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Posts Tagged ‘berkey water filters’
Ann’s Helpful Hints For Berkey Water Filter Systems
Wednesday, March 9th, 2011As a proud member of the Berkey family for over 10 years, I’ve learned many tips and tricks that help customers with the initial setup and smooth lifelong use of their berkey water filter systems. Below are some of my top Berkey tips.
Priming Your Black Berkey Elements
When you first receive your black berkey elements or ceramic filters it is important to prime them. A priming button (large beige washer) is included in the box with each set of elements. Be sure to keep this some place safe so that you can re-prime your element if needed. ALWAYS USE PROTECTIVE GLOVES WHEN HANDLING YOUR BLACK BERKEY PURIFICATION ELEMENTS OR THE WHITE CERAMIC FILTERS.
To prime the elements, place the priming button on top of the threaded end of the element and place it firmly against your faucet. Turn the water on so that it is just a trickle. The water will go into the black element and the outside of the element will slowly bead up and around the element. When it has completely beaded up the element you can turn off the water and install the element into the Berkey water filter system.
Be sure to throw out the first 2-3 batches of water you put through the system so that the tap water used for priming is completely out of the elements.
Fore more details please read and watch our video: How to Prime the Black Berkey Filters for Use or Storage
Cleaning Your Black Berkey Elements
Once you install the black berkey or ceramic filters, the best thing you can do for them is just LEAVE THEM ALONE. The instructions state that you should clean your elements every six months with a scotch brite pad. I have found that to NOT be a good idea. Certainly, if they get a film on them you should rinse them off, but do not scrub them. This tends to clog them up. Instead, just leave them alone until they stop filtering or slow down so much that you are not getting very much water.
When and if they stop filtering, remove them and using a vegetable peeler, peel a thin layer all the way around the Black Berkey element and up to the top like you would a carrot. This will open them up, removing the layer of clogged material off the elements. You can then re-prime (only if needed) and re-install them into your Berkey water filter system.
Cleaning Your Berkey Chambers
Berkey Stainless Steel Canisters – Since you are most likely trying to reduce your chemical exposure, I recommend using natural cleansers to clean your bottom canister monthly. If you don’t have access to natural cleansers, just fill your bottom canister ¼ of the way up and add 1 cup of white distilled vinegar. Scrub thoroughly and empty the water through the spigot on your system. This will clean the calcium buildup off the spigot. Clean your bottom canister once a month. It is not necessary to clean the top canister, but if you choose to, be sure to remove the black elements before cleaning.
Berkey Light (Plastic) Canister - Always use a mild dishwashing detergent (preferably a natural cleanser) to clean your Berkey Light. Vinegar is too abrasive for plastic and will harm the system. Clean your bottom canister once a month. It is not necessary to clean the top canister, but if you choose to, be sure to remove the black elements before cleaning.
Red Food Coloring Test
Every 6 months, I recommend you test your Black Berkey elements with a simple red food coloring test. It is important to use only RED food coloring as the other colors have minerals in them and will not be removed from the water.
- If using the white PF-2 Arsenic/Fluoride filters, remove them from the system.
- Empty both canisters and in the bottom canister place cups or juice glasses so that the elements will drip into each cup. If possible, use a clear or white cup/glass. You will need 1 cup for each element in your system.
- Place the top canister so that each element will drip directly into the cup below.
- The amount of red food coloring to be used depends on the size of your system. If you have a 2 ¼ gallon Big Berkey you will need to use 2 teaspoons of red food coloring and place it in the top canister. If you have a 3 ¼ gallon Royal Berkey you would use 3 teaspoons of the food coloring.
- After putting in the correct amount of food coloring into the top canister, fill it up completely with water. The water will be very red. Allow the water to filter down into the cups for several inches until the cups are at least one half filled. Then discard the rest of the red water in the top canister.
