Like most people, our water is contaminated. I knew we had way too much fluoride, and that the nearby town was on a lead index, meaning it’s possible we have lead in our water too. Clean water is a major and important step in detoxing your home.
We also have extremely hard water, causing nasty lime buildup and ruining our bronze faucets. Who knows what it’s doing to our bodies! I knew it was something we needed to deal with, somehow, as we saved up for a proper indoor whole house water filter.
How Toxic Is Your Water?
However, I only recently found out how truly bad our water is. Environmental Working Group (EWG) has a Tap Water Database, where you can plug in your zip code and found out just how contaminated your water is. Once you enter, the zip code, you need to select your water utility provider. Our results?
Well, the good news is that lead and fluoride are not at toxic levels although I’m unhappy about any fluoride in our water since my daughter has already had fluoride poisoning.
The bad news? Look at these numbers:
Are. You. Kidding???!!!
Those 7 contaminants on the left are ALL linked to cancer and include:
- bromodichloromethane
- chloroform
- hexavalent chromium
- dibromochloromethane
- radiological contaminants
- and 2 others I won’t even attempt to write.
The other 10 had lower levels but it all adds up, doesn’t it? I mean many things bioaccumulate and thanks to the wonders of chemistry, some things are more toxic in minute levels.
That said, a whole home system can be pricy. Even an affordable system may needs some “in the walls” type work in your home and that can be costly. What on earth is a family with a tight budget to do?
Problems Solved With The Berkey Water Filter
This is why I was excited when Berkey reached out to me and offered me The Royal Berkey Water Filter system, which holds 3.25 gallons. This neat system sits on your counter and you can fill and refill as you like, until the filter needs changing. It’s perfect for our needs, even if it is big because we drink a LOT of water!
Berkey carries a lot of systems, from their 1 quart Go Model, to the 1.5 gallon Travel Berkey ideal for camping, all the way up to their 6 gallon Crown system. They have a total of 7 different models for every need and every size family.
The Royal Berkey Water Filter is perfect for my family (we drink a LOT of water) and it is truly needed for my drinking water! The Berkey removes fluoride, lead, pathogenic bacteria, viruses, arsenic, mercury, THMs, pharmaceuticals and much more. You can see the test results on how much of these toxins the Berkey water filter removed (greater than 97% for all of the tests documented here).
No sooner did I get this set up than my autistic daughter went RIGHT over to the spout to pour some out. And, we had a party this week…this was quite a conversational piece! Another green mama I know had a million questions and was totally excited to see it in use.
The Royal Berkey holds 2.5 gallons of water, but you can also purchase 1.5-gallon travel size or the 2.25 gallon which is ideal for a 4 person family.
Berkey Water Filter Contents
Your Berkey comes with Black Berkey Elements filters, designed to get to microscopic elements such as bacteria, parasites, and viruses. You can also add in The Berkey Fluoride and Arsenic Removal Water Filter for those metals plus other heavy metal ions. There are other filters you can buy as well, but those are the most critical ones. The Berkey also sells a variety of accessories, such as a shower filter and a stainless steel base to house your Berkey.
The downside was that while the directions asked me to make sure I had all the parts, it did NOT have a diagram of the parts! In fact, I thought I was missing pieces when it turned out the filter screws were already put on the filter. Augh!
I recommend you go to the EWG Tap Water Database to discover how contaminated your water actually is, and then consider some of the wonderful Berkey water filter options and learn more at my affiliate link. They often have sales, and they have free shipping for purchases over $99, as well as offers when you sign up for their newsletter.
Tutorial: How To Put The Berkey Water Filter Together
I created a short video (6 minutes) on how to put it together, in case you get confused too, and I show you all the pieces. One thing I will say is that with a movable faucet like mine, it was difficult to get the spout and the filter sealed up tightly when I filled it. I show you how I handled that in this video too! Other than that, even a petite woman like me can put this tall project together in a matter of minutes.
The Berkey Water Filter system was easy to put together and worked wonderfully, providing us clean water right away!
