Berkey Water Filter tests negative fluoride, positive for coliform bacteria. 

I've had direct dealings with the EPA and wouldn't trust them as far as I could spit. My yard flooded with run off from the DPW next door...the ENTIRE yard was contaminated. You could see rainbow slicks floating on top and the yard STUNK to high heaven of chemicals. I immediately called the mayor out of concern. he couldn't have cared less and asked me what I expected. I said my yard decontaminated. "Not gonna happen" Next day I called the EPA who came down, went and "spoke" to the DPW workers and that's the last I heard of it until I started threatening to go to the media and get Erin Brockovich involved. The result of that? Threats to my safety and my car windows smashed. The EPA doesn't give a rat's ass, they're only looking out for THEIR interests like every other alphabet soup agency. They don't care about us. This is active genocicde as I see it.

The EPA is only to control American Businesses under the guise of preventing Global Warming. Not one single "protectie" government agency actually does what their title suggests.

Absolutely BUT...when I went to sell that house, the EPA was up my ass due to previous contamination by Alcoa which was not disclosed to me as I inherited the house...and I couldn't sell it until they did their invasive testing which meant pretty much everything in a container that was scented had to be removed by them, left on my front porch in huge bins for 2 or 3 days while their 'space pods' took air samples -first test came back inconclusive so they had to retest, drilling through my basement. They are another bullshit alphabet city gov't organisation that should be defunded and disbanded.

I've been trying to find out which type of arsenic lead arsenate is. Would you happen to know?

I, too, am a licensed water system operator. I also hold a laboratory certificate. You are correct on all counts. Also, in addition to not touching the inside of the lid you shouldn't even set it down when it's removed from the sample bottle.

I just got notified of your original post, and I cannot seem to find it on this page. We did not censor it. It was as follows: ALERT: I have gone through 4 pairs of Berkey Black filters with the most recent being June 2020, November 15, 2020, and today March 29, 2021. I am a physician and understand the issues cleaning of the Berkeys and filtration. I have three Katadyn $ 365.00 Ceramics pump filters, two Life Savers, and A Survivorman water filter. I have traveled extensively to third countries, India, China, Africa, Philippines, South America and know the issues of contaminated water. I have just thrown away my Berkey system after discovering three out of four of the black filters ( pairs) have had serious, SERIOUS, quality control issues, namely the water in the upper reservoir eventually leaks through the base of the plastic hub at the bottom end of the filter because they have not been properly sealed to the carbon block. The leaks developed over a period of just 2-3 months' use and fewer than a few hundred gallons of easy-to-filter tap water had passed through them. The initial filtration rate was about right but starting last week, I noticed there was a definite louder trickling sound and the upper reservoir was emptying in less than two minutes. Not one, but BOTH filters had failed, and that was the same with two of the other pairs. A third pair I had installed prior to this last one had failed to filter below the halfway mark on the top reservoir. I scrubbed the filters with a brush like the direction said. They were spotless, yet would not filter through the bottom half of the upper reservoir even when filtering only clear tap water since they were installed. I have spent over a thousand dollars on these Berkeys and filters- all wasted. Make sure you listen to the trickle sound after you refill your top reservoir. You should barely be able to hear a drip. When the sound gets louder or the top reservoir empties more quickly than previously, then you know your hub has come unglued. I would NOT, I repeat NOT! rely on these filters in a true grid down situation where you really had to rely on the Berkey to filter your water. All it takes is one leak and you are down for the count from Giardia, E. coli or other coliforms. I would stock up on red dye to test the filters at a minimum monthly, and not the recommended 6 months. I suspect there may be a lot of people out there who do not realize their filters are defective because they have only been filtering their tap water and not really putting the Berkey to the test-- over the long hall. All mine worked initially but failed after just a few months. Disclosure. I have no interest in any water filtration company.

@@GiveThemWell for ma y of us who have had to consider this a major purchase and save up money for it... this a bummer

@@GiveThemWell what would you recommend instead of berkey then?

@@GiveThemWell yeah what filters or water filtration do you use??