- Remove the cups/glasses from the bottom canister. Make sure you know which element goes with each cup. The water in the cups/glasses should be clear. If you are using a clear cup/glass, put a piece of white paper behind the cup/glass to get a good reading on the color of the water.
- If the water is pink, the element for that cup/glass is breached and should be replaced.
- If the water is clear, your elements are doing their job perfectly.
- A video of this test can be seen here: The Black Berkey Red Food Coloring Test
Berkey Fluoride and Arsenic Reduction Filters
For priming the PF-2 filters, I recommend priming from each side by at least 2 minutes to wash out as much manufacturing dust from the filter as possible. Also, once installed, it can take up to 10 full system flushes of water before all the cloudiness (manufacturing dust) has been rinsed from the water. Be patient as this will vary depending on the production run and dustiness of the granules used in the filter.
- To determine how long your fluoride filters will last depends on the quality of your water. Since the fluoride filters also remove arsenic and continue to reduce the heavy metals in your water they may not last 1,000 gallons for the set of 2. So don’t get upset if they don’t last as long as you expect, they are continuing to reduce other harmful things in your water.
- When the fluoride filters are used up you will find that they usually stop allowing any water into the bottom canister. If this happens just remove them and make sure your Black Berkey Purification Elements are working. If they are, you need to just replace the fluoride filters and you are ready to go.
Spigot Issues
If leaking occurs around the washers of the spigot, make sure you have washers on both sides of the stainless steel. (black inside, white outside for stainless systems) Tighten as much as you can and leave the spigot about 90 degrees out of phase. Then, grab onto the nut in the back with a wrench, and turn the spigot itself that last quarter turn using the spigot as leverage to get a tighter turn. If this is ineffective, please soak the washers in olive oil for approximately 1 hour. Sometimes the washers can dry out and get hard over time and the olive oil will soften them up allowing for a good seal.
One final tip to ensure you get the full life of your black berkey filters is to fill the upper chamber to the top (assuming lower chamber has the room for the water) every time. This will allow for the entire length of the filter to be put to use so that the media gets exhausted evenly. I hope this information is of help to every Berkey water filter system owner.
Ann
BigBerkeyWaterFilters.com
An Inspirational Berkey Customer Story
Thursday, October 28th, 2010Recently we received correspondence from Pete Howell, a satisfied customer who wanted to thank the berkey family for being a small part of his recovery from a life changing event. Like many of us who have face extreme hardships and challenges in life, Pete is sharing his story in hopes of inspiring others to overcome. Below, is some of Pete’s comment’s along with a link to his site.
This is a letter that is written and produced by myself, Pete Howell, this day of Oct. 27th, 2010. In 1991, I was jogging early one morning and I was struck from behind by a car traveling at a very high rate of speed. As a result I suffered a traumatic brain injury and was left for dead. I am able to write to you today because the LORD has really blessed me. My whole left side became paralyzed for many years, I couldn’t do much at all. As a direct result, I gained a tremendous amount of body fat and became a type two diabetic.
I have been lucky to learn alot about how to naturally heal your body from injury and how to cure type 2 diabetes. I have also learned that your body is mostly water and how important it is to get the purest and best tasting water in the world. Berkey water filters get 99 % the toxins out, but leave all the minerals that are present in water. Thank God i learned about “BERKEY WATER FILTER SYSTEMS”. Berkey water has been a vital part of my recovery and I speak very highly of it in my new book “AGAINST THE ODDS”. Learn all about my amazing natural recovery in my new book “AGAINST THE ODDS”. The book is full of unbeleivable recovery pictures also and can be seen or purchased on my website GETFITTOENJOYLIFE. You can also contact me by e-mail at petehowell1971@yahoo.com.
THANK YOU “JESUS” AND THANK YOU BERKEY WATER
Berkey Water Filters Vs Reverse Osmosis
Thursday, October 7th, 2010Frequently we have customers who ask us to explain some of the key differences between reverse osmosis systems and the berkey water filter systems. While there are many reverse osmosis systems on the market, in general they are similar in results and quality. Below we’ve broken out some comparison points between the two.
