A reverse osmosis system gives you one dedicated drinking-water faucet at the kitchen sink. Kind Water Co installs it in Des Moines for $800 with a tank or $900 tankless, and a free test at your own tap tells us first whether you need RO, a softener, both or nothing.
Central Iowa Water Works (CIWW), a regional water production authority formed on 11 April 2024, began operating on 1 January 2025. Des Moines Water Works operates three treatment plants for CIWW. All three plants soften the water as part of treatment, and Saylorville uses ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis to do it, according to the 2026 water quality report.
Des Moines Water Works' goal is to keep hardness below 150 mg/L, about 8.76 grains per gallon. That's a goal, not a reading from your tap. Softened at the plant isn't the same as soft at your tap, so we don't assume either way; the test at your sink decides.
The nitrate removal facility at Fleur Drive, an ion-exchange plant that can treat up to 10 million gallons a day, ran for 193 days during the 2026 season before going offline on 23 July 2026 (CIWW, 27 July 2026). Your utility's annual water quality report lists its nitrate results, and a certified laboratory can test your own tap. More about the city is on our Des Moines water page.
Every install is done by licensed local plumbing professionals we vet, schedule, and stand behind. We handle the estimate, the scheduling and any follow-up, and we install and repair reverse osmosis systems in Des Moines. Kind Water Co is licensed and insured, and every system price here includes the equipment, the installation, taxes and our lifetime parts warranty.
Both do the same job at the same faucet. The difference is where the treated water waits and how much room your sink cabinet has.
| Tank reverse osmosis | Tankless reverse osmosis | |
|---|---|---|
| Installed price | $800 | $900 |
| Under the sink | The unit plus a small storage tank | No storage tank, so it takes less cabinet room |
| Outlet under the sink | Not needed | Needed |
| Private well | The only RO we put on a well | City water only |
| Annual service | $199 a year | $249 a year |
If the only outlet under your sink is switched or already used by the garbage disposal, an air switch moves the disposal to a countertop button and frees the outlet for $300. It isn't a money-maker for us; it's what makes a tankless install possible. Tankless stays on city water because wells run higher dissolved solids and a tankless unit loses pressure on them.
A tank system needs cabinet room for the tank as well as the unit, so we look under your sink at the estimate. Either system gets its own drinking faucet at the sink deck, drilled if there's no spare hole. Chrome, brushed nickel, matte black, oil-rubbed bronze and brushed gold finishes are included; any other specialty finish is $200.
Want RO water at the refrigerator or ice maker? We tell you two things first. It can't be done if your sink sits in an island, and even when the fridge is close, it's roughly a 50/50 chance whether the line works out, with no way to predict which. It's done only with a tank system and quoted at your estimate.
Adding reverse osmosis to our softener and whole-home filtration system at the same visit takes the total from $2,500 to $2,850. Iowa-wide figures are in our reverse osmosis cost guide, and the systems are on our tank and tankless pages.
The plan is one annual service visit: it's $199 a year on a tank system and $249 on a tankless, and it covers the RO filter changes, a water test and a full system check. If something isn't right between visits, a diagnostic call for an unknown issue is $199, and a known issue is a $99 trip plus the part.
Total dissolved solids, or TDS, is the overall amount of minerals and other material dissolved in water, and it's one of the three things our free screening measures. Our tank reverse osmosis system is certified to NSF/ANSI 58 by IAPMO R&T for total dissolved solids (TDS) reduction.
EPA rules name reverse osmosis as a type of technology, not any particular product:
EPA's 2024 limits are 4.0 parts per trillion (ppt) for PFOA and 4.0 ppt for PFOS, each measured separately, plus 10 ppt each for PFHxS, PFNA and GenX and a Hazard Index limit for mixtures of PFHxS, PFNA, GenX and PFBS. Water systems have until 2029 to meet them.
We offer the free in-home test in Des Moines. Our free in-home screening measures hardness, iron and total dissolved solids (TDS). It doesn't test for bacteria, nitrate, arsenic, lead, PFAS or radium; those need a certified laboratory, and we'll point you to one. For travel, the first 50 miles are free, then $1 a mile, quoted before you agree to anything.
See what we install in Des Moines, or book a free hardness, iron and TDS screening. You can also call or text 319-319-6566, email ryan@kindwaterco.com, or get a number in about a minute from our instant quote.
We also serve West Des Moines, Ankeny and Urbandale.
A standalone under-sink system is $800 with a storage tank or $900 tankless, installed, with taxes and our lifetime parts warranty included. Added to our softener and whole-home filtration system at the same visit, the total goes from $2,500 to $2,850. Annual service is $199 a year on a tank system and $249 on a tankless.
Licensed local plumbing professionals we vet, schedule, and stand behind. Kind Water Co handles the estimate, the scheduling and any follow-up, and we install and repair reverse osmosis systems in Des Moines. For travel, the first 50 miles are free, then $1 a mile, quoted before you agree to anything.
Your cabinet and your outlet usually decide. A tank system is $800 and needs cabinet room for its storage tank. A tankless system is $900, takes less room and needs an outlet under the sink; if the garbage disposal already uses it, an air switch frees it for $300. On a private well, we install tank systems only.
Both of our reverse osmosis systems are certified to NSF/ANSI 58 for total dissolved solids. They are not certified for nitrate, PFAS or radium reduction, so we don't claim those results for them. Your utility's annual water quality report lists its nitrate results, and a certified laboratory can test your own tap.
Des Moines Water Works' goal is to keep hardness below 150 mg/L, about 8.76 grains per gallon. That's a goal, not a reading from your tap. Softened at the plant isn't the same as soft at your tap, so we don't assume either way. Our free in-home test measures hardness at your sink, and the reading decides: softener, RO, both or nothing.
Whole-home water softening, filtration, and reverse-osmosis drinking water — professionally installed and built to last a lifetime.
Serving Marion, Cedar Rapids & surrounding Linn County communities
Kind Water Co is a d/b/a of Zero Cap Investments LLC · 2258 Bison St, Apt B, Marion, IA 52302
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