Make better-tasting drinking and cooking water part of your everyday routine. Kind installs under-sink reverse osmosis with a dedicated kitchen faucet through our main Des Moines and Marion / Eastern Iowa teams. Compare tank and tankless layouts, get a clear installed price and let us coordinate installation with licensed local plumbing professionals we vet and schedule. Start with a free in-home hardness, iron, TDS and nitrate screening test to help match the equipment to your home.
Nobody shops for “total dissolved solids” — you notice things at the sink. The five we hear about most:
What's causing it: Ice freezes from the outside in, pushing dissolved minerals and trapped air to the center, where they freeze cloudy. Eastern Iowa water, filtered through limestone bedrock and river-valley sand, carries plenty of dissolved calcium and magnesium.
How we fix it: The RO membrane cuts total dissolved solids before water reaches your icemaker, so cubes freeze clear.
What's causing it: Chlorine or chloramine, the disinfectants Eastern Iowa utilities rely on (the Quad Cities uses chloramines, per Iowa American Water) — hot brewing carries that faint pool taste straight into your cup.
How we fix it: Carbon stages handle chlorine taste and odor; the membrane clears dissolved solids. Coffee is where families notice.
What's causing it: Total dissolved solids — calcium, magnesium, sodium, chloride, sulfate. The EPA's secondary standards flag chloride and TDS right where taste shows up, and local groundwater soaks in limestone and dolomite — and even the Quad Cities' Mississippi River supply is delivered at 136–350 mg/L of hardness alone.
How we fix it: The membrane's home turf: NSF/ANSI 58, the U.S. RO standard, requires at least 75 percent TDS reduction.
What's causing it: Nitrate is odorless and tasteless (Iowa State University Extension) and comes from farm sources — USGS puts farmland at 90 percent or more of the Cedar River Basin. Our full nitrate guide is here.
Treatment path: we have your water tested for nitrate and arsenic first, choose the system from the lab results and test again after installation. We review the source, appropriate nitrate test results and the equipment needed for your concern before recommending the setup.
What's causing it: When a drop of hard water dries, the water leaves and the minerals stay — that white film. Eastern Iowa water is genuinely hard: unsoftened Marion water runs 18–20 grains per gallon. Look up your city's hardness.
How we fix it: RO-faucet water has had those minerals reduced, so glasses dry clean. (Dishwasher spotting is whole-home hardness — a softener's job.)
Reverse osmosis uses a membrane to reduce dissolved solids in drinking water. Sediment and carbon stages protect the membrane and help with taste and odor, while the dedicated faucet gives you filtered water where you drink, cook and brew coffee. We explain the chosen model’s equipment features, performance information and care before installation.
A TDS reading measures the overall dissolved material in the water. It helps with equipment selection and, on an existing RO system, a comparison of incoming water and the dedicated faucet helps assess performance. We measure hardness, iron, TDS and a nitrate screening reading at the free in-home test and explain the readings alongside your priorities.
EPA lists ion exchange, reverse osmosis and electrodialysis as the best available technologies for nitrate. Kind Water Co installs Whole-Home Nitrate Removal, its own tank installed after the softener. Tell us whether you use city water or a private well and share any recent water results; we’ll explain appropriate nitrate testing and help match equipment to your concerns. The free field test measures hardness, iron, TDS and a nitrate screening reading, while a nitrate concern uses the appropriate laboratory result.
For a specific concern such as a pesticide, a certified lab result comes first. Carbon and RO do different jobs, and a treatment plan can combine them. We explain which stages address your priorities and which water results help select the right equipment.
Wondering about your own kitchen tap? Start with a free in-home water test, then read the free water report for your city — it shows what has actually been detected where you live.
Pour-through pitchers are convenient, but a small carbon filter mostly tackles taste and odor; it isn't reducing dissolved solids the way a membrane does, and the cartridges run out fast. Bottled water solves taste but trades it for ongoing cost, heavy cases to lug home, and a constant stream of plastic. A reverse osmosis system sits quietly under your counter and gives you better-than-bottled water on demand, for pennies a glass. The payoff shows up everywhere you use water you actually consume: coffee and tea taste cleaner, soups and rice cook without off-flavors, and ice comes out clear instead of cloudy. Most families notice the difference the first morning.
| How they compare | 7-stage reverse osmosis | Pitcher filter | Bottled water |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it does | Pushes water through a membrane to reduce total dissolved solids. The U.S. standard for RO systems, NSF/ANSI 58, requires at least 75% TDS reduction, per the EPA's WaterSense program. | A small carbon filter certified mainly for chlorine taste and odor (NSF/ANSI 42, the "aesthetic effects" standard). It doesn't reduce dissolved solids the way a membrane does. | Varies by brand and treatment method — and it isn't something you can check at your own tap. |
| Ongoing cost | Pennies a glass: your regular tap water plus roughly one filter set a year. | A new cartridge about every 40 gallons — roughly every 2 months, per Brita's own replacement guidance. | About $0.29 a bottle in a typical 24-pack, and roughly $400 a year per person at 64 oz a day, per the International Bottled Water Association. |
| Day-to-day effort | Turn on the dedicated faucet. One easy filter swap a year — we'll show you how, or just handle it. | Refill, wait, refill again — and remember the cartridge schedule. | Haul cases home, find somewhere to store them, and never run out. |
| Waste | A permanent under-sink unit reduces reliance on bottled-water cases. RO uses a drain connection for rinse water; we explain the selected model’s water-use information and filter care. | A used plastic cartridge in the trash every couple of months. | A steady stream of single-use plastic bottles. |
We install a 7-stage reverse osmosis system at the kitchen sink with its own dedicated faucet, so your drinking water stays separate and pristine. The multi-stage design pairs sediment and carbon pre-filtration to protect the membrane, the RO membrane itself for the heavy lifting, and final polishing stages that leave the water tasting fresh and ready to drink. Reverse osmosis is also the perfect partner to a whole-home water softener: the softener handles hardness and scale throughout the house, while the RO system perfects the water you drink and cook with. A tank-style system is $897 and tankless is $997 — all-in with licensed installation, lifetime parts warranty, and taxes included. Every install is handled by licensed, insured local plumbing professionals we vet, schedule, and stand behind, so it's done right and done to last.
