I think its important to note that all filters collect debris, and in a wet environment, will eventually grow their own bacteria, especially at room temperature. If you combine a great filter like the Berkley with the use of ozone-water or ozonated water, that water will not only be better tasting (ozone removes tastes and smells - almost all bottle water companies use it), it will help keep the filter itself free of bacteria. Ozone quickly reverts to oxygen, so no chemicals are left behind in the process of purification. A good example of devices that do this can be found at RovingBlue.com. Keeping the filter itself free of growing its own bacteria will help them last longer.
I absolutely love this account. It takes a lot for me to decide to spend any energy making a comment on a page that already has thousands of followers but practical self-reliance is my absolute favorite. These days if I need a recipe or to track down a specific Homestead skill this is the first place I look.
Thank you for the filter link. We’ve needed new ones for a while and couldn’t find them anywhere. Hoping the proceeds are going to the original inventors of Berkey and not some corrupt politician that put them under.
Can’t help but wonder why the other company started making filters that fit berkey, and then berkey is “accidentally” labeled a pesticide and shut down…
I live in town (Montpelier) and have been wedded to my Epic Pure filters for some time. They are an eco-minded company out of Boulder. They even have a recycling program for their filters after each is done. They also have Epic Nano which will do the pond water as well, in addition to on-the-go filters which fit into their water bottles.
I've got one, and it's great. One big issue in Italy is the quality of the tap water. It's not a bacteria problem at all, but calcium. And the town I live in has it really badly. Until we got the Berkey we were buying 40 litres of bottled water every month to drink. The company makes an Italian edition of the filters specifically to tackle the Italian calcium problem.
Update: I just checked at it's the British version, called British Berkefeld.
"Berkey Filters were by far the best option for water filtration"
Sorry but I have to totally disagree with this statement.
The Berkey are by far the worse, because they are not NSF certified, and their so called "Lab tests" are totally bogus.
Their filters are rated to 3000 gallons/11,400 liters.
to be certified to NSF 53 for health effects contaminants, 2 filter systems are tested at 200% of filter capacity, that's 6000 gallons/22,800 liters. NSF testing ensures that the filters effectively reduce the rated contaminants over the life of the filter, not the first 0.01%.
Lab tests were conducted with as little as 1/2 liter of spiked test water. Just because it's good for 1/2 liter doesn't mean its good for the other 22,799.5 liters.
One lab just list 3 pages of contaminants with no test criteria listed. And, I found the exact same document from the same lab for another filter system.
You are far better off buying a Brita faucet filter, that has been NSF certified, than spending a dime on a Berkey!!
Here's a wonderful update about Boroux filters for people living in CA. They expect their certification process to be complete by the end of October. So after that certification is complete, they anticipate being able to ship directly to California. (I learned this from Ty at Boroux!!)
THANK YOU FOR ALL THIS INFORMATION. Conscious Water does not have Berkey black filters, and Boroux cannot ship their filters to California. Does that mean that if you live in California you are stuck? Has anyone discovered any other options? Thank you
Thank you so much for this article! I was really upset about Berkey filters being taken off the market. I can’t understand what is possessing the epa to do such a thing. It’s good to know there is a good option.
Please watch this video... it clarifies that Berkey in fact DOES NOT recommend Boroux filter. Their business is run unethically... I find it extremely scam like for them to email customers using their Berkeyfilters.com email recommending their new venture Boroux filters and calming that Berkey recommends Boroux.. lol that's crazy.
I think its important to note that all filters collect debris, and in a wet environment, will eventually grow their own bacteria, especially at room temperature. If you combine a great filter like the Berkley with the use of ozone-water or ozonated water, that water will not only be better tasting (ozone removes tastes and smells - almost all bottle water companies use it), it will help keep the filter itself free of bacteria. Ozone quickly reverts to oxygen, so no chemicals are left behind in the process of purification. A good example of devices that do this can be found at RovingBlue.com. Keeping the filter itself free of growing its own bacteria will help them last longer.
Where do you get ozone water from?
Ah yes, I read about this and of course the government wants to be involved in how we choose to drink clean water
You mean to poison us.
I absolutely love this account. It takes a lot for me to decide to spend any energy making a comment on a page that already has thousands of followers but practical self-reliance is my absolute favorite. These days if I need a recipe or to track down a specific Homestead skill this is the first place I look.
Thank you for the filter link. We’ve needed new ones for a while and couldn’t find them anywhere. Hoping the proceeds are going to the original inventors of Berkey and not some corrupt politician that put them under.
Can’t help but wonder why the other company started making filters that fit berkey, and then berkey is “accidentally” labeled a pesticide and shut down…
Crazy world
I live in town (Montpelier) and have been wedded to my Epic Pure filters for some time. They are an eco-minded company out of Boulder. They even have a recycling program for their filters after each is done. They also have Epic Nano which will do the pond water as well, in addition to on-the-go filters which fit into their water bottles.
I also would like to thank you for posting this new water filtration link. blessings to you and your family.
I've got one, and it's great. One big issue in Italy is the quality of the tap water. It's not a bacteria problem at all, but calcium. And the town I live in has it really badly. Until we got the Berkey we were buying 40 litres of bottled water every month to drink. The company makes an Italian edition of the filters specifically to tackle the Italian calcium problem.
Update: I just checked at it's the British version, called British Berkefeld.
"Berkey Filters were by far the best option for water filtration"
Sorry but I have to totally disagree with this statement.
The Berkey are by far the worse, because they are not NSF certified, and their so called "Lab tests" are totally bogus.
Their filters are rated to 3000 gallons/11,400 liters.
to be certified to NSF 53 for health effects contaminants, 2 filter systems are tested at 200% of filter capacity, that's 6000 gallons/22,800 liters. NSF testing ensures that the filters effectively reduce the rated contaminants over the life of the filter, not the first 0.01%.
Lab tests were conducted with as little as 1/2 liter of spiked test water. Just because it's good for 1/2 liter doesn't mean its good for the other 22,799.5 liters.
One lab just list 3 pages of contaminants with no test criteria listed. And, I found the exact same document from the same lab for another filter system.
You are far better off buying a Brita faucet filter, that has been NSF certified, than spending a dime on a Berkey!!
Thank you for the information 🙏
Thanks for the info, Ashley!
Way better explaination than i got from Berkey's email...(thanks for the memories, we're closing our doors in 2 days)
Thank you for the valuable filter information.
Here's a wonderful update about Boroux filters for people living in CA. They expect their certification process to be complete by the end of October. So after that certification is complete, they anticipate being able to ship directly to California. (I learned this from Ty at Boroux!!)
THANK YOU FOR ALL THIS INFORMATION. Conscious Water does not have Berkey black filters, and Boroux cannot ship their filters to California. Does that mean that if you live in California you are stuck? Has anyone discovered any other options? Thank you
Thank you so much for this article! I was really upset about Berkey filters being taken off the market. I can’t understand what is possessing the epa to do such a thing. It’s good to know there is a good option.
Please watch this video... it clarifies that Berkey in fact DOES NOT recommend Boroux filter. Their business is run unethically... I find it extremely scam like for them to email customers using their Berkeyfilters.com email recommending their new venture Boroux filters and calming that Berkey recommends Boroux.. lol that's crazy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMCYJxp_F5M