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Whole-House Filtration
The Chlorine That Keeps Water Safe Is the Chlorine You Smell
Austin and San Antonio both disinfect their water on the way to your house, and that is a good thing. It is also why a hot shower can smell faintly like a pool, why tap water tastes flat, and why some people find their skin and hair drier than the hardness alone explains. A whole-house filter takes that out at the point where water enters the home, so every fixture benefits, not just the one with a pitcher next to it.
The workhorse is activated carbon, which absorbs chlorine and chloramine along with the taste and odor compounds that come with them. A sediment stage ahead of it catches the grit and rust that show up after a water main repair or in neighborhoods with older mains. Depending on what a test shows, other media can be added for specific concerns. What a filter does not do is soften water. The minerals that cause scale pass straight through carbon, so if the white crust on your shower door is the problem, you want a softener, often installed right alongside the filter on the same loop.
Radiant’s licensed plumbers test your water first, then size the filter to your home’s flow so it does not choke the pressure, install it with a bypass, and set you up with a realistic filter-change schedule. For drinking water that goes further than carbon can, a reverse osmosis tap at the sink is the next step, and we will tell you honestly whether you need it. Work is backed by the Home Comfort Guarantee.
- Whole house, not one tap Installed at the main line, so showers, laundry, ice makers and every faucet get filtered water.
- Sized for your flow An undersized filter is a pressure drop you feel in every shower. We size to the home’s demand.
- Honest about what it does A carbon filter handles chlorine, taste and odor. It does not soften water, and we will not pretend it does.
What to Watch For
Signs a Whole-House Filter Would Help
These are the complaints filtration solves. Scale and spots are a different problem with a different fix.
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A chlorine smell in the shower
Warm water releases the disinfectant into the air. Carbon filtration at the main line removes it before it gets there.
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Tap water that tastes flat or chemical
Chlorine, chloramine and their byproducts. A whole-house carbon filter improves every glass; RO takes drinking water further.
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Grit or cloudiness after a main break
Sediment stirred up in the mains. A sediment stage catches it before it reaches your aerators and appliance screens.
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Dry, irritated skin after showering
Chlorine strips natural oils. Many people with sensitive skin notice a difference once it is filtered out.
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A fridge full of pitcher filters
If you are filtering at the sink anyway, one system at the main line covers the whole house and stops the cartridge shuffle.
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Fading colors in the laundry
Chlorine is a bleach. Filtered wash water is gentler on fabrics, especially darks.
What We Install
Filtration Systems and Service
From a single cartridge housing to a multi-stage system, matched to a water test.
- Whole-house carbon filtration Tank-style or cartridge carbon systems for chlorine, chloramine, taste and odor at every fixture.
- Sediment pre-filtration A first stage that catches sand, rust and grit, protecting the carbon and everything downstream.
- Filter plus softener combinations A carbon filter and a softener on the same loop, which is the complete answer for most Central Texas homes.
- Under-sink and RO drinking water Point-of-use filtration at the kitchen sink where whole-house treatment is not the right fit or you want more for drinking water.
- Filter changes and media replacement Cartridge swaps and carbon media rebeds on schedule, so the system keeps doing what you bought it for.
- Repair and replacement Leaking housings, bypassed systems and units that have quietly stopped working, whether or not we installed them.
How It Works
How a Filtration Install Goes
Test, quote, install, and a schedule you can actually keep.
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We test the water
Chlorine, hardness and dissolved solids at your tap, and a conversation about what bothers you most.
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You get a written quote
A system sized to your home’s flow and your test results, priced in writing and honored for 72 hours.
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We install at the main line
Bypass valve, proper supports and a location you can reach for filter changes, by a licensed plumber.
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We set the maintenance schedule
When cartridges or media need changing for your usage, and what it looks like when they are due early.
Current Specials
Save on the work your home needs most.
Want the Pool Smell Out of Your Shower?
A water test and a written quote for whole-house filtration. Financing available.
What Our Customers Say
Don't just take our word for it — hear from our satisfied customers
★★★★★
I had Radiant Plumbing replace my tankless water heater, damaged in the Feb. 2021 snowmageddon storm with a new unit. The process was smooth and professional from start to finish. The plumber, James, was extremely knowledgeable and thoroughly explained my options to me. The cost and time to perform the installation were just as estimated. When he was done, James explained how to maintain the system, what service would be needed and how to perform it, and answered all of my engineering geek questions. It was a thoroughly positive experience. I have used several different plumbers in Austin over the past 15 yrs, but my search is over - I will not hesitate to call Radiant next time and would recommend them unreservedly.
