Water Filter vs Water Purifier
The term water filter is universally used to describe many water filtration devices including the Berkey systems. While the term can be an accurate description, the meaning when talking about water treatment standards is different.
There are two different classification standards for water treatment devices...
Water Filters
The first classification is a water filter. To meet this standard a water treatment device must meet the following criteria:
| CONTAMINANT | SPECIES |
REMOVAL STANDARD |
| Pathogenic Bacteria | Klebsiella terrigena | <99.99% (Log 4) |
Water Purifiers
The second classification is a water purifier. To meet this standard a water treatment device must meet the following criteria:
| CONTAMINANT | SPECIES | REMOVAL STANDARD |
| Pathogenic Bacteria |
Klebsiella terrigena |
>99.9999% (Log 6) |
| Virus | Polio and Rota |
>99.99% (Log 4) |
| Cysts | Cryptosporidium and Giardia |
>99.9% (Log 3) |
All Berkey systems that contain the Black Berkey elements are classified as purifiers. In fact Berkey Purifiers remove 99.9999999% (log 9 reduction) of pathogenic bacteria. This makes Berkey the only true gravity flow purification system.
Please check our competition for comparison, and see for yourself what classification they claim. Some are able to reach the level of purification using harsh chemicals like iodine or chlorinating tablets. We use no chemicals only simple microfiltration coupled with our unique ionic adsorbtion process. These two processes combined offer unmatched abilities.
