Water Treatment Guide

As it became clear that we can no longer count on Berkey for reliable replacement elements, we started searching for new filters so that you, and our many existing Berkey customers, can continue to use your Berkey system, with confidence.

Like many of you, we have enjoyed using a Berkey for filtering our drinking water for many years. However, over the past year and a half, Watermatters™ has received increasingly frequent reports of Black Berkey replacement elements that produce relentlessly cloudy water...

PFAS are a group of persistent manmade chemicals that are gaining a lot of attention. They are virtually everywhere. Our lifestyles have been intertwined with the use of these chemicals since the 1940’s. They have been used for manufacturing everyday products such as household cleaning products, protective coatings for textiles, stain-resistant carpeting, firefighting foams, cosmetics, non-stick cookware, personal care products and even dental floss… to make it glide better....

Chlorine, chloramine (chlorine plus ammonia) and ozone are the most commonly used chemicals for disinfecting municipal tap water. These disinfectants are powerful oxidizing agents that react with organic material present in the water to which they have been applied. These reactions cause the formation of more than 700 new chemical compounds called disinfection byproducts (DBPs) many of which are know to be toxic. Only 9 of these are currently regulated. 

When chlorine is added to water it reacts with organic matter present in the water resulting in the formation of hundreds of chemical compounds called chlorination byproducts. Although these byproducts are not yet well understood, they are known to be toxic. Only 9 of them are regulated... 

Trihalomethanes (THMs) are a group of 4 chemical compounds that form in water disinfected with chlorine. They are known to be toxic but are not yet well understood by science. Of over 700 known chemicals that result from adding disinfectant to water, only 9 are currently regulated...

Chloramine is used as an alternative to chlorine for disinfecting drinking water. Canada is currently (2019) in the process of updating its guidelines for the use of chloramine in drinking water. Chloramine is a more persistent but less effective disinfectant than chlorine...

KDF (Kinetic Degradation Fluxion) and Chlorgon are different brand names for an alloy of copper and zinc that is used in shower filters and some drinking water filters. It removes free chlorine from water by reversing the electrochemical process that originally produced the chlorine.... 

Best methods to remove disinfectant chemicals from your shower or bath water depend on whether your tap water is disinfected with chlorine or chloramine, and whether you are allergic to sulfites.

Vitamin C is the standard means of dechlorination for critical medical applications such as dialysis where the presence of chlorinated water would be catastrophic. It is also used for the de-chlorination of lab samples. Water utilities must remove chlorine and chloramine before discharging... 

1000 mg of Vitamin C dissolved in bath water will instantly neutralize chlorine or chloramine in a medium size bathtub. Vitamin C is the most effective medium to use in shower filters for removing chloramine from shower water.  Vitamin C will decrease the pH of water which is an added benefit...

Chlorine may take days to dissipate when left standing in an open container. 
Chloramine (chlorine plus ammonia) will dissipate more slowly than chlorine. 
Exposure to sunlight will help speed up the dissipation process however, because of the time required, air dissipation is not a practical way...