When I was diagnosed with mold illness, my body was overloaded with many different toxins. Obviously, eliminating the incoming toxins was the first step to regaining optimal health. We moved out of the mold and started looking for ways to remove other harmful contaminants from our environment. We started with our drinking water.
Our family has always practiced preparedness. In light of that, I had researched water purification methods for years. Consequently, I knew exactly what we were getting – a Big Berkey! I knew that Berkey is an industry leader and is the go-to water purifier for the preparedness community. I’m going to share a few of the reasons a Berkey met our family’s needs. You may decide that a Berkey is right for your family after reading.
1. A Berkey Is Not Just a Filter, It’s a Purifier
When I was deciding on a way to remove toxins from our drinking water, I learned it’s important to know the difference between a water filter and a water purifier.
Water filters generally remove waterborne protozoa and bacteria, but not viruses. In order to be classified as a purifier, the system must remove at least 99.9999% of bacteria and 99.99% of viruses. The Berkey has been certified to remove 99.9999999% of bacteria and 99.999% of viruses, exceeding the purification standard.
Berkeys also remove heavy metals, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), micro-organisms (like ecoli),BPA, and pharmaceuticals.
Independent water testing consistently shows that Berkey outperforms most filters and purifications systems on the market. You can check out the independent test results here.
2. A Berkey Purifies Tap Water
Since 2012, the Environmental Working Group, or EWG, has tested our country’s municipal water systems for contamination. They have analyzed over 32 million state water records from nearly 50,000 local utilities! Their findings are staggering.
Millions of Americans are drinking toxins known to cause cancer, reduce fertility, create neurological issues and more. The EWG has a database for most of the municipal system in the US. You can type in your zip code and see their most recent findings for your town. Go here to see what was discovered in your tap water. I’m warning you, prepare to be shocked!
3. A Berkey Purifies Well Water
If you are on well water, you may believe your water is safer than tap water. The fact is, if your home is near a power plant, in a farming community, or your well pulls from a contaminated aquifer, your family is consuming dangerous heavy metals, pesticides, and other toxins.
Our local community is dealing with revelations of contaminated well water. Many residents have high levels of heavy metals including boron, strontium, cobalt and even chromium 6. Chromium 6 is the toxin made famous by the movie Erin Brockovich in 2000. Thankfully, the Berkey has been independently tested using EPA approved methods and has been found to eliminate over 99.8% of chromium 6. You can read more information on chromium 6 and see the Berkey test results here.
4. A Berkey Doesn’t Require Electricity
In my opinion, one of the best features of the Berkey is that no electricity is required to operate it. It’s entirely gravity fed. You put water in the top and rely on gravity to push the water through the filters. The more water in the top, the faster the filtration process.
The gravity-fed feature makes the Berkey particularly useful in off-grid situations or during emergencies when you may not have electricity.
This feature also makes the Berkey portable. Your Berkey isn’t just limited to home use. You can travel with it and filter hotel water, take it camping, use it in your RV or anywhere away from home that you might need purified water.
5. Berkey Alkalizes Your Water
One of the latest health focuses regarding drinking water is alkalinity, resulting in a market for alkaline water. You find alkaline water alongside bottled water in your local grocery or big box stores. Alkalinity refers to the pH level of your water. pH measures how acidic or alkaline any substance is, ranging from 0 to 14, with 1 being very acidic and 14 being very alkaline.
Pure water has a pH of 7, and the “safe” pH level is between 6.5 to 8.5. Contamination from heavy metals, pollution, or water from an area with large deposits of limestone can alter the pH to unhealthy levels.
Berkey filters can increase the alkalinity of your water by filtering the toxins that have been shown to decrease alkalinity. The purification process usually increases the alkalinity between .5 and 1.0. Studies show that alkaline water can help with acid reflux, high blood pressure, diabetes, and high cholesterol.
6. Reverse Osmosis Remove Beneficial Minerals, Berkey Doesn’t
Reverse osmosis, or RO, purifies water by forcing the water across a semi-permeable membrane. It does this by using a high-pressure pump, which generally requires electricity, unlike the Berkey. Reverse osmosis removes dangerous contaminants as well as useful minerals. Many reverse osmosis systems require an additional expensive “filter” to remineralize water before it can be used.
When RO water enters your system, the water pulls the needed minerals from your body. This process can deplete the body of nutrients and minerals. The same holds true for cooking with reverse osmosis water. The mineral and nutrient content of the food is reduced because the water pulls the nutrients from the food, leaving valuable nutrition in the cooking water.
The WHO (World Health Organization) has an interesting study here regarding these findings. Clearly, there are some negative effects of using reverse osmosis filtration.
Berkey removes 99.99% of viruses, bacteria, heavy metals, pharmaceuticals but leaves the minerals that your body needs intact. The use of ion exchange, which is the most effective form of purification, allows this process to happen.
7. Each Berkey Filter Purifies 3,000 Gallons!
With typical water filters, purifiers or even reverse osmosis systems, filter replacement is something you are always worrying about. If you choose the black filters with your Berkey system, the filters last for 3,000 gallons each! If you use just two black filters, your water is protected for an amazing 6,000 gallons! Depending on how often you fill your purifier, that could mean YEARS of use with no filter changes, as opposed to as often as every six months for RO filters. If you use all four available Berkey filter spaces, your filters could last a decade without being changed. That is absolutely unheard of!
8. Berkey Purifiers Are An Inexpensive Investment
The cost was an important factor when we were determining the best water purifier for our family. As I stated earlier, I had been researching water purification for years. Therefore, I knew that Berkey provided the most cost-effective choice.
Even figuring in the upfront cost of a Berkey, (around $278) over the course of the lifetime of the product, the Berkey produces a gallon of purified water for less than 2 cents per gallon! I’ve linked a chart comparing Berkey to other filters here. Check it out and see the savings for yourself.
In Conclusion, Berkey Has Proven Themselves for Our Family
Without a doubt, based on the three years of use of our Berkey, we are confident our purchase was best for our family.
I hope our experience will pique your interest and you will do additional research about a Berkey. If you decide to purchase a Berkey or another system, please share your experience in the comments. I’d love to hear from you!
Take Care!