Beneficial Minerals in the Water
Reverse Osmosis systems strip out the beneficial minerals from the water making it an acidic, “hypotonic” solution. A hypotonic solution is a de-mineralized solution. This ultimately has impact on the body because when a hypotonic solution comes in contact with a hypertonic (mineralized) solution, equilibrium is sought. The hypertonic solution in this case is your body’s fluids which are full of minerals. Continuous drinking of a hypotonic solution results in minerals being transferred from your body’s blood and lymphatic system to this de-mineralized water and being flushed from your body. Over time, in an effort to re-mineralize itself, your body will begin to rob it’s organs and bones of these minerals. This continuous cycle will have a negative impact on bodily function unless there is sufficient minerals being taken in through food and supplements to counterbalance.
The black berkey filters that come standard with all our berkey water filter systems are purposefully designed to leave the beneficial minerals in the water to avoid this dangerous cycle of body demineralization.
On a related note, the large majority of the population does not get sufficient minerals from their food because it is nutritionally depleted. No matter what your source of water, or filtration choice, we recommend a high quality multi-vitamin on a daily basis. We stress high quality because many supplements on the market are created with low quality ingredients and are not designed synergistically, and thus are not absorbed or utilized by the body beneficially.
Pathogenic Bacteria Removal
Reverse osmosis systems do not remove pathogenic bacteria like e-coli and giardia. This is the reason why many reverse osmosis systems include an ultraviolet (UV) light designed to kill the bacteria. Sometimes however, if the water has a high turbidity, shaded spots in the water can prevent some of the bacteria from being exposed and killed. Also, if the UV light is installed prior to the bladder tank, it can allow for bacteria to colonize in the bladder tank itself. If this tank is not sterilized often, it becomes a source of bacterial contamination. One other important note is that the remains of dead bacteria remain in the filtered water of RO systems that use a UV light.
The berkey water filter removes the pathogenic bacteria to a log 7 degree and keeps it out of your drinking water. Log 7 equates to a 99.99999% bacteria removal rate.
Cleaning and Maintenance
Reverse Osmosis systems can have up to four filter elements, with each needing to be changed at differing intervals from four months up to two years. This replacement requires that the water pressure be shut off and part or all of the system be disassembled for maintenance. Additionally, the bladder tank should be washed with a chlorine solution at no longer than six-month intervals to kill any colonizing bacteria.
The black berkey water filters last 6000 gallons per set of 2 and typically 5 years or more before replacement is needed. The fluoride filter needs to be replaced every 2 years or 1000 gallons. As for maintenance, we recommend washing the lower chamber of the system with soap and water once per month.
Cost
A typical reverse osmosis system costs 20-65 cents per gallon.
The berkey water filter costs less than 2 cents per gallon and since it does not require electricity, berkey filters do not have added energy costs.
Taste
Typically, the taste for the reverse osmosis systems is very good.
Similarly, the taste of berkey water is also very good unless there is an abundance of ionized minerals in the source water. Our customers tell us daily how much they enjoy the taste of their berkey water.
Water Shortage In the Midst of a Flood?
Tuesday, May 18th, 2010As bizarre as it might seem on the surface, recent flooding on the Cumberland River in Tennessee has caused the mayor to ask people to cut their water usage. “If you don’t need a bath, don’t take it,” he pleaded.
The problem is not that the Nashville area is short of water. That is obvious after thirteen inches of rain over the weekend in early May, 2010 as pictures show expensive homes, cars, and property submerged with damage in the billions of dollars. No, the problem is a lack of clean and safe potable water. Often with flooding comes damage to the water distribution piping systems that feed the homes. This includes both city water and well water systems. When disease-infected or contaminated water mixes potable water, the result is of course, unsafe water.
