There are few things more basic for human survival and health than having clean water to drink.
My experience in the Philippines taught me how much we take it for granted that we do not have to struggle daily to access clean water, or for that matter, to access water at all. Those of us in North America or other developed parts of the world have such an incredible privilege of being able to turn on a tap to find drinkable water, safe from most types of bacteria, parasites, and disease.
Yet, even our water is not ideal. Run-off from commercial agriculture includes herbicides and pesticides. An alarming number of pharmaceutical drugs have been found in tap water. Then there are concerns over exposure to various heavy metals, among a host of other contaminants found even in our "clean" water.
Our family has always chosen to have some sort of water filtration system, even if it's a very simple and inexpensive system like a Brita or PUR filter. Two years ago, we switched over to a Berkey Light system, based on many rave reviews that I had read, research and information provided by Berkey, and the fact that a number of health-minded companies I respected carried the Berkey line and highly recommended it.
I'm still so happy with our choice. The water tastes so fresh and pure. Friends and family that visit have commented on the wonderful taste.
The large capacity of the system is perfect for a family, as we can usually get away with refilling it about once per day (sometimes more if I'm using it for cooking water). I do wish it filtered a little faster, so the best way to do it is to fill it before going to bed at night, for a full system of filtered water in the morning, but the quality of filtration is worth waiting for.
We even have two of these Berkey Sport Bottles (which use the same filtration system). These are ideal for being out and about, particularly for travelling places where water quality will be dicey. A friend recently borrowed our bottle for his trip to Nigeria, and this allowed him to freely drink water anywhere without worrying about sanitation or safety. They're also perfect for camping or hiking.
What exactly does the Berkey filter out?
Taken from the website:
The Royal Berkey® system removes pathogenic bacteria, cysts and parasites entirely and extracts harmful chemicals such as herbicides, pesticides, VOCs, organic solvents, radon 222 and trihalomethanes. It also reduces nitrates, nitrites and unhealthy minerals such as lead and mercury. This system is so powerful it can remove red food coloring from water without removing the beneficial minerals your body needs. Virtually no other system can duplicate this performance.
For more detailed information on exactly what these filters remove, see this page.
I love that the filters are self-sterilizing and that they can actually be cleaned when they the filtration rate begins to slow down. You simply take them out, rub them with ScotchBright pads under running water, and put them back in. A set of two filters (each system uses two at once) will last for 6,000 gallons!
Would you like to win a Royal Berkey Water Filtration System ($283 value) from LPC Survival?
Rather than simply leaving comments, I'm trying out a new method for entering giveaways. Click below to complete one Rafflecopter form, for all of your multiple entries, and then you're done!
Giveaway ends 12:01 AM on Saturday, September 15, 2012.
I would love to win so I could have the healthiest water possible for my family.
Would so love to win a Berkey! Oh the joy to have fresh, clean, safe water instead of water that tastes like it came straight from the clorox botte.
I would absolutely LOVE this! We have city water so it is needed!
we currently drink tap water, would loooove to be able to have a berkley!
I'd love to win a Berkey because our water tastes terrible!
We are moving to a new rental house and won't be able to move our under-the-sink filter, so I'm looking for a new option. This would be wonderful!
I've been hearing great things about Berkeley water filters. I'd love to try one myself! I didn't know before that there were different sizes and styles. How great!
I'm terrible at remembering to change my water filter in my Brita Pitcher. This would be a great replacement for that!
LOVE LOVE LOVE to win!!!!
Our family drinks tons of water, and this would be wonderful! I want our water to be as fresh and clean as possible, and I have wanted a Berkey for a long time... it is totally on my "appliance" wish list!
I live in a community with very hard water, and the practice of fracking for natural gas is very commonplace here, which poisons land and water. I haven't been able to afford more than a basic Brita filter, but even with that the water still tastes metallic to me. I would absolutely love to win this filtration system!
While we have amazing tap water in BC, anything we can do to take the junk out is a major plus in my book!
Our well water at home gets kinda brown sometimes. Winning a Berkey would be great!
Because it filters out metals and you can even purify river water if need be.
Winning one of these would be such a blessing to our family.
love to win...
My wife has been wanting a Berkey for a couple years. I would love to win one for her.
I would love to win this. We have really nasty city water and can't afford to do anything else about it right now.
I've been looking at these water filters for a while. I would love to win one!
This system seems amazing.
I would love to win one because we spend a lot of money having water delivered to our home. I've been reading about them, but have been afraid to "take the plunge." They almost sound too good to be true.
I would love to win a Berkey so I can filter the bad stuff out of my family's water.
I've been hearing a lot about these online & I would love to win one for our family. :-)
I want to win bc I live in MD and kids have tobe tested for lead bc if the water around here!
I'd love to win a Royal Berkey and be able to provide my family with the best drinking water. Thanks for the giveaway!
Berkey filtration is awesome
I'd love to win to try this amazing product!
I would love to win this filter! It sounds like it is the best!
I commented on the website indicated, but wasn't sure if that was the right place. Thank you for the giveaway opportunity. As I posted on the other site, we already have a Big Berkey and love it, but we go through so much water each day, we often wish that we had gotten a larger one. If we were to be lucky enough to win, a very good friend who has wanted a Berkey system for a good while would be given the system that we do have. So it would be a double giveaway! :-)
What a neat giveaway. We are on a community well, but the water coop just started adding some questionable things to it. I will look into this company. Thank you!
I would love to be able to filter our water to get rid of the chlorine and other stuff.
This would be great to have!
Even though my county's water is supposed to be the best in the water, you can never underestimate the impact that chemicals can have on your health.
We are in need of a good water filtration system. Would love to win this!
I would love to have one of these for our family.
We are right across the road from a conventional farm and I would love to filter our water because (sadly) I don't know what's in it!
This is my dream prize! I would love a Berkey!!!
I have been wanting a Berkey for a couple of years now. We have nasty rusty well water at the place we are living at now, so it'd be super nice to have lovely (relatively tasteless) water. My poor little Pur water filter is barely cutting it.
I love my Berkey and would love to win one for my friend.
This is on my list to acquire as soon as I can set aside the money!
Our water isn't very good tasting and I wonder about what chemicals we are ingesting when we drink it. This would be great to win! I love the website, and love the one with the white LED base a lot. :-)
I have been wanting a Berkey for quite a while now but can't afford it. Have heard so many good things about them. A really important aspect of the Berkey to me is the removal of flouride from the water. Thanks so much for this grear giveaway.
I've wanted one of these for years, but the money has always had to go elsewhere. Thanks for the opportunity!
I just got the Berkey Light. My son wants won too.
Oh my!!! I would love to have this filter!!
Would love to win one for my family!
I would love one of these...have been reading about them for a couple of years on your blog. You just never know what is in the water that comes out of the tap, and the Berkey filter helps give peace of mind.