Berkey water filters are an excellent investment. While relatively affordable, they will save money over purchasing gallon jugs of water while saving space in your RV.
Filters can remove over 200 common contaminants, such as E coli, Glyphosate (the main active ingredient of today’s most widely-used weed killer), parasites, heavy metals, volatile organic chemicals pharmaceuticals petroleum compounds and perfluorinated substances.
1. They are not NSF certified
Berkey water filters are not NSF certified, raising concerns that they don’t perform as promised. This issue becomes all the more pressing when considering that the EPA is currently taking legal action against another company for making similar claims.
Reverse osmosis systems and activated carbon filters offer viable alternatives to Berkey systems, such as reverse osmosis filters. Berkey does offer some features that set it apart, including its sight glass that indicates how much water remains in its lower chamber – this feature can come in handy when storing your filter away in cupboards or other locations where it may be hard to monitor its status.
The black berkey elements also filter fluoride, pathogenic bacteria, heavy metals, herbicides, pesticides and pharmaceuticals found in drinking water – contaminants linked with cancer and heart disease among others. It is important to keep this in mind.
2. They are not EPA certified
Wirecutter notes that consumers may find Berkey water filters concerning since they are not certified to remove contaminants from drinking water effectively. According to their findings, this could indicate ineffective performance at filtering out impurities from their source water supply.
The Berkey filter uses adsorption to safely and effectively eliminate bacteria, viruses and heavy metals from water sources. Adsorption involves creating tiny pores in media that prevent larger molecules from passing through, thus making this device capable of filtering many more contaminants than typical store-bought filters.
Adsorption allows the filter to remove Glyphosate, a popular herbicide found on most American crops that enters our water supply through soil erosion or agricultural runoff, potentially posing health threats to human beings. Furthermore, its unique design also allows it to remove other pathogens as well as heavy metals like lead, arsenic and uranium as well as microplastics – an important feature since microplastics can pose potential health threats when consumed directly by people.
3. They are not approved for sale in Iowa
Berkey water filters are popular among preppers as they rely on gravity to filter out contaminates, eliminating the need for running water or electricity sources and saving money when compared with buying gallon jugs of water. Unfortunately, they’re not approved for sale in Iowa or California due to lacking necessary certifications.
The Black Berkey Filtration Element can remove up to 75% of Glyphosate herbicide, and has proven successful at lowering levels of Haloacetic Acid HAA5 as well as radionuclides thorium-232 and uranium-238 which act as bone seekers. Furthermore, the element removes heavy metals, pharmaceuticals, and toxins.
To maximize your Berkey, it is crucial that it is regularly cleaned. You should strive to clean both its stainless steel chambers and filters once every month or six months with white vinegar/lemon juice mixture – be mindful that using it for saltwater or brackish water may void its warranty.
4. They are not a good investment
Berkey water filters offer an effective and cost-cutting way to limit single-use plastic bottle costs. Contained are elements that effectively capture contaminants that would otherwise enter your body through regular drinking water – these filters can last years before ever needing replacing again! They’re easy to maintain as well.
They’re capable of eliminating an extensive list of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including atrazen, benzene, dieldrin and tetrachloromethane to lab-detectable levels; in addition they remove E. coli bacteria as well as Glyphosate found in weed killer and can enter drinking water through soil erosion and agricultural runoff.
Berkey filters make it easy to assess whether they’re operating correctly; simply mix a teaspoon of red food coloring with water before pouring through your filters – if the water comes out clear, this indicates your filters are doing their job! This makes Berkey unique among other filtration systems as you can easily test their efficiency.
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