Welcome to my much overdue post on the pros and cons of the Berkey Water Filter system! My family’s journey into better health has been a long one, beginning with my cancer diagnosis in 2008 and our decision to address it using nontoxic methods. Back then we purchased an alkaline water system and wondered for years if it was something we could let go of. When it stopped working back in 2016, we knew we needed to finally do our research on the Berkey and make a decision on which water system would be best for us moving forward. After much debate we ended up choosing to buy a Berkey water filter system and this post discusses why. 🙂

Pros and Cons of the Berkey Water Filter System-

My Complete Review

What Is a Berkey Water Filter?

Berkey water filters are a non-electric, portable, gravity-fed water filtering system that filter 99.9% of contaminants such as viruses, bacteria, environmental pollutants, pesticides, and pharmaceuticals from our water supply.

We have owned our Berkey for over 3 years now and have found it to be the easiest, most thorough, and most cost-effective solution to filtering our family’s water.

Chemicals in Our Water:

Nothing caused us more to realize the importance of toxin-free water than my cancer diagnosis in 2008. We started learning that practically EVERYTHING in our modern world can lead to an environment that encourages cancer growth including our chemical-laced public tap water.

In the U.S. and other developed countries clean water and proper sanitation has been essential to the decline in infectious disease incidence starting in the early 20th century. This has been significant in the overall decline of mortality, but with this addition of chemicals to our water supply to kill off pathogens has come a different problem- the cumulative effect of toxic chemicals in our drinking water and in increase in chronic disease.

Because of this (in addition to our diet, lifestyle choices and environmental factors), chronic disease such as cancer, inflammatory diseases such as asthma, and other disorders have become prevalent and considered normal in our culture.

Chemicals from automobiles, lead, chromium, viruses, bacteria (including anthrax and salmonella,) and pharmaceutical residue dumped or urinated into the water supply are all easily detectable in our water supply in addition to the things that are intentionally ADDED to our water such as chlorine and fluoride.

With this all in mind, let me get into why I love the Berkey Water Filter system so much (and a few things that I think could be improved upon.)

7+ Reasons We Purchased a
Berkey Water Filter System

#1. Filtering Capabilities:

As I mentioned above, very little compares to the filtering capabilities of the Berkey water filter system. You can read the third-party reports of the filtering capabilities of the Berkey water filter to get started on your research below. Just reading them again makes me so thankful it is what we filter our water through everyday. Here’s a quick rundown of what it removes and percentages:

• • • Lead – Removed to greater than 99.9%.
    • Arsenic – Removed to greater than 99.9%
    • Iron – Removed to greater than 99.9%.
    • Mercury – Removed to greater than 99.9%.
    • Chlorine – Removed to greater than 99.9%.
    • Bisphenol-A – Removed to greater than 99.9%.
    • Chloramines – Removed to greater than 99.9%.
    • Pharmaceuticals – Removed to greater than 99.5%.
    • Petroleum Contaminants – Removed to greater than 99.9%.
    • Methylcyclohexane-methane – Removed to greater than 99.9%.
    • Pesticides – Removed to greater than 99.9%.
    • Heavy Metals – Removed to greater than 99.1%.
    • Coliform and e-Coli – Removed to greater than 99.9%.
    • Atrazine – Removed to greater than 99.9%.
    • Fluoride – Removed to greater than 99.9%. (Source)

To compare this to the most commonly used household filter, Brita- you can read directly from Brita’s website:

What does Brita remove from tap water?

Read more at Brita’s official website. Note that there is no third-party data or specific numbers provided.

#2. PRICE

Compared to other options for filtering water, you cannot beat the Berkey on price.

• A stainless steel Berkey system has no mechanical parts and will last a lifetime with a ~$300 investment + filters every few years (if you need fluoride filters they will need to be replaced more frequently but we will get to that below)
• Each black Berkey filter filters 3,000 gallons of water until it needs to replaced. For our family this is every 3 years!
• Each Berkey liter of water costs $0.006 compared to $0.053 per liter in a Brita filter or much, MUCH more for constantly replaced bottled water.
• Over the course of 3 years, the Berkey will only cost you your initial ~$300 while other water systems you have to keep buying filters. For a Brita filter this adds up to around ~$500 for three years (and counting!)
• Compared to ~$3,000 alkaline or hydrogen water systems, $8,000+ all-house systems, and ~$200+ reverse osmosis systems that require yearly filter replacement and often professional installation, you cannot compete with the simple investment in the Berkey.

#3. Filters Last a Long Time!

I mentioned this above, but each black Berkey filter lasts 3,000 gallons. Depending on how much water you or your family uses, these can last up to 5 years!

#4. Taste of Water

The water tastes so clean and fresh. People come over to our house and comment all the time on how great our water tastes. It makes me more attuned to the horrible, chlorine-taste of water whenever I’m out at a restaurant or someone else’s house (even if they have a Brita or another kind of filter!) I can especially taste the plastic leaching in certain bottled waters!

