with chlorine. It does an important job on the way to your house. Once the water arrives, a whole-home carbon filter takes that taste and smell out of every faucet and shower.
- Best for
- City water with chlorine taste or smell
- Treats
- Chlorine, chloramine, sediment
- Pairs with
- A water softener
- Installed by
- Licensed journeyman plumbers
How whole-home carbon filtration works
Water enters a tall tank filled with activated carbon. Carbon is full of tiny pores with a huge amount of surface, and chlorine breaks down as it reacts on that surface.
The tank goes where water enters the house, so everything after it is filtered. That includes the kitchen, bathrooms, laundry and water heater.
Contact time matters. We size the tank to your home's flow rate so the water spends enough time in the carbon, even with two showers and the dishwasher running.
Chlorine and chloramine need different carbon
Some water systems use chloramine, a blend of chlorine and ammonia that lasts longer in the pipes. It's harder to remove, and standard carbon struggles with it.
Catalytic carbon is treated to react with chloramine much faster. If your water uses chloramine, or switches between the two, we use catalytic carbon. Your test and your water provider's yearly water quality report tell us which you have.
What a whole-home system can include
Sediment pre-filter
Catches sand, grit and loose pipe scale before they reach the carbon or your fixtures. Helpful in older homes and after work on the water main.
Carbon or catalytic carbon tank
The main stage. Reduces chlorine or chloramine taste and smell throughout the house.
Water softener
Handles hardness, which carbon does not. With the carbon ahead of it, the softener resin also gets dechlorinated water.
About softenersFiltration and a softener work well together
Plenty of Treasure Valley homes on city water have both hard water and chlorine. A softener handles the first. Carbon handles the second.
Order matters. Carbon goes ahead of the softener so the resin beads see dechlorinated water. Chlorine slowly breaks down resin over the years, so this helps your softener last.
Many newer homes have a softener loop in the garage, which usually gives us room to install both side by side.
Typical order at the main line
- First
- Sediment pre-filter
- Second
- Carbon or catalytic carbon
- Third
- Water softener
- At the sink
- Reverse osmosis (optional)
What you'll notice
Our owner is sensitive to chlorine in city water himself, so this is one system we take personally.
Right away
- No chlorine smell when you fill a glass or run the shower
- Better-tasting water from every faucet, including ice and coffee
- Less of that pool smell in the bathroom after a hot shower
Over time
- Sediment filter changes as needed
- Carbon that lasts for years, depending on your chlorine level and water use
- A chlorine check at each annual service so you know when the carbon is due
What it won't change
- Hardness and scale. That's a softener's job.
- Dissolved contaminants like nitrates or arsenic. Those call for reverse osmosis.
Whole-home filtration questions
Will a whole-home filter make my water soft?
No. Carbon reduces chlorine, taste and odor. It doesn't remove hardness minerals. For scale and spots, you'll want a water softener.
Do I still need a reverse osmosis system?
Whole-home carbon takes care of chlorine everywhere. RO goes further at the kitchen tap, reducing dissolved contaminants like nitrates, arsenic and lead. Many homes use both. See drinking water systems.
How often does the carbon need replacing?
Carbon lasts years, depending on how much chlorine is in your water and how much you use. We check it at annual service and tell you when it's time.
Is this a good fit for well water?
Well water doesn't carry chlorine unless the well was recently shock chlorinated, so carbon for chlorine usually isn't the right tool. Wells have their own issues, covered on well water treatment.
Find out what's in your city water
Book a free in-home water test. We'll explain the results in plain words and give you a written quote, with no pressure.