What does whole-house water filtration cost in Ames? Kind Water Co installs a catalytic carbon tank for $1,450, tax included. On our standard softener system, catalytic carbon adds $150. Ames uses chloramine, not plain chlorine (City of Ames plant report, September 2026). Catalytic carbon is the grade we use for it. Call or text 515-709-4674.
For Ames hardness, wells and softeners, see our Ames water and softener page.
The City of Ames' 2026 water quality report walks through the plant step by step:
The order matters for your home. The disinfectant goes in after the softening step, so the plant's softening doesn't take it out. It travels with the water to your faucets, and EPA notes that chloramine lasts longer in the pipes than plain chlorine. In September 2026, monochloramine leaving the plant ranged from 2.80 to 2.99 mg/L. For all of 2025, the City's 732 total chlorine samples averaged 2.52 ppm.
Carbon is what reduces the disinfectant taste and smell at every tap. Our whole-home systems use one of two grades:
On a full system, catalytic carbon adds $150 to our standard system, $225 to our XL and $300 to our dual-tank system. With a tank or tankless kitchen RO, that comes to $3,000 for the standard system, $3,375 for the XL and $3,850 for the dual tank. The upgrade is for city water only, because our well systems already include catalytic carbon.
Already have a softener you like? A catalytic carbon tank can go in beside it for $1,450. Here's how our whole-home carbon tank works.
Moving to Ames from a nearby town, or the other way? The disinfectant can change with your address, and so can the carbon we put in:
| Water supplier | Disinfectant | Our carbon |
|---|---|---|
| City of Ames | Chloramine; monochloramine 2.90 mg/L at the plant (September 2026) | Catalytic, $1,450 |
| City of Boone | Chlorine (EPA treatment record) | Regular, $1,150 |
| City of Nevada | Free chlorine, at least 0.3 ppm (city water department page) | Regular, $1,150 |
| Des Moines Water Works | Chlorine; 1.20 mg/L average in Des Moines pipes (2025) | Regular, $1,150 |
Prices are for a carbon-only tank, installed with tax included. You can choose catalytic carbon on any city system, even on chlorinated water.
Over time, the media is what you pay for. A catalytic tank's media can last up to 12 years. When it's spent, swapping the tank is $1,000, not the price of a new system.
Carbon doesn't soften water. Ames treated water averaged 161 mg/L of hardness (9.41 grains per gallon) in September 2026, which the USGS calls hard, so carbon alone won't stop the spots and scale. Pair the carbon with a softener for both jobs.
A softener on its own ($1,900) takes out hardness but has no carbon, so it leaves the chloramine in. Our softener with whole-home carbon is $2,500, and $2,850 with a tank or tankless kitchen RO. Homes with 7 people get our dual-tank system, and homes with 8 or more people or 4 or more bathrooms get our XL. Every build is priced in our water softener cost guide, and Ames companies are compared in our Ames water softener company picks.
They do different jobs. Carbon treats the water for every tap, shower and appliance in the house. A kitchen reverse osmosis system gives you one faucet for drinking and cooking water, run through 7 stages and certified to NSF/ANSI 58 for TDS reduction. It's $897 with a tank or $997 tankless, each with a 1-year warranty, and both can go in on the same visit. Compare them in our guide to reverse osmosis for Ames kitchens.
Licensed local plumbing professionals we vet, schedule, and stand behind set the carbon tank where your main water line comes in, ahead of the softener if you have one, so every tap gets filtered water. The tank cleans itself by backwashing, so there are no cartridges to change.
The carbon media can last up to 12 years, and a tank swap is $1,000 when it's spent. Whole-home systems carry a lifetime parts warranty, five years on media and one year on labor. 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.
Carbon filters, including pitcher and fridge filters, don't remove nitrate (EPA); reverse osmosis and whole-home nitrate removal do. (More in our guide to nitrates in Iowa water.)
On our Des Moines Google profile, 1 review carries a reply from us that names Ames (counted October 30, 2026). Read more on our reviews page.
Free home screening measures hardness, iron, TDS and a nitrate screening reading. It also checks chlorine. Book your free in-home water test. Kind Water Co · 600 SE 15th St, Des Moines, IA 50317 · 515-709-4674, about 31 miles from Ames. We confirm any travel charge before you book.
For Des Moines-area towns, utility by utility, see whole-house water filtration in Des Moines, or go back to our Ames town page.
Yes. EPA's treatment record for the City of Ames lists chloramines. The City's September 2026 plant report shows monochloramine at 2.80 to 2.99 mg/L, with a 2.90 average. Chloramine is chlorine combined with ammonia. Des Moines Water Works uses plain chlorine instead, so the two cities need different carbon.
Yes, for Ames' chloramine water. Regular carbon reduces chloramine, but not as much as we want. So we put in a full tank of catalytic carbon. It's $1,450 as a carbon-only tank. On our standard softener system it adds $150, or $3,000 in all with a tank or tankless kitchen RO, tax included.
A catalytic carbon tank from Kind Water Co is $1,450 installed, tax included. A softener with catalytic carbon and a tank or tankless kitchen RO is $3,000. For bigger households, the XL with catalytic carbon and RO is $3,375, and our dual-tank system with catalytic carbon and RO is $3,850. The carbon can last up to 12 years.
No. The City adds its disinfectant after the lime softening step, as the water enters the recarbonation tanks. That order comes from its 2026 water quality report. So the chloramine is still in the water when it reaches your home. Whole-house carbon at your main line reduces it at every tap. On Ames water, we use catalytic carbon.
Yes, in two ways that matter for a filter. Ames pumps its own wells, softens the water with lime at one city plant, then disinfects it with chloramine. Des Moines Water Works treats river water and disinfects with chlorine. That's why we put catalytic carbon in Ames homes and regular carbon in most Des Moines homes.
Yes. A catalytic carbon tank can go in alongside your current softener for $1,450 installed, tax included. We service all brands as long as parts are available. If your old softener is near the end of its life, a softener with catalytic carbon and a kitchen RO is $3,000 as one package.
Our well systems already include it. The dual-tank well system is $3,650 installed, or $3,950 with a tank RO. Catalytic carbon is part of that price, so there's no upgrade charge on a well. Story County Environmental Health offers free testing for private wells. Our free in-home screening checks hardness, iron and TDS at your tap.
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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