Who wrote this: Kind Water Co wrote this page and is one of the companies compared. Our picks are our own opinion, not an independent review.
Who should put a water softener in your Ankeny home? Our pick is Kind Water Co, based in Des Moines. Our softener with whole-home carbon is $2,500, or $2,850 with a tank or tankless kitchen RO, installed with tax included. Ankeny's water still averaged 8.5 to 8.9 grains of hardness in 2025, after plant softening (Des Moines Water Works).
Please know this up front: we sell softeners in Ankeny and put ourselves on top. So every fact about another company comes from its own website, and we say where one may suit you better.
Kind Water Co comes first as our pick. Water treatment specialists follow from A to Z, and plumbing companies come last. What we say about the others comes from their own websites, read November 1, 2026.
| Company | Our label | What they sell | Price on their website | Warranty or guarantee on their website | Serves Ankeny? (their site) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kind Water Co (that's us; we wrote this page) | #1 overall (our opinion) · One posted, tax-included price for softener, carbon and kitchen RO | Softeners, whole-home carbon, reverse osmosis, well systems | Yes, tax included: $2,500 with carbon · $1,900 softener alone · $2,850 with a tank or tankless RO | A lifetime parts warranty on the softener and a 1-year warranty on the RO · 5 years on softener and carbon media · 1 year on labor · a written water guarantee | Yes, from Des Moines, about 10 miles away |
| Culligan of Des Moines | Best for a family dealer local since 1966 | Culligan softeners, drinking water and whole-home filtration, bottled water | No installed price · Inspect & Check from $79.95 · Better Water for Life plan from $35 a month | 30-day satisfaction guarantee (Culligan's West Des Moines location page) | Yes, named on its home page |
| EcoWater Systems MidAmerica | Best if you want the EcoWater brand | EcoWater whole-home and drinking water systems | Not posted | Described as comprehensive; terms not stated | Yes, on its service-area list |
| Iowa Aqua Care | Best for the lowest posted softener-only price | Softeners, whole-house filters, reverse osmosis | Softeners $1,195 to $2,895 · RO $715 to $2,275 · whole-house filters from $600, installed; tax not stated | A 30-day promise to "make it right" | Yes, on its service-area list |
| Iowa Soft Water / Aqua Systems of Des Moines | Best for the longest posted labor warranty | Aqua Systems softeners, reverse osmosis, problem-water systems, bottled water, salt delivery | Softeners from $2,199 + $250 to install · RO $549 + $200 to install | 10 years on labor and parts (SmartChoice Elite) · 90-day money-back guarantee | Yes, on its list of areas served |
| Prime Flow Filtration | Best for drinking water at one sink only | Under-sink reverse osmosis only | $699, $899 or $1,099 installed | 1 year with the $899 option, 2 years with the $1,099 option, none listed at $699 | Yes, it has an Ankeny page |
| Plumbing companies: Lazer Home Services and True Comfort Heating, Cooling and Plumbing | Best for softener work alongside other home services | Softener installs plus plumbing, heating and cooling | No price posted for their own softener installs | Lazer: 100% satisfaction guarantee · True Comfort: not compared | Yes, each has an Ankeny page |
On November 1, 2026, we opened the websites of water treatment and plumbing companies around Des Moines. A company made this list only if its own site names Ankeny. We wrote down what each sells, any posted price, whether that price includes installation or tax, and its stated warranty. Where a site didn't say, we wrote "not stated."
We didn't score anyone, ask for quotes or count reviews. Water Treatments Des Moines' home page doesn't name Ankeny, and the BrightWater and RainSoft of Des Moines sites didn't load for us that day, so they aren't listed. Only Kind Water Co is ranked. Spot a mistake about your company? Email hello@kindwaterco.com and we'll fix it. For the whole metro, see our Des Moines-area company picks.
As posted on each company's own website, November 1, 2026:
| What you're buying | Kind Water Co (tax included) | Iowa Aqua Care | Iowa Soft Water / Aqua Systems of Des Moines | Prime Flow Filtration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Softener on its own | $1,900 | From $1,195 installed (up to $2,895) | From $2,199 + $250 to install | Doesn't sell softeners |
| Softener with whole-home carbon | $2,500 | $2,395 or $2,495 for its 2-in-1 units, installed | City Stack from $3,700 | Doesn't sell softeners |
| Kitchen RO on its own | $897 tank · $997 tankless | $715 to $2,275 installed | $549 + $200 to install | $699 installed |
| Softener, carbon and kitchen RO | $2,850 | No package price posted | No package price posted | Doesn't sell softeners |
Iowa Aqua Care lists its 48,000-grain AquaSure softener at $1,195 on its softener page and $2,295 on its pricing page. Neither Iowa Aqua Care nor Aqua Systems says whether tax is included, and Aqua Systems says its pricing is subject to change, so get the full total in writing.
