Aqua Cat Plumbing
& Water Treatment
Prescott • Sedona • Phoenix, AZ
(480) 228-8282
One filtration system at the main line means clean water at every faucet, shower, and appliance — no per-fixture filters to forget. Aqua Cat sizes whole-house systems from a $179 lab test, so you only pay for the stages your water actually needs.
A whole-house (also called “point-of-entry”) filter installs at the main water line just inside your home. Every drop of water that enters the house passes through it before reaching any tap, shower, dishwasher, or water heater. That’s the difference from an under-sink or refrigerator filter, which only treats one fixture.
Most Prescott whole-house systems are configured as a 2- or 3-stage cartridge train: a sediment pre-filter to catch sand and silt from your municipal main or well, a granular activated carbon (GAC) stage for chlorine, taste, and odor, and (when your water test calls for it) a third stage targeting iron, manganese, arsenic, or PFAS. Stages are modular — you add or remove them as your water changes.
Choose whole-house filtration when:
Choose under-sink filtration (or RO) when:
Most Prescott homes — especially those on private wells — benefit from both: whole-house for everyday use, under-sink RO for drinking. Aqua Cat sizes the combination from your $179 Premium Water Test.
Whole-house water filtration in Prescott runs $1,500 to $5,000 fully installed, depending on the contaminants you’re targeting:
Whole-home reverse osmosis is a separate category at $5,000–$15,000+, covered on our reverse osmosis page. Cartridge replacements average $150–$400/year on a typical 3-stage whole-house system.
Aqua Cat installs whole-house water filtration across all of Yavapai County (Prescott, Prescott Valley, Chino Valley, Dewey-Humboldt, Sedona, Cottonwood, Cornville), Coconino County (Flagstaff, Williams), and the full Phoenix metro.
Related: water softener installation, reverse osmosis, well water treatment.
Whole-house water filtration in Prescott runs $1,500 to $5,000 fully installed. A simple 2-stage sediment-plus-carbon system on city water averages $1,500–$2,500. Adding iron removal pushes to $2,500–$3,500. Combined arsenic or PFAS stages run $3,500–$5,000. Whole-home reverse osmosis is a separate category starting at $5,000. Cartridge replacements average $150–$400 per year.
It depends on the stages you install. A standard 3-stage Prescott system removes sediment (sand, silt, rust), chlorine (taste, smell, dryness), and depending on the third stage: iron, manganese, arsenic, PFAS, or sulfur. Whole-house filters do not remove dissolved hardness — that requires a water softener — and do not produce drinking-water-purity output the way under-sink reverse osmosis does.
Cartridge life depends on water usage and quality. Sediment pre-filters typically last 6 to 12 months. Carbon (GAC or carbon block) cartridges last 1 to 2 years or 50,000–100,000 gallons. Iron and arsenic media last 1 to 3 years depending on contaminant levels. Aqua Cat sets a maintenance schedule for every install and offers a reminder service so the system never under-performs.
Some homeowners do — but in Arizona, any work involving the main shut-off and pressure-bearing connections benefits from a licensed Master Plumber to avoid leaks and code issues. Aqua Cat installs whole-house systems in 2–3 hours, sets the bypass valves correctly, pressure-tests the connections, and includes a 2-year warranty. DIY installs are not warrantied by most manufacturers.
A properly sized system has minimal impact — usually a 2 to 5 psi drop from a static reading. Undersized cartridges or clogged filters cause noticeable pressure loss. Aqua Cat measures your home's flow rate and pressure before specifying a system and selects cartridge housings rated above your peak simultaneous demand (shower + dishwasher + laundry running together).
They solve different problems. A water softener removes hardness (calcium and magnesium) — the cause of scale and soap scum. A whole-house filter removes everything else — sediment, chlorine, iron, taste, odor, and depending on stages, contaminants like arsenic and PFAS. Most Prescott homes need both, in series, because Northern Arizona water is both hard and contaminated.
Get a fixed-price whole-house filtration quote sized to your home's water — no upselling, no hidden fees, 2-year warranty included.