@@GiveThemWell where did u purchase your filters? Direct from Berkey’s or through Amazon? And did you notify Berkey’s of this?

Do the black filters have silver in th them?

What do you use then ?

@@angiepattillo3599 I would imagine the Black Filters?

specs for the ceramic berkey filters say that they are impregnated with silver. so as an authorized dealer, how can you say they don't have silver? someone is lying !

The doulton ceramic filters are impregnated with silver. LSD is getting commission from berkey..

I was thinking the same thing.

How do you know they didn’t?

Better, use sterile gloves.

Thanks for watching! Those tests are expensive!

All valid and excellent tips. Thank you!

yes, but as far as I know nothing proved yet..by now I should be dead cause I've been using deodorant high in alumninum for 30 years...

I am not happy to learn about the aluminum in these filters

@@natt73 Its not that you would be dead its that you can get Alzheimer's.

Sacha Abreu Alzheimer’s final chapter is stopping your heart to beat...

Aluminum contact, ingestion, and injection (vaccines) all have different effects on the body thus allowable limits. Example, Visine is safe in your eyes, but if ingested will kill you.

My exact thoughts. Your kitchen and bare hands might mess up the results, but thanks for the video.

i was actually about to ask if your son washed his hands..lol

The bacteria has to come from somewhere, and it's entirely possible it's existent in the water reservoir as a result of simple contamination. If your tap water tested negative, there's nothing in the filter, regardless of type, that would spontaneously generate a pathogen. That's the most likely vector. Coliform bacteria is part of our natural flora, and so you yourselves are the source. Could the Berkey filter that type of bacteria out? Probably, but even the world's best filter cannot clean what's in the reservoir. I suggest you clean it thoroughly and disinfect it, then try again.

Still waiting for your video. Oh, you don't have any.

"Filters" do NOT remove or kill bacteria, You MUST kill bacteria with UV or chemicals.

Coliform can also indicate deadly bacteria. I know, I have citrobacter. It can be fatal!!!

Glad you enjoyed it!

+Rol Del retired :) we're working on a new water project with verifiable results. stay tuned...

Yeop that's what they want us to have inside us so when the 5g towers get a power boost we are all ultra conductive.

Ironically, water used in soda is some of the cleanest on Earth.

@@GiveThemWell Yeah it can be some of the cleanest, but more pointing out that you put all this effort and importance into your water and then drink a soda.

+Edward MacGregor I smell a science project!

Yes! Absolutely! I think if that works then at least there is a way to get the activated alumina out! If you do end up doing a test on that please be sure to post it so I can see.. Thanks

@@ez591 i know this was 4 years ago but I was thinking: buy an extra charcoal stick or bag and put it in the bottom chamber maybe 🙂

That comment should be removed. Coliform could indicate dangerous bacteria such as citrobacter, which I have been infected with from a contaminated well. The mortality rate is 13-45%. Please stop downplaying Coliform! It can be DEADLY!!!

@@naturelover8105 I'm unclear on why you say "that comment should be removed". I would like to hear more. I'm also willing to check out any reliable sources, such as articles, you suggest. I don't see anything wrong with my original post. I didn't say don't test water. I referred to info on taking samples correctly, as you can see.

Very valid concern. Have you found a solution? Could be helpful to others with similar sensitivities.

It does NOT remove bacteria. I bought one because I have a citrobacter infection (BAD) but then a friend that is an expert said filters do NOT work on bacteria. Bacteria can only be killed with UV or chemicals. I wasted $320.

True. UV, some chemicals, extensive boiling, or a combination of these methods will kill most bacteria.

+yaahme Please be aware that the manufacturer of the white ceramic filters state that they must be replaced every 6 months regardless of how many gallons are put through them. Many customers who use the white ceramics are unaware of this fact. The black berkeys are recommended as the upgrade to the white ceramics for many reasons (higher contaminant removal rates, etc), however this frequent replacement requirement results in the black berkeys being cheaper as they do not have a time limit where they must be replaced.

raymondxo yes, that's a great question. The filtration test results for any system would be the same regardless of the water source. So, if there was aluminum in the well water and it was removed higher to higher than 95% levels, same result would apply to aluminum removed from water sourced from a dehumidifier also. Most particles found in the air would also be found in water, so most of that has most likely already covered in prior tests unless there was a specific uncommon airborne chemical that you were referring to.

