Water Treatment in Wadsworth & Greater Akron, OH

Water treatment fixes hard water, iron staining, and bad taste or odor by testing what is actually in your water, then installing the softener or filter that matches. Mackin & Sons is family-owned in Wadsworth, 17,000+ jobs since 2009 and 4.9 stars across 600+ Google reviews.

The water problems that trigger the call

You can usually taste, smell, or see the problem before you can name it. White crust on the faucets and spotted glasses out of the dishwasher. Soap that will not lather and skin that itches after every shower. Orange rings in the toilet and rust streaks on white laundry. A metallic taste from the kitchen tap, a chlorine smell like a swimming pool, or a rotten egg odor that shows up when the hot water runs.

Those are different problems with different fixes. Hardness, iron, chlorine, and sulfur each call for different equipment, and the wrong unit treats the wrong thing. That is why every water treatment job we do starts with a test, not a sales pitch.

What we actually do on the visit

We test your water in your home, free. The test tells us the hardness number, iron content, and what else is riding along in the supply. Then we recommend a system sized for your house and your actual water, not whatever happens to be on the truck. You get the full price in writing before we touch a pipe, and our installs carry a minimum 1-year warranty. We work under our Ohio plumbing license, insured and background-checked. How we price every job is on our pricing page.

If you already own a system that quit working, we repair those too. Softeners, filters, and RO units fail in predictable ways, and a service call is often much cheaper than a replacement.

Softeners, because Northeast Ohio water is hard

Hard water is the most common complaint we hear, and around here it is earned. Well water homes get hit hardest, but plenty of municipal supplies in Greater Akron carry enough calcium and magnesium to scale up fixtures and appliances. That scale quietly shortens the life of everything water touches, and water heaters take the worst of it. A tank coated in mineral scale heats slower, costs more to run, and dies younger.

A properly sized softener removes the hardness minerals before they reach your plumbing. We size the unit to your household, not a one-size-fits-all spec. And if hauling salt bags is a problem, we will talk through salt-free options honestly: those units condition water so minerals stop sticking to things, but they do not actually remove hardness. There is a difference, and you should know it before you buy.

Reverse osmosis for the water you drink

Even treated city water carries chlorine, and tests can turn up lead, nitrates, arsenic, and trace pharmaceuticals. A reverse osmosis system is the most complete point-of-use filtration available, installed at the kitchen sink where you draw drinking and cooking water. Systems with remineralization add calcium, magnesium, and potassium back for better taste. Plan on filter changes every 6 to 12 months and a new membrane every 2 to 3 years. Over time it costs less than bottled water and skips the plastic.

Iron removers and that sulfur smell

Iron is the staining culprit. A softener can catch small amounts, but heavy iron needs a dedicated removal system, usually an oxidizing filter or chemical feed matched to your test results. If your home runs on a well pump, iron and sulfur often travel together, and some systems handle both.

One honest note on rotten egg smell: if it only shows up on the hot side, the problem is usually bacteria reacting with the anode rod inside your water heater tank, not your supply. That is a water heater fix, not a filter, and we will tell you so instead of selling you equipment you do not need.

Whole-house systems

When you want every faucet treated, not just one, a whole-house system combines stages: sediment, carbon, softening, iron, whatever your water requires. Hudson’s water is not Copley’s water, and well water is its own animal, so there is no standard package. We build the combination from your test results. Many homes around here date from the 1950s through 70s, and on older galvanized lines, decades of mineral scale compounds the problem, so cleaning up the water also protects what is left of the pipe.

What moves the price

Four things, mostly. The type of system (a single RO faucet costs far less than a multi-stage whole-house setup), what your water test shows (heavy iron means more equipment), where the system installs and how far the drain is, and how many treatment stages the job needs. None of it is a mystery. You see the number in writing and approve it before work starts.

We are a family-owned shop in Wadsworth. When your water tastes, smells, or stains like something is wrong, book a visit and we will test it and tell you what is actually in it.

What it costs: Most whole-home softener installs run $1,500 to $3,000 depending on what your water test shows. Reverse osmosis and heavy-iron systems are priced separately. See our full pricing.