Pure Water, No Matter What: A Review of Berkey Water Filters

There is no replacement for clean, great-tasting water, is there?

When my family camped across Iceland last year, drinking the local water was no problem. Icelanders know good water, since the country’s water is some of the freshest and purest in the world. It was a delight to enjoy that water and not worry about pollutants.

Lately, clean water has been even more of a priority for us after Hurricane Harvey devastated our hometown. The streets were flooded with water that came from goodness-knows where. A park near us has forbidden entry to anyone after being completely underwater, as toxic levels of arsenic, mercury, and other toxins were reported in the now-soggy soil.

We’ve been using as drinking water the purified water from our refrigerator dispenser, but after hearing this, I realized we needed to begin using a filter with advanced capabilities. So, we immediately got our Royal Berkey Water Filter set up on our counter, complete with its fluoride and arsenic filters, and have been grateful every day that we know for sure our water is safe to drink.

What makes a great water filter?

An ideal water filter should be able to remove the following things from water with no problem:

• Dirt and sand particles
• Pathogenic bacteria
• Toxic heavy metals such as lead and mercury
• Parasites
• Harmful or unwanted chemicals

Our Berkey does all these things! Regardless of what kind of filtering system you choose to purchase, it should really be able to remove the above contaminants from the water that goes through it. For us, the Berkey was the best choice for our family’s needs, health, and safety concerns. After the many power outages experienced during Hurricane Harvey, we were also glad that our Berkey was not reliant on an electronic- or gas-powered source for filtration. It’s a gravity-fed filter, which means that while dirty, polluted water may go into the top part of the system, pure and clean water will come out of the bottom.

If you or a loved one has been affected by the hurricanes that have been hitting our country, or if you are concerned about the fluoride levels in your water, take a close look at Berkey Water Filters. Water from the Berkey has no strange aftertastes (and is great for making coffee), and the filters remove almost all germs and dust particles. Our most recent addition to our filter, the Black Berkey Fluoride and Arsenic Filters, do not make a big impact in the taste of our water, but we love knowing that they are in our Berkey, plugging away at further purifying our drinking water.

Who needs a Berkey?

It doesn’t take floodwaters to taint our drinking water. There are instances of boil notices every week across the country and many natural disasters can affect a city’s water supply.

In addition, many of us have discovered that flouride isn’t exactly the healthiest addition to our drinking water, and since Berkey’s white filters remove not only flouride but arsenic as well, there’s even more protection. This could be even more important for people on well water, which often contains naturally occurring arsenic.

Even if you trust your city’s water supply, if it doesn’t smell or taste fresh and pure, a Berkey filter will take care of that, too.

The array of Berkeys was confusing to me, and I was never sure which one would suit my family best.

In a nutshell:

• Travel Berkey – 1.5 gallons – holds 2 Black Berkey elements. Great for up to 2 people.

• Berkey light – 2.75 gallons – holds 4 Black Berkey elements. Great for up to 4 people.

• Big Berkey – 2.25 gallons – can hold up to 4 Black Berkey elements. Great for up to 4 people.

• Royal Berkey –  3.25 gallons – can hold up to 4 Black Berkey elements. Great for up to 5 people.

• Imperial Berkey –  4.5 gallons – Can hold up to 6 Black Berkey elements. Great for up to 7 people.

• Crown Berkey –  6 gallons – Can hold up to 8 Black Berkey elements. Great for 8 or more people.

Is it the best of the best?

We have a veritable hoard of water filters. After more than 8 years of blogging, we’ve tested more water filters than I care to admit in our search for an economical, reliable water filter that actually works and provides water for more than one person.

That is why I can confidently say, as a mom, a hurricane survivor, and a hardcore survivalist: the Berkey Water Filter has been our favorite water filter purchase. Our model is the Royal Berkey, which provides enough water for roughly 4-6 people a day. Since we only use it for drinking water, and it’s primarily my kids and I who drink it, this means we refill it every other day or two. It’s lightweight and easy to put together, as well! My daughter assembled ours all on her own. And did I mention….it makes great coffee.

A couple of Berkey accessories to consider

The Berkey water filters will sit flush on your tabletop or kitchen counter, and this makes it awkward for filling drinking glasses, saucepans, and the like. To make dispensing water easier, I purchased a stainless steel stand, which lifts the filter up by about 6″. We also bought the white filters for arsenic and flouride, although the Black Berkey Filters are plenty for making sure your water is safe to drink.

A Berkey Water Filter is definitely one of those investment preps but in a world of preparedness where so much can be accomplished for free and/or very low cost, this is one item worth saving up for.