Thanks for responding. No, there were no specific water contaminants I was thinking of. I just wanted to know if the dehumidifier water was a safe source to filter for drinking water. I have heard some say that the dehumidifier leaves some chemicals, bacteria contaminants etc. I just wanted to know if the filters are able to remove all these contaminants. Basically just a safety concern.

I know this post is quite old but just wanted to put in that that dehumidifiers have a lot of braised unions in them, and it depends on what kind of material that they use to solder those unions because some manufacturers still use leaded solder because it is not controlled by FDA. The water in them is not meant to be consumed.

We'd LOVE to test this again, but time and money :(

for a minute i thought i was watching Dennis miller! thx for the video

huh?

The test results said high strontium. I am not familiar with the FDA guidelines. Did you look them up?

Our Berkey sits alone, empty, in our garage. I can't find the science to back up its benefits, and I worry about the bacteria stored at room temperature in its chambers and filters. Would love to run more tests - but those are surprisingly expensive and difficult to find. Considering a European agency.

@@GiveThemWell what did you replace the Berkey with?

+easybullet3 life gets in the way of youtube.

+easybullet3 after these and a few more tests, we couldn't find a reliable source that showed any of these products were safe or legitimately improving our already acceptable tap water, so we hung it up.

Zanga Water do you mean that you have not found any water filter that can effectively remove Fluoride ?

life gets in the way of fresh water? sounds like you are supporting another water filtering company.

@@easybullet3 The only filtration methods I know of are: reverse osmosis filter & distillation

Hey, anything that removes fluoride is a bonus. Stay healthy!

GraymanTactics Which one?

+BOOSTEDLASER it's actually the opposite.

+freqazoidiac Actually, it isnt

+Ralph A. Wolf bad troll, shows your age.

Staar Gaazing hell no u will get lots of defizites in minerals

@@Annalou1229 Add trace minerals after distillation.

+raymondxo apparently, that's a HUGE problem. We approached our local water company and they wouldn't touch it. Crazy.

+Andros Noe This Zanga water guy isn't trustworthy. He doesn't follow basic science. Why doesn't he flat out say that someone in his household contaminated the filters with bacteria by handling them with their unclean hands! He even states he is not sure which water they ran through the Zero Water filter when preparing the lab test samples...he thinks it may have been Berkey water!

+PleaseCiteYourSources can't wait to see your tests, bruh.

Technically, you can't kill minerals. Most necessary minerals come from food.

How much did you see it cost?

Mine without the flouride the big berkey with the main filters was $278.

And the flouride ones wore on sale really cheap basically I will save around $150 each year just buying the filters and not bottle water! Its waaay cheaper.

Found this on a Berkey website: Yes, this is normal. the first few flushes of the filters will release carbon into the water and increase the PPM's. This is not harmful and will subside after this dust washes away.

Thank you.

Did you prep your filters first!!

And there's the magic.

Why would you ask him? He cannot be trusted. He is giving Berkey a bad rap even though he or someone in his household likely contaminated the filter with their dirty hands. He refuses to retest even after a Berkey rep left a comment on how to take sample water correctly.

He said in another comment that he's just using tapwater.

Honestly, we're not sure.

great question.

Jesus saves water? Last time I checked bro turned it into wine. Not a bad switch if you ask me!

Upgrade!

About $200 per test.

Interesting. Some people use cotton, charcoal, and moringa powder as a homemade filter, and there's science that supports that may work. How do you test the cotton-filtered water?

We tried to crowdfund water tests, but couldn't get the numbers we needed. Comprehensive impartial water laboratory tests are upwards of $500.

LOL old age, too cheap to get bifocals!