Our installed prices, by the home they suit:
| Build | Who it suits | Installed, tax included |
|---|---|---|
| Softener only | Softer water; the chlorine taste stays | $1,900 |
| Softener + whole-home carbon | Less chlorine taste at every tap | $2,500 |
| Softener + carbon + tank or tankless kitchen RO | Plus a drinking-water faucet at the sink | $2,850 |
| Dual-tank softener + carbon + RO | City homes with 7 people | $3,550 |
| XL softener + carbon | City homes with 8 or more people or 4 or more bathrooms | $2,800, or $3,150 with RO |
| Dual-tank well system | Acreages on a private well | $3,650, or $3,950 with tank RO |
Every bundle with an RO carries a lifetime parts warranty on the softener and a 1-year warranty on the RO.
1. Chlorine, not chloramine. Des Moines Water Works disinfects with chlorine, and Ankeny's pipes averaged 0.90 mg/L of it in 2025. Our standard carbon handles chlorine taste and smell, so the standard prices hold. Catalytic carbon, the grade chloramine towns need, is optional here: $150 more, or $3,000 with RO.
2. Hard almost every day. Saylorville, the plant Des Moines Water Works says serves residents north of Des Moines, landed in the USGS "hard" band on 363 of its 364 daily results in 2025. Ankeny's plant mix isn't published, so we set the softener to your own tap and size it by household.
3. Acreages run on wells. Those homes use our well water system: $3,650, or $3,950 with a tank RO, the only RO we put on a well. Distance, trenching or rock can raise that. We confirm any travel charge before you book.
A non-warranty service call is $149 for time and labor, plus any parts; calls covered by our warranty are free. If you go ahead with the repair or a new system, the $149 counts toward it. RO filter care is $199 a year if we mail you the filters and you swap them, or $249 a year if we come out, swap them and test your water. Softener media can last up to 12 years, and a tank swap is $1,000 for any brand. Military members and first responders get $100 off. For every add-on price, see our Des Moines water softener cost guide.
The City of Ankeny serves 76,207 people through 31,373 connections (EPA SDWIS, system IA7709053) and buys its water from Central Iowa Water Works, which it helped found. The three plants soften with lime or reverse osmosis. At its own wells, Ankeny only adds chlorine and adjusts the pH. It also stores water in two wells, #6 and #7, about 2,500 feet deep in the Jordan aquifer (Iowa DNR). The city grew from 68,095 people in 2020 to 76,727 in July 2024 (U.S. Census). Read the full story in our guide to water softeners and treatment in Ankeny.
We sell, install and service softeners, whole-home carbon, reverse osmosis and well systems in Ankeny and across Polk County. We also work on softeners we didn't sell, as long as parts are available. Prices and warranty are in the table above. See what's inside our whole-home water softener.
A third-generation, family-owned Culligan dealer at 111 7th St in West Des Moines, local since 1966 by its own account. Its home page names Ankeny and says it services Culligan and non-Culligan systems. Price: no installed softener price; Inspect & Check from $79.95 for any make or model; Better Water for Life from $35 a month. Warranty: Culligan's West Des Moines page mentions a 30-day satisfaction guarantee and points to owner's manuals.
Its contact page lists Ankeny among the Central Iowa towns it serves, with Des Moines, Johnston and Waukee. It sells EcoWater whole-home and drinking water systems, and its About page says it makes, installs and services the equipment it sells. Price: not posted. Warranty: described as comprehensive; the terms weren't on the pages we read.
A family-owned company in Des Moines with Ankeny on its service-area list. Price: softeners $1,195 to $2,895, reverse osmosis $715 to $2,275 and whole-house filters from $600, all installed. Some models show different prices on two of its pages, and tax isn't mentioned. Warranty: its About page promises to "make it right" if you aren't happy within 30 days.
Locally owned for 40 years, its site says, at 2800 East University Ave in Des Moines, with Ankeny on its list of areas served. Price: Series 4000 softeners $2,199 to $2,399 plus $250 to install; SmartChoice Elite from $3,000; the City Stack, made for chlorinated city water, $3,700; standard RO $549 plus $200 to install; "subject to change." Warranty: 10 years on labor and parts for SmartChoice Elite (Series 4000: 1 year labor, 3 years parts), plus a 90-day money-back guarantee.
Under-sink reverse osmosis only. Its Ankeny page says it doesn't sell softeners or whole-house systems, and that stone countertop drilling is included. Price: $699, $899 or $1,099 installed for a 7-stage unit. Coverage: none listed at $699; the $899 and $1,099 options add filter changes, service visits and 1 or 2 years of coverage.
