TL;DR: Hard water, chlorine taste, iron stains, or sulfur smell? Franklin installs one combined whole-home water filtration and softening system that addresses all of it — sized and configured to your home, whether you’re on city water or a private well. Pricing starts at $3,345.29, with the final number set in person based on your water and your plumbing. Estimates are always free; we don’t charge a service-call fee for a water filtration visit.
The water in NWA, briefly
Northwest Arkansas sits on limestone bedrock. Limestone is mostly calcium carbonate, and it dissolves slowly into the groundwater — which is the technical reason almost every home here has hard water. The four big cities (Fayetteville, Bentonville, Rogers, Springdale) and most of the surrounding suburbs get water from Beaver Lake through the Beaver Water District. That water is treated and chlorinated, but it’s still hard, and many people taste or smell the chlorine. Outlying areas — Cave Springs, parts of Tontitown, parts of Farmington, the Bella Vista outskirts, and rural pockets across Benton and Washington counties — are on private wells. Well water adds another layer: iron, manganese, sulfur, and sediment depending on the geology under your specific property.
Common NWA water problems
Hardness. Chalky white residue on glassware, faucets, and shower doors. Soap scum on tubs and tile. Dry skin and hair after showers. Soap and shampoo that won’t lather well. Scale buildup inside the water heater, dishwasher, washing machine, and ice maker that shortens their lifespan. This affects nearly every NWA home, city or well.
Chlorine taste and smell (city water). Beaver Water District chlorinates the supply — that’s a good thing for safety, but the taste and smell carry through to your tap.
Iron staining (well water). Orange-rust streaks on porcelain sinks, tubs, toilets, and laundry. Sometimes a metallic taste. Iron in well water is extremely common in this area.
Sulfur smell — rotten eggs (well water). Hydrogen sulfide gas dissolved in the water. Smells worst from the hot side of the tap because heating drives the gas out of solution.
Sediment from the well line. Sand, silt, or rust flakes that gum up faucet aerators and clog the inlet screens on appliances.
One combined system that handles all of it
Franklin installs a single whole-home water filtration and softening system — it does both jobs. The softening side uses ion exchange to pull the calcium and magnesium out of your water (so you stop seeing scale on fixtures and inside appliances), and the filtration side handles the rest: chlorine taste and smell on city water, and iron, sulfur, and sediment on well water.
That’s the entire product line for this category — one combined system, configured to what your home actually needs. We don’t sell standalone iron filters, standalone sulfur filters, standalone softeners, or standalone carbon filters as separate products. The tech sizes and configures the combined system during the in-home estimate based on whether you’re on city or well water, your household size, and what your water actually contains.
What a whole-home filtration system costs in NWA
Pricing starts at $3,345.29. Where a given install lands depends on a handful of variables we evaluate in person, then we hand you a flat-rate quote on the spot before any work begins. The variables that move the price:
City water vs. well water. Wells need a configuration that handles iron, sulfur, and sediment in addition to softening; city water installs are simpler.
Household size. Bigger households need a bigger system to handle peak flow without short-cycling.
Plumbing access at the install location. Tight crawlspaces, finished basements, or a remote main-line entry can add labor.
Severity of well-water issues. A well with heavy iron or strong sulfur needs a more robust configuration than a well with mild issues.
Financing is available. Numbers are flat-rate — what we quote is what you pay. If you’ve got a quote from another shop that feels off, we offer a free second opinion.