#5. Easy to Refill

Different kitchen setups will create different strategies for refilling your Berkey, but I found the best thing is to keep it close to your sink so you can refill it with your extendable water sprayer in your kitchen. I can extend mine up to the top of my Berkey and let it sit there until the water is at the top. We do this every night as we’ve found that is a good rhythm to making sure we have clean, filtered water for the entire next day!

Another option is to fill a large Vitamix or blender container or another water pitcher with water and make as many refill trips as needed to refill your Berkey.

#6. No Need for a Plumber + Easy Setup + No Electricity Needed + Better for the Environment

That pretty much says it all. For the first 7 years after my cancer diagnosis we had an alkaline water system because someone told us that it would help us with fighting cancer and my acidic internal environment by alkalizing it.

Not only did we become skeptical of those claims, but later on found out it did not come with a fluoride filter!

This system required special installation and if the power was out, we couldn’t use our machine and didn’t have clean water.

The same goes with reverse osmosis which also requires fancy installation to a degree and not to mention wastes 1-2 gallons of water per gallon of filtered water it makes.

We are grateful for the simplicity and steady-nature of the gravity-fed, non-electric Berkey.

And I am especially grateful for the amount of plastic bottles the Berkey reduces, especially since latest reports are that only 9% of our plastic actually gets recycled (with the rest going to landfills.) 2019 preliminary reports are showing that number closer to 5%.

7. Filters Fluoride

Even though, updated science is consistently showing that internally consumed fluoride today has no benefit in overall dental health, 70% of municipal water plants in the U.S. add fluoride to their water supply.

Not only does evidence show that internally ingested fluoride does nothing to help your teeth, it is an extremely toxic substance linked to many health issues including endocrine disorders, allergies and cancer. Most developed countries including Japan and 97% of Europe do not fluoridate their water. It is an outdated practice based on outdated science and needs to be addressed.

You can check your area’s fluoride status HERE.  If it shows that fluoride is added to your water, you will definitely want to consider adding a Berkey fluoride filter to your system when you purchase it. These simply attach in the bottom container to the top black filters in the above Berkey container and need to be replaced every 1,000 gallons.

I found my county’s fluoride additive percentage to be above even government recommendations!

In the below image from a 2007 study, you can see the author compared overall decay of teeth in various fluoridated and non-fluoridated countries to be exactly the same reduction over time.

The only modern studies to show benefits from fluoride has always been in topical fluoride used as a treatment in dental offices and perhaps some evidence that topical fluoride toothpaste has helped.

(Source)

SHOP All Berkey Filters HERE

Cons: Some Things I Wish Were Different about the Berkey Water Filter

So not everything’s perfect and this wouldn’t be a realistic portrayal of my experience with the Berkey system if I didn’t have a few opinionated cons. Here are a few things that were I wish were a bit different:

1. Priming the Filters- All filters have to be primed before use and priming a Berkey filter can get a bit well…wet. Especially the first time you try it. The system comes with a priming tool which has a bit of a learning curve but overall did not take long to figure out the right amount of water pressure to use in order for it not to spray me. It’s really not that big of a deal but definitely not as easy as say just letting water run through the filter before use (like the Brita or other filters I’ve used.)
2. Sometimes it needs a babysitter– So, unlike other filters, the black Berkey filters need to be consistently used or they dry out and will need to be re-primed. This is true if you are going on more than a weekend long vacation (4-15 days is the official Berkey time limit.) To avoid this, we often bring our Berkey with us where we are going if it’s for longer than 5 days. We usually want to have fresh water with us anyways so it works out! If we are flying somewhere I will lend my Berkey to a neighbor or will simply unscrew the filters and put them in a Ziploc in the fridge and leave the containers out to air-dry.
3. Cleaning the Berkey- Just like with anything, every month or so I clean out both Berkey top and bottom reservoirs with vinegar and water spray and some paper towels or a Norwex cloth. Sometimes I go two or three months and have never noticed a change in taste or smell.
4. It’s quite the presence – Whenever new people come to my house they are immediately drawn to asking questions about my Berkey. You can see how we have it situated in the picture above. It is a LARGE presence (we have the Imperial size!) The smaller models you may not have this issue with. 🙂 I personally like it because my health journey and lifestyle is something I enjoy talking about. 🙂
5. Having to manually refill- I don’t mind this so much because we just stick to the routine of doing it every night before bed, but I imagine for someone just used to grabbing water from the tap, this would be annoying. But it’s SO worth it to me knowing I’m getting the BEST water.

Where Can I Compare and Purchase a Berkey?

You can purchase a complete Berkey Water Filter system starting at around ~$230. Shipping is FREE over $99. 🙂

For our family of 5 (almost 6) we go through a day’s worth of water using the Imperial Berkey (4.5 gallons) and have to refill each day.

***Make sure to add on your fluoride filters (~$60 for two if your area adds fluoride to your water (see this link for how to find out.)

You can compare all of the Berkey systems and purchase HERE.

There is also a Berkey shower filter which I hope to get soon HERE.

Hope you enjoyed this review of the Berkey water filter system. 🙂 Feel free to ask any questions in the comments below!

SHOP All Berkey Filters HERE

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