Local guides: reverse osmosis in Des Moines, reverse osmosis in West Des Moines, reverse osmosis in the Quad Cities and reverse osmosis in Ames.
Where the city plant already softens the water, an RO system at the kitchen sink is usually the whole job. Altoona softens its city water at the plant by ion exchange and the City of Grimes tells residents its water is already considered soft, so once we have tested the tap, reverse osmosis for Altoona homes and reverse osmosis for Grimes homes is often all we recommend. West Des Moines and Ankeny are different — West Des Moines Water Works lists average tap-water hardness of 154 mg/L, about 9 grains per gallon, and Ankeny points residents to the Des Moines Water Works target of under 150 mg/L, about 8.76 grains per gallon — so in West Des Moines and Ankeny most families pair the kitchen-sink RO with a whole-home softener. Waukee buys regionally softened water from Central Iowa Water Works and the City publishes an average of 7.5 to 8.5 grains per gallon, so for reverse osmosis for Waukee homes we test hardness first and price the kitchen RO on its own or with a whole-home softener.
On well water, order matters: sediment, iron, sulfur, and hardness get handled at the pressure tank first; RO finishes the drinking water at the sink. Sand or iron will clog a fine membrane early — a $500 sediment filter is cheap insurance. Iowa DNR recommends annual well testing for coliform and nitrate; free well water testing in Iowa makes that easy.
Kitchen RO supplies a dedicated drinking-water faucet. For softer water throughout the house, pair it with a softener; for less chlorine taste and odor at every tap, add whole-home carbon. The standard softener-and-carbon package is $2,500 installed, or $2,850 with tank RO added at the same visit.
For showers, laundry and water-using appliances, compare whole-home softening and carbon filtration. Kitchen RO supplies the dedicated drinking-water faucet, and the stages can be combined in one installation plan.
For private wells, begin with relevant laboratory results and a treatment plan for the well supply, then add kitchen RO for drinking and cooking water. A bacteria result needs appropriate well assessment, suitable disinfection and follow-up testing. The offered Class B UV is supplemental treatment for an already safe supply. Explore well-water options.
Its membrane needs protection on well water. Sediment and iron foul fine membranes, so on wells we put pre-filtration ahead of it — see the well section above.
Reverse osmosis systems are low-maintenance by design. In most homes, the filters need replacing only about once a year, and the membrane itself lasts considerably longer. We'll size the system for your household, walk you through the easy filter swaps, and we're a phone call away whenever you'd rather we just handle it. Our coverage is built to last, too: lifetime parts, 5-year media, and 1-year labor, a warranty package we're proud to call best-in-class. And because clean water shouldn't wait on the budget, 0% financing is available so you can start drinking better water now.
Choose the improvements you want where you use water most. Kitchen RO adds convenient drinking and cooking water at a dedicated faucet. Whole-home carbon reduces chlorine taste and odor throughout the house, and softening tackles the hardness minerals behind scale and spots. We’ll use your water information and priorities to compare the options and explain the installed price.
We start with the water you use and the improvements you want. RO adds dedicated drinking-water filtration at the kitchen sink; whole-home carbon targets chlorine taste and odor throughout the house, and a softener tackles hardness. A free tap test and your priorities help us compare the options and choose the right combination.
Start with a free in-home hardness, iron, TDS and nitrate screening test. We explain the readings, review your priorities and compare RO, softening and whole-home filtration with clear installed prices. For main Des Moines, call (515) 709-4674 or start your local quote. For Marion / Eastern Iowa, call (319) 319-6566 or email hello@kindwaterco.com.
RO reduces dissolved solids and gives you a dedicated drinking-water faucet. The selected model’s performance information identifies its documented reductions, and we review that alongside your water source and concerns. Specific concerns such as nitrate need appropriate results and equipment selection; we’ll help you work through the options.
Start with a certified lab test. Kind Water Co installs Whole-Home Nitrate Removal, its own tank installed after the softener; we have your water tested for nitrate and arsenic first, choose the system from the lab results and test again after installation. For nitrate or a pesticide concern, we review your water source and certified lab results to help choose a suitable system.
An RO performance check compares the incoming water with the dedicated drinking-water faucet and the selected model’s performance information. If you already have RO, those readings help assess its care needs. For new equipment, we use your tap information and household priorities to compare suitable options.
Routine filter care keeps your RO performing well. Most households plan around annual filter changes, adjusted to the model and water use; membrane service follows the equipment’s performance and instructions. We can explain the care at installation or arrange RO maintenance and filter changes.
They do different jobs and work beautifully together. A whole-home softener handles hardness and scale throughout your house, protecting fixtures, appliances, and water heaters, while a reverse osmosis system perfects the water you actually drink and cook with at the kitchen sink. Many of our customers install both. During your free water test we'll tell you honestly which setup makes sense for your home.
Kind serves homes through our main Des Moines and Marion / Eastern Iowa teams, with established coverage in the Des Moines metro, Eastern Iowa, Southern Illinois and the Quad Cities. We coordinate installation with licensed local plumbing professionals we vet and schedule. Main Des Moines: (515) 709-4674. Marion / Eastern Iowa: (319) 319-6566.
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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