Lazer Home Services, at 5703 NW 2nd St in Des Moines, has an Ankeny softener installation page, a 100% satisfaction guarantee and Synchrony financing, and says it has worked on central Iowa's hard water since 2001. True Comfort Heating, Cooling and Plumbing, locally and veteran owned at 505 Sheridan Ave in Des Moines, lists softener installation and service on its Ankeny page. Neither posts a price for its own softener installs.
Get the full installed price in writing, tax included, before work starts. Ask how many years of labor the warranty covers, not just parts. Our comparison page lists the seven questions we'd ask any water company and sets our bundle beside the big national brands.
A water softener does not remove nitrate. Ankeny was under central Iowa's nitrate lawn-watering bans in June 2025 and again in June 2026 (Central Iowa Water Works, June 2025; Iowa Public Radio, June 2026). Your free in-home water test includes a nitrate screening reading, and we quote whole-home nitrate removal, reverse osmosis or both from there.
Book a free in-home screening, and we'll measure your tap before we recommend a build. Call or text 515-709-4674, or request your free in-home water test.
Your nearest Kind Water Co office: Des Moines · 515-709-4674 →
Our pick is Kind Water Co. Kind Water Co wrote this page and is one of the companies compared, so please weigh that. We pick ourselves for three things: prices posted with tax included, a written water guarantee and one $2,850 package for house and sink. Other good picks are Aqua Systems for a long labor warranty and Iowa Aqua Care for low posted softener prices.
Ours is $2,500 with whole-home carbon, $1,900 for a softener alone and $2,850 with a tank or tankless kitchen RO. Each price is installed, with tax included. Ankeny uses chlorine, not chloramine, so our standard carbon fits most homes. On November 1, 2026, Iowa Aqua Care posted softeners from $1,195 installed, and Aqua Systems from $2,199 plus $250 to install. Neither site says if tax is included.
Four of the eight companies here posted prices on November 1, 2026. They are Kind Water Co, Iowa Aqua Care, Aqua Systems of Des Moines and Prime Flow Filtration, which sells reverse osmosis only. Only Kind's prices said tax was included. Culligan of Des Moines lists a $79.95 visit and a $35-a-month plan, but no installed price. EcoWater, Lazer and True Comfort post no softener price.
It depends on your hardness and how many people live there. The plants that supply Ankeny averaged 8.5 to 8.9 grains per gallon in 2025, which is hard water. Our standard softener fits 1 to 6 people, a 7-person home gets our dual-tank system, and 8 or more people or 4 or more bathrooms get our XL: $2,800, or $3,150 with RO. We confirm the size at your free test.
Seven companies besides us say on their own sites that they serve Ankeny. Five are water treatment firms: Culligan, EcoWater, Iowa Aqua Care, Aqua Systems and Prime Flow (RO only). Two are plumbing firms: Lazer and True Comfort. At Kind Water Co, licensed local plumbing professionals we vet, schedule, and stand behind do every install. On our Des Moines Google profile, 9 reviews carry a reply from us that names Ankeny (counted October 30, 2026).
Not to handle chlorine. Ankeny uses free chlorine, which averaged 0.90 mg/L in the city's pipes in 2025 (2026 water quality report). Our standard whole-home carbon is made for chlorine, so the $2,500 and $2,850 builds fit most Ankeny homes. Catalytic carbon is a higher grade. It's an optional upgrade for $150 more, or $3,000 with kitchen RO.
None of the eight companies on this page gives an Ankeny street address on the pages we read. Culligan of Des Moines is at 111 7th St in West Des Moines. Aqua Systems, Lazer Home Services and True Comfort list Des Moines addresses, and Iowa Aqua Care says it is locally owned in Des Moines. Kind Water Co is at 600 SE 15th St in Des Moines, about 10 miles away.
Besides us, two companies here describe well water products on their own sites. Aqua Systems of Des Moines lists common well water issues among its resources. Iowa Aqua Care lists a $1,595 iron-removing softener it calls ideal for wells. Our dual-tank well system is $3,650, or $3,950 with a tank RO. Iowa DNR lists 150 registered household wells in the township around central Ankeny.
Ankeny's water
The companies (each read on its own website, November 1, 2026)
Your home's own readings come from the free in-home water test.
Updated November 2, 2026 · Facts about other companies as posted on November 1, 2026
Whole-home water softening, filtration, and reverse-osmosis drinking water — professionally installed and built to last a lifetime.
Serving Des Moines, Polk County & homes across Iowa
Kind Water Co is a d/b/a of Zero Cap Investments LLC · 600 SE 15th St, Des Moines, IA 50317
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