8/9/23 Update: I have subsequently used Radiant for a toilet repair, faucet installation (Danny), and drain work (Ezekiel) and they have continued to impress with knowledgeable, friendly plumbers and quality work.
8/9/23 Update: I have subsequently used Radiant for a toilet repair, faucet installation (Danny), and drain work (Ezekiel) and they have continued to impress with knowledgeable, friendly plumbers and quality work.
★★★★★
We called Radiant Plumbing after we noticed a water leak in our kitchen. We were in a time crunch and they were able to schedule us quickly, before we left for vacation. They sent their representative, Preston Nichols, and he was excellent to deal with! He was on time, skillful, friendly, and very professional. It turned out to be a problem with our dishwasher but Preston was quick to diagnose it and set our minds at ease. While he was here, we mentioned that our one year-old water heater needed to be flushed. Preston was quick to take care of that, as well, saving us time and money in the process. Radiant charged us almost half the price another plumber quoted us for that service! While Radiant Plumbing isn’t our usual plumber, they gained a new customer. We won’t hesitate to call Radiant again in the future based on our VERY positive experience with them.
★★★★★
Had 3 different systems installed by them approx. 3 years ago for a total of approx $20k. I was quite happy with the install until the year later when they came for a maintenance call and started finding deficiencies in their own install. they wanted extra money to address those deficiencies. Now I am in the process of selling my home and an inspector has found a few items that need to be addressed and they will not even look at the report unless I schedule a $139.00 service call. Very poor customer service.. This company does not stand by their work and would not recommend.
I am revising my review of this business from 1 to 5 stars. After my original review I was contacted by the company's service manager and he made sure that I was taken care off. I had a team of 3 technicians coming to my house to double check the system and make the necessary adjustments. I was very satisfied by their attention to details and professionalism.
I am revising my review of this business from 1 to 5 stars. After my original review I was contacted by the company's service manager and he made sure that I was taken care off. I had a team of 3 technicians coming to my house to double check the system and make the necessary adjustments. I was very satisfied by their attention to details and professionalism.
Maintenance Membership
Join the Care Club
Home maintenance for $9.99 a month.
Care Club members get two HVAC tune-ups and a plumbing safety inspection every year, priority scheduling, no dispatch fees — ever — and 5% off every repair.
- Priority scheduling
- Seasonal HVAC tune-ups
- Annual safety inspection
- Exclusive member discounts
- Free dispatch on repairs
- No long-term contracts
Water Filtration Questions
What does a whole-house water filter actually remove?
It depends on the media inside, and the most common is activated carbon. Carbon is very good at absorbing chlorine and chloramine, which are the disinfectants Austin and San Antonio use, along with the taste and odor compounds and many of the byproducts that come with them. A sediment stage catches particles: sand, silt, rust flakes and the grit that shows up after work on the mains. Specialty media exist for specific concerns and are chosen based on a test. What a standard carbon filter does not remove is dissolved minerals, which means it will not soften water, and it is not designed for the dissolved solids that reverse osmosis handles. Knowing those limits is how you avoid buying the wrong system.
Does a whole-house filter soften the water?
No, and this is the most common misunderstanding we run into. Hardness is dissolved calcium and magnesium, and those pass straight through a carbon or sediment filter. If your complaint is scale on fixtures, spots on dishes, soap that will not lather or a water heater full of sediment, a filter will not touch it. That is a job for a water softener, which exchanges the minerals out, or a salt-free conditioner, which keeps them from forming scale. Many Central Texas homes end up with a filter and a softener installed side by side, because chlorine and hardness are both present and each needs its own solution.
How often do whole-house filters need to be changed?
Cartridge-style systems typically need their sediment and carbon cartridges changed somewhere between every few months and once a year, depending on cartridge size, water use and how much sediment your supply carries. Large tank-style carbon systems run for years before the media needs to be rebedded. The signs a change is overdue are a noticeable drop in water pressure, which usually means the sediment stage is loading up, and the return of the chlorine taste or smell, which means the carbon is spent. We set a schedule based on your household when we install the system, and we can handle the changes for you if you would rather not.
Should I get a whole-house filter or an under-sink one?
Ask what you are trying to fix. If the issue is drinking and cooking water only, an under-sink filter or a reverse osmosis system at the kitchen sink is cheaper and, in the case of RO, more thorough than anything whole-house. If the issue is chlorine in the shower, sediment in the aerators, dry skin, or you want every tap and appliance to see clean water, that is a whole-house filter. Plenty of homes do both: a carbon filter at the main line for the whole house and an RO tap at the sink for drinking water. We will lay out both and tell you which one actually addresses your complaint.
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