Nashville Neighborhood Under Water
We all know that we are totally dependent on safe water for survival. We can live fifty or sixty days without food, but only a few days without water. Lack of potable water is one of the world’s biggest threats to human health. Everything about the functioning of our bodies requires water; the digestive system, nervous system, reproductive system, etc, and every cell in our bodies contains water.
Therefore, even in prosperous America, a crisis such as the one being experienced in Tennessee demands fresh, clean water for survival. Some residents are relying on whole house filter systems, reverse osmosis, or distillation to provide safe water. However, these systems do not operate when a power source is not available. And in the case of the Nashville flood, many parts of the city and towns have been without power for weeks. During these instances, those with gravity water filters are still able to produce clean purified water.
Flooding in Nashville
A gravity filter such as the Berkey filter works on a simple principle. The water is poured into an upper chamber and cannot get to the bottom chamber without passing through the black berkey filter element. The amazing adsorbing properties of the combination of over 6 different types of filtration media removes heavy metals, chlorine and chlorine compounds, volatile organic compounds, and pathogenic bacteria. In short, the unsafe water poured into the top is rendered safe just seconds later when it reaches the bottom reservoir.
Affected Tennessee residents are facing a long road to recovery and we should support them by any means possible as it will be weeks and months of cleaning up to get their lives back to normal. It’s important that the rest of us take heed to the challenges they are facing and understand that a Berkey water filter means safe drinking water in a crisis such as this.
Berkey Water Filters For Emergency Situations And Daily Health
Friday, May 7th, 2010Over the past couple decades there has been a growing concern about the quality of the water we drink. This has helped to fuel both the sales of bottled water and home water filters. However, as consumers have become more educated about their drinking water, we’ve seen a clear movement to greener product choices. Many have recognized that continually buying bottled water becomes very expensive and also has dramatic impacts on the environment, leaving millions upon millions of plastic bottles across our land and in our dumps, rivers, lakes, and oceans.
Bottles Upon Bottles
In 2009, for the first time in bottled water history, the bottled water consumption uptrend took a pause, while at the same time there was an even larger increase in home water filter purchases. There are many different types of water filters available on the market these days, but one of the best available for your daily health and emergency situations is the Berkey water filter.
All Water Filters Not Created Equal
There are people who think that “a water filter is a water filter,” but that could not be farther from the truth. Simply put, there are water filters out there of basic quality, water filters of premium quality, and everything in between. The Black Berkey filter used in all our Berkey systems was specially formulated using the highest quality ingredients in balanced proportions to provide the highest in water purification quality. It’ shouldn’t come as a shock that the quality of your drinking water and ultimately your health is directly correlated to the quality of the water filter you’re using.
Many water filters on the market today are only capable of filtering treated water. If one were to try filtering untreated water from a source such as a lake or pond using one of these other filters, the end result may be water with residual pathogenic bacteria such as E-coli or Giardia. This is due to the fact that these other water filters use cheaper ingredients, is part of the reason why they need frequent replacements, and are not designed to remove the dangerous bacteria that is found in many rivers, lakes, streams, and ponds.
Water Filter For Emergency Preparation
During an emergency, or even a remote camping trip, treated water may not be available. In this situation, the Berkey water filter shines. The berkey is capable of taking raw water and removing bacteria and cysts to a Log 7 degree, which in lamens terms means water purification, a higher removal level than the term you typically read about; filtration. Even if you’ve never been camping or ever had a desire to, when an emergency strikes, it can take days and even weeks for an emergency management group to assist with basic needs like water. In these situations, you want to be fully sure your water is purified to the highest degree.
