Whole-Home Filtration in West Milwaukee

What a whole-home filter does

City water carries a disinfectant that keeps it safe in the mains. That part is good. The downside is a bleach smell when the bathroom steams up, and a taste that shows up in your morning coffee and the ice tray. A whole-home filter strips most of it out before the water gets to any tap.

The equipment sits in the basement or utility room, right after the meter. Water first goes through a sediment stage that catches grit and rust. Then it runs through a big tank of carbon. There are no cartridges to change under every sink. You look after one unit.

It's the right call when your complaint is taste, smell or dry skin after a shower. It won't soften water, so if scale and spotted glasses are the issue, see our Water Softeners page. For the cleanest drinking water at the kitchen sink, Reverse Osmosis does more, and a lot of homes use both.

What comes with the install

A system sized for your house

We count bathrooms and ask how many people live there. The tank needs to keep up when the washer and two showers run together, or the pressure drops.

Sediment prefilter

A cartridge or screen up front traps sand and flakes of pipe scale. That keeps the carbon clean so it lasts longer.

Carbon tank and control valve

The main stage is a tank of carbon with a valve that backwashes it on a schedule. Which carbon we use depends on how your water is treated, and we'll tell you why in plain terms.

Bypass and shutoffs

A bypass lets water keep running to the house if the system ever needs work. Shutoff valves on each side make cartridge swaps fast.

Proper tie-in to your pipes

Copper, PEX or old galvanized, we use fittings made for what you have. We also run a drain line for the backwash.

First run and a quick lesson

Before we leave, we rinse the new media, look over every joint for drips and point out the bypass and prefilter so you know what each one does.

Signs your home could use one

• The shower smells like a pool

  You notice it most in a steamy bathroom with the door shut. One filter at the main line fixes that smell in every bathroom.

• Every tap tastes the same, and not good

  When the bathroom sink is as bad as the kitchen, a single faucet filter only covers one spot.

• Dry skin or an itchy scalp

  A lot of people feel a change after a few weeks of filtered showers, more so through a long, dry Wisconsin winter.

• Faucet screens keep clogging

  Sand or rust bits in the aerators mean sediment is getting through. The prefilter is there to stop it.

• The fridge is full of bottled water

  If no one in the house will drink tap water because of the taste, treating all of it usually turns that around.

How the job goes

1. 1

   You call us

   Tell us what you don't like about your water. We'll ask a few things about the house and the basement, then pick a time to stop by.

2. 2

   A look at the line and a written quote

   We check the main line and the room around it. Then you get a written quote that lists every part. It's good for 30 days, so take your time.

3. 3

   Install day

   Your water is shut off for a stretch while we cut the system in. Drop cloths go down, the work stays in the utility area, and we carry out the boxes and old fittings.

4. 4

   Startup, then you pay

   We flush the carbon, check each connection and show you around the system. You pay in full once the install is complete and running.

What changes the number on your quote

We don't price a filter over the phone without seeing where your water comes in. One visit to the basement tells us most of what we need. The person who takes that look also writes your quote and answers any questions about it. Here is what pushes the total up or down.

How big the system needs to be

A house with three bathrooms and five people needs a larger tank and valve than a two-bedroom place. Bigger equipment keeps the pressure steady but costs more. Smaller homes can often get by with a compact unit.

Which carbon goes in the tank

Plain carbon does a good job on chlorine. Some city water is treated in a way that calls for catalytic carbon, which costs more and works better on it.

Pipe type and working room

Old galvanized pipe, a cramped basement or a main line tucked behind a finished wall means more fittings and more hours.

Other equipment on the same line

If a softener or a drinking water system goes in on the same visit, the layout and parts list change with it.