Dear Editor:
I live an in area that is considered to have excellent water, however with time and age the delivery system is having some issues. I am a great water drinker so this is an important matter to me personally, not withstanding any kind of a meltdown. A friend of mine recommended that I buy a Berkey brand water filter. So I researched and of course found that they are not cheap. Being one that does so much with alternative purchases such as yard, estate type sales I almost choked when I heard the price. I contacted LPC Survival (aka Directive 21) an advertiser on SurvivalBlog and made my final purchase. They even tossed in free shipping. My friend also recommended buying two extra filters (there is space for four filters) because they will flow faster. He has had his system over 10 years and loves it.
So after sweating a few financial bullets and putting it together, I have to just write about how wonderful it is. I told my husband who has had a kidney infection that it is better for this item to filter the water rather than having his kidneys do the work. So after I set it up lo and behold I read a negative item on this system [with an earlier generation of black filter cartridges] that it would not even filter out red dye, imagine my dismay after having spent a bundle. So I tried the red dye test, I had a little bottle of it and so I poured almost half of it in. After a week, still no pink water, I looked inside the top and the water was still red. I was truly impressed. I cleaned out the top, checked all the plastic screws (a sort of a tune up) and continued using it, I think that if the screws were loose, red dye would show. A friend tried the water and described it as having a velvety texture.
I have since purchased an extra spout kit just in case that fateful day arrives and postal delivery is no longer available. I purchased that spare because it gets used so much I want an instant replacement. We all want to be prepared and there are many things that we can cut corners with or simply survive without, but clean water is not one of them. So I will buy used and refurbished but there are a couple of things that you simply must suck up and buy new. I chose a Berkey water filter as one. This is a “must have” and I highly recommend it.
Thank you for your blog and all the education it has given me. – D.N. in Spokane