Flooding in Tennessee - May 2010
We have seen plenty of disasters in the United States over the past few years and even more recently around the world in Haiti and Chile. Just this past week we’ve had massive flooding in Tennessee that has disrupted the majority of well and municipal water sources in that region, and a major Massachusetts water pipe break that cut water availability to 2 Million people. As a result, BigBerkeyWaterFilters.com has experienced a sharp rise in orders for berkey water filters in both of these regions as residents deal with this problem head on. The Berkey water filter will not only keep you and your family supplied with safe drinkable water in events such as these, but can be used to support your friends, neighbors, and other citizens, giving you an opportunity to help others in need.
Berkey Water Filters For Peace of Mind
Even if you believe you will never be a victim of a disaster or an emergency situation, the Berkey water filter is still a great choice for daily consumption. Think about it this way; if the berkey water filter is capable of turning raw pond water into something drinkable, then just imagine how clean it will make your well or municipal water. Let’s also not forget about the fact that the Berkey does not filter out the beneficial minerals that your body needs. This is something reverse osmosis filters and distillers cannot claim.
Every time you drink a glass of water, your body washes out toxins, but it also washes out important vitamins and minerals. If you’re not putting these vitamins and minerals back into your body at the same rate, you will eventually become deficient and body function will suffer. Let me reiterate that the more water you drink, the more important it is that you feed your body with a dense nutritional diet high in vitamins and minerals to counterbalance this continual flushing. Berkey water filters leave the beneficial minerals in your water that your body needs.
The cleaner and healthier your drinking water is, the more your body will love you for it. Start enjoying peace of mind and the health benefits that the lineup of Berkey water filters has provided to countless people over many decades.
Berkey Water Filters Cannot Be Shipped To California
Tuesday, March 30th, 2010This past November 2009, California signed into law AB 1953 / SB 1334 & 1395 / HSC Section 116875 and as a result directly affected the sales of all water filter and purification systems to the state. This revised “no lead law” as it’s commonly known, went into effect on January 1, 2010. Currently this law prevents any Berkey water filter from being sold to the state of California, and canvasses all Berkey products that comes in contact with water intended for drinking. This would include upper/lower chambers, all filters, and sport bottles.
The law stipulates that any “end-use device intended to convey or dispense water for human consumption through drinking or cooking,” as well as each of their individual components, materials and “pipe, pipe or plumbing fittings, or fixtures,” or flux, must be “lead free” as defined by California law. Under SB 1334, certification MUST be performed by an “independent ANSI-approved third party testing organization.” It appears that even if a product and each component of that product has no metal alloys and if a purification system actually reduces lead, under Section 116875, it must be be certified. An example of this would be the Berkey sport water purification bottle.
The Berkey sport bottle body utilizes LDPE, which must be certified, even though it is common knowledge that LDPE contains no lead, is very commonly used by food and water companies, and is monitored under federal regulations. Further, manufacturers are expected to reveal proprietary information regarding their systems, suppliers and manufacturers, without an absolute guarantee that such proprietary information will be kept confidential. This is of utmost concern due to the fact that if such proprietary information is conveyed to competitors, we would have no recourse. It also worth noting that if Berkey water filters desires to change any of their suppliers after certification, it appears that permission must be obtained by the certifying organization and that re-certification is mandatory, all at the expense of the company. Change of suppliers is a common occurrence as improvement of the Berkey product line is continually occurring.
Research indicates that there are at least two different certification standards available, but there seems to be disagreement as to which standards are acceptable to the state of California’s review Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC), the agency in charge of reviewing products and their certification. There is further confusion regarding testing protocols. While DTSC has issued an outline, it appears that the final protocols have yet to be settled upon. Throughout Berkey water filters ongoing research on this issue, they were unable to get clarification on the above requirements, instead it was suggested that “lawyers review the wording of the law to determine” how “they interpret the scope of the mandatory certification…”. Unfortunately, many questions were not answered by the January 1st deadline and as such, “strict compliance with the law” was recommended and is now being adhered to.
