Comparing Household Water Expenses vs Investing in Whole-Home Filtration
By Smart Home Filtration — Water your family can trust.
When most people hear about a water filtration system, the first question they ask is: “How much does it cost?” But what if we flipped that question around and asked: “What’s it costing you NOT to have one?”
Here’s the real breakdown of what many Australian families are already spending — often without realising it — just to cope with the effects of hard, chlorinated, or chemical-laced tap water.
Bottled Water Costs
Average family of 4 drinks 10L–15L of bottled water per week
Cost: ~$10–$18 per week = $520–$936 per year
That’s just for drinking — and doesn’t include the environmental waste caused by plastic bottle production and disposal. Each year, millions of plastic bottles end up in Australian landfills or oceans, taking centuries to break down. More concerning, recent studies have shown bottled water can contain micro and nano plastics — tiny particles that leach from the bottle itself, especially when stored in heat. These particles are now being linked to hormone disruption and long-term health risks. So not only are you paying more, but you may also be drinking the very thing you’re trying to avoid.
Bathroom & Personal Care Products
Unfiltered water dries out skin and hair due to chlorine, hardness, and pH imbalance. As a result, most people spend more on “hydrating” personal care items to counteract the problem.
Typical annual costs:
Hydrating shampoos/conditioners: $250–$400
Moisturisers/body lotion: $200–$350
Specialty soaps/cleansers: $150–$300
Total: $600–$1,150 per year
Cleaning & Laundry Add-ons
Hard water causes scale buildup on glass, tiles, taps, and appliances. You fight it with more chemicals:
Glass/shower screen cleaners: $100–$200
Grout, tile, and shower surface cleaners (to combat mineral buildup and soap scum): $60–$120
Fabric softeners (used to soften clothes): $120–$250
Dishwasher boosters/rinse aids: $100–$180
Total: $400–$780 per year
Appliance & Plumbing Wear
Limescale build-up shortens the life of your hot water system, dishwasher, washing machine, and kettle
Internal pipe corrosion can lead to expensive repairs
Estimated annual wear or premature replacement cost: $300–$600
Total Hidden Annual Costs: $1,820–$3,466
And that’s without calculating time lost on cleaning, energy inefficiency, or the unseen health impacts of low water quality — such as increased exposure to chlorine vapours while showering, long-term skin dryness, scalp irritation, or the potential ingestion of microplastics from bottled water. It also doesn’t include the effort and expense of frequent product use just to maintain basic comfort or hygiene.
The Smart Home Filtration Alternative
Instead of fighting symptoms, why not fix the root cause?
With interest-free payments as low as $30/week, you can have:
Cleaner, softer water from every tap
Lower cleaning and care product use
Extended life for appliances and plumbing
Better results in the kitchen, bathroom, laundry — and on your skin
$30/week = $1,560 per year — less than most households already spend trying to undo the effects of poor-quality water.
Smart Home Filtration — AUSTRALIA’S ONLY TRUE 4-STAGE stainless steel whole-home system.
Stop the waste. Start saving. Enjoy better water for life.