Water Filters What’s UP?

What’s the deal with tap water? We shower in it and drink it….but is it safe? There is so much controversy these days. 

Living here in Chicago, and in any big city in the US, we have heard many conflicting opinions about tap water such as: “we have the cleanest tap water in the country” versus “watch out, our tap water is like Flint, Michigan”. I myself have wondered what is really going on. From what I can tell in Chicago the lead levels are quite high in the water. That’s not safe for our brains. And, in my opinion, the levels that are allowed by the EPA in the country’s water aren’t safe either. If the rumors are true about the water being tainted, then how can I protect myself? We are all aware that we need to stay hydrated and drink lots of it. It’s one of the most important things we do for ourselves. We also need to make sure we are maintaining sustainable practices, and not being wasteful by buying water in single-use plastic bottles. But, what are we gonna fill our YETI’s, Hydro Flasks, or Nalgenes with?

Instead of constantly worrying about my water, I decided to take matters into my own hands. I don’t like the water filter pitchers because they are cumbersome to fill all the time and I always forget to replace the filter, which negates the process. If you so much as leave the water filter in your pitcher for a month too long you could be breeding tons of nasty bacteria that are more harmful than the toxins in our water. So, I looked into the other options I had that didn’t break the bank . The top filtration system that kept coming up again and again, while researching, was The Berkey. Typically when you filter everything out of the water you take out important minerals that reside in our water. The Berkey keeps the important minerals intact while taking all the bad stuff out, such as lead, flouride, and chlorine. Most other filtration devices do not.

So I bought the Big Berkey and haven’t looked back. I think it’s great for apartment living and it’s an amazing water filter. Depending on how often you use the Berkey, the filters should be replaced about every 2 years or longer! Now that’s what I’m talking about. It filters out inorganic contaminants, viruses, pathogenic bacteria, heavy metals, micro organisms, pharmaceutical drug contaminants and much more.There are a couple of other countertop gravity filtration system options that offer similar benefits. The ProPur stainless countertop filter is very similar to The Berkey, but is known for its stainless steel spigot. The AquaVas by AquaCera is an interesting option in that it combines a ceramic pillar filtration system with a ceramic reservoir for filtered water.

It’s unfortunate that we have to worry about these things in our water system. Still, I like to allow the knowledge to empower me. And, now you know, and you can do something about it. You can protect yourself and your family against what’s lurking in the pipes!