Here’s an example of one of the requirements:
…Listee shall promptly furnish to CC, in writing, the street address, hours of operation, anticipated dates when plants will be temporarily closed or shut down, anticipated dates when plants will temporarily cease production and all local or state holidays of each plant where the listed product is being manufactured or to be manufactured by or on behalf of Listee, and each location where the listed product is warehoused or stored by or on behalf of Listee. Listee shall also provide the name and telephone number of a contact person for each such plant or storage location, both at the time of application for evaluation and in the event of any changes in this information. Listee shall provide such information for all plants and storage locations, whether foreign or domestic. If the product is imported or to be imported, Listee shall also provide the name, street address, telephone number and contact person of the importer and the consignee…
Note: Berkey Water Filters does not have manufacturing plants or warehouses in the state of CA
This revised law has put the burden of proof on the manufacturer and is understandable, however the great additional expense will be difficult for Berkey water filters to absorb into the cost structure. To be clear, Berkey products do not contain lead and testing results from NSF/ANSI certified labs show that these systems reduce lead in water. If every state were to establish their own specific overarching certification criteria such as CA, small companies like Berkey would not be able to meet these requirements and would be put out of business.
Big Berkey Water Filters will continue to monitor the situation and hopefully gain clarification on the issues for which there are currently no definite answers. While many water purification and water filter companies are ignoring the law due to it’s vagueness, there is no interest on Berkey’s behalf to go this route. Berkey water filters considers it a high priority to support the tens of thousands of current CA customers in addition to potential future customer who have interest in the product and hope to come to a resolution soon.
Dan DeBaun of Big Berkey Water Filters on the George Berry Radio Show
Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010This past Friday 1/29/2010, Dan DeBaun, owner of BigBerkeyWaterFilters.com appeared for 1 hour on the George Berry radio show. Titled “Crash, Are You Ready?”, this show on the GCN network covers diverse topics ranging from food and water shortages to political and financial corruption.
George and Dan spoke about recent Haiti relief efforts and how Berkey Water Filters were being used by individuals and large relief organizations alike to provide potable drinking water in the region. Other topics covered were the degrading drinking water conditions here in the US and how the Safe Drinking Water Act passed by congress in 1974 has failed to protect the environment and the public’s drinking water. Click here to listen to the show, or right click and “save as file” to download and play in a media player of your choosing.
Dr Oz on Home Water Filters
Saturday, October 24th, 2009Just recently on Oct. 20th, 2009, Dr Oz did a segment on water quality showcasing some options for filtering your water. This is a great primer for understanding why home water filters, including a quality shower filter, are critical for the health of you and your family.
Home Water Filters Comparison
Given this is only a 7 minute segment, Dr Oz is unable to explore in detail some of the other water filtration solutions on the market. He covers filters representative of top consumer brands such as Pur, Aquasana, and Reverse Osmosis. While these are quality filters, they do lack some filtration capabilities, and their yearly costs are significantly higher than a basic Berkey water filter. I’ve gone ahead and created a berkey water filter comparison chart to stack up some of the more common and highly advertised water filters such as Pur, Aquasana, and Brita filters to our own Berkey filter. In a follow-up post, I will go into a more detailed analysis on this comparison.
Berkey Water Filters vs Berkey Water Purifiers
Sunday, November 23rd, 2008Interest in home water treatment products such as Berkey filters has grown tremendously over the past 15 years. Unfortunately, it isn’t always easy for consumers to know whether or not a particular product will actually be as safe and effective as the manufacturer claims at reducing various contaminants from your water supply. This is where the NSF, a international public health and safety company, plays a critical role.
The NSF (National Sanitation Foundation), headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan, is an independent testing laboratory that performs comprehensive testing and certification of filtration products. In order for a product to earn “certification” for reduction of a contaminant, it must be able to reduce a specific amount of that contaminant. Certification is voluntary, so it is important that the consumer ensures that the product they are considering purchasing has attained certification.
One critical filter feature that sometimes gets overlooked is the level to which the filter removes contaminants from the water. For carbon filters, focusing on the pore size has some value, but the most important statistic is at what degree this filtering occurs. For instance, there is a significant distinction between water filters and water purifiers. A water filter like the ceramic berkey filters must remove pathogenic bacteria at the 99.99% level, also known as log 4. On the other hand, a water purifier like the black berkey elements, must be able to demonstrate a 99.99999% reduction in pathogenic bacteria, known as log 7. This is a much stricter standard and NSF certification in this regard gives confidence to the consumer that they are getting a high quality water purifier. If you are interested in water purification, double check to make sure the manufacturer and/or seller is not just throwing the word “purifier” around as it does have technical significance.
As a general rule, look for filters labeled as meeting NSF/ANSI standard 53. This standard applies to point-of-use (POU) and point-of-entry (POE) systems with a focus on removing bad tastes, odors, and chlorine. Standard 53 certified filters substantially reduce many hazardous contaminants, including heavy metals such as copper, lead and mercury, disinfection byproducts, parasites such as Giardia and Cryptosporidium, pesticides, radon, and volatile organic chemicals such as methyl-tert-butyl ether (MTBE), dichlorobenzene and trichloroethylene (TCE). For those interested, Berkey also has a separate class of filters called pf-2’s that filter out arsenic and fluoride.
Don’t forget that no filter will give you good performance over the long term unless it receives regular maintenance. As contaminants build up, a filter can become less effective and actually can make your water worse by starting to release harmful bacteria or chemicals back into your filtered water. The more contaminated the water, the more often you should clean the filters. Happy filter shopping!
The Thirsty Berkey - For the Love of Clean Water
Emergency Preparedness - Berkey Water Filters to the Rescue
Wednesday, November 12th, 2008For the majority of suburbanites and city dwellers, the food supply rests solely of the effectiveness of large scale farming, transport supply chain systems, and local supermarkets. Rarely nowadays, do we find self sufficient households with the ability to live off the land via their crops, gardens, livestock, and local water sources. Compare this to 100 years ago when self sufficiency was much more prevalent, neighbor could rely upon neighbor to barter and trade for essentials, and the local town store filled in the gaps. Today, our idea of bartering with our neighbors lies more along the lines of borrowing the snow blower for the power washer.
The more our current model of food supply evolves, the more dependent our population becomes. This is a dangerous road we’ve been traveling down for a very long time. The dilemma can be compared to that of raising an animal in the zoo for 10 years and then releasing it into the wild and expecting it to be able to fend for itself. Under those circumstances that animal will not survive, and on many levels the majority of the US population is just as vulnerable. If a natural disaster does strike and our zookeeper can’t tend to us for a few days, where’s our food and water come from? We can’t expect relief organizations to pick up immediately where the zookeeper left off as it takes days and weeks to address those in need.
The percentage of the population that is prepared and has a backup plan is sorely low and is only trending lower due to the nature of our technological pursuits and progression. Due to the fact that you can go weeks without food but only days without water, emergency preparedness begins with potable water. The popularity of Berkey Water Filters stem from the fact that they filter and clean the dirtiest of water using gravity, without the need for electricity. This fact alone speaks volumes as to the inherent value that these systems possess, not to mention the piece of mind it brings to the owner. There’s an argument to be made that a water filter such as the Big Berkey is considered the most, if not one of the most important forms of emergency preparation. Stop and adjust your perspective for a moment and this reality becomes abundantly clear. If we spent just a tenth of the time preparing for a potential emergency that we do preparing for a economic downturn, we’d have a garage stocked full of food, water, supplies, and equipment. Unfortunately, I feel as though we’ve been hypnotized by our own technological advances into a false sense of security. New Orleans residents had the wake up call of a lifetime, and my hope is that the rest of the population is still not sleeping.
Click here for more information on how many berkey filters are needed.
The Thirsty Berkey - For the Love of Clean Water
