Everyone wants me to comment on their particular brand of device. Go back and watch the video! Your device cannot filter out a virus! And when you don't believe that, go online and do some basic research. There are a tremendous amount of lies and misinformation coming from manufacturers of water filter products. I am hoping people learn this before trusting any filter when you actually have to put questionable water through it. I could not live with myself knowing I might be responsible for the death of people who buy products I sell with a lie attached to it.
ForbiddTV If you drink ceramic filtered water from 3rd world countries, you could be taking a terrible risk whether bacteria or virus. Some pocket filters are designed for U. S. only. MSR filter works fine in U. S. as far as bacteria but there is NO filter in existence that can filter viruses. The U. S. is not yet a third world country. It may soon be considering that the authoritarian bureaucracy is now in total control. If you are concerned about viruses, use aqua pure which has a neutralizer and detailed instructions on how to use it. But MSR water filter has a charcoal element that gets rid of any bad taste. Katadyn Swiss made water filter is very difficult to filter in dirty, sandy water without prefiltering but filters out 100% bacteria through tiny pores that enable it to filter out 100% bacteria
Ceramic filters are small micro-porous elements. They are designed to clog as they remove contaminents from water. This clogging action directs water into a different porous channel for contaminent removal. THAT STOPS CHANNELING WATER. If the pour "DDIAMETER" is 3 micron, or 5 micron, than the water will be clarified to that pores diameter...equalling a 3 or 5 micron filtration. I suggest prefiltering water via a mesh 10 micron pretreatment filter. My reasoning is a pretreatment rids the water of any heavy debri, prior to final filtration. I suggest simple mesh filters (2-4) mounted in a Bucket. This increases water flow into the the pretreatment tank to be final filtered. Dependent on where you are this is sufficent in the US & Canada's.....BUT..... for unknown water supplies a final step should be observed. After treatment to conduct one of three measures.... BOIL, CHEMICAL, UV treatment. A UV WAND is the easiest, but it takes batteries and dependent of turbidity and ammount of water being sterilized will take multiple UV Actions to complete the task. Boiling...a HARD BOIL IS REQUIRED...(not little buubles). A 1-3 minute boil dependent of debri is required. Unfortunately this takes time, effort, energy and material. Lastly is Chemical....A tablet or measurement is used to a given ammount of water. EX: 1Tablet to 1 pint of water. This procedure takes a chemical to react in a certain ammount of Time. Therefore dependent on chemical it could be 30 minutes to 4hrs. In the backwoods with questionable water.....ceramic filtration and chemical PURIFICATION is simplest and works. Some are better tasting than others, without any after taste at all. Base camps alot of people final clarify water by clear glass jars in DIRECT FULL SUNLIGHT (UV) for hours. THE CHOICES ARE YOURS...NONE IS PERFECT !! BUT getting beaver fever and shitting and throwing up for 3-5 days you'll figure it out. Be and get educated, It's not that expensive to do.
after filtering the water. Boil the water to steralize the microbes out of the water. you can also boil the ceramic filter every week or so to steralize it.
As a backpacker, it is considered best practice to regard all naturally occurring water sources in North America as contaminated. That said, most backpackers use only mechanical filtering and, when done properly, have good results. Viruses are not a major concern in the wild. In human communities, however, it is a different story. Anywhere where there is the possibility of human feces or urine draining into the water supply, you should be concerned about human borne viruses. In such cases, it is a good idea to use some form of sterilization IN ADDITION to mechanical filtering. This removes particulate matter prior to sterilization and typically makes the sterilization process more effective. Boiling water works well if you have sufficient fuel and time. Chemical sterilization works well, when done correctly, but can leave a bad taste. Sterilization can be accomplished in a couple of additional ways. First, you can use a solar oven to concentrate sunlight. The sunlight creates heat and sterilizes the water. Note: you CAN sterilize water below boiling temperature but it will take substantially longer. Second you can use a Steripen to use UV light to sterilize the water. They are effective against viruses, bacteria, and protozoa. Steripens are available in USB rechargeable models so you could use a solar-usb recharger panel to keep it charged.
Cant you just prefilter the water and then distill it? Wouldnt that take care of viruses bacteria and contaminates? Im looking for the easiest method possible for emergency purposes. I dont have a grand to spend on a system for catching rainnwater and gravity filters. I do know that i can build a gravity fed system myself but as to what filter to trust to buy idk as i cant trust what any manufacturer say. I dont trust the berkey filters. Ans as far as a portable system for campimg and hiking idk which to trust either. I would like a backup for water that covers all basics in case water gets turned off or if it gets so bad in the city we have to leave. My ideas so far are building a system with 3 buckets as a prefilter with charcoal sand and gravel. Then filter it thru either a gravity fed system also homemade with bought filters, or distilling it after prefiltering it in the buckets. Or after prefiltering running the water thru zerofilter graviry pitcher then boiling it. I would still need a solution besides distilling for portable scenario. What system do u reccomend for camping or hiking? And what ceramic filter is trustworthy to at least remove contaminats such as heavy metals chlorine floride and other chemicals etc? Alexapure i was possibly looking at but idk. Thanks for any help u can give. I need ro cover all bases here and want several ways to filter and purify water in any circumstance needed. Sorry about the spelling mistakes im in a rush.
@@ForbiddTV The thing is, I am forever searching for answers to the questions whether distilled water can be easily enriched with minerals and how and if it's necessary...can the body take prolonged intake of distilled water without adding any minerals?
You also get minerals from your food. Distilled water is safe to drink, but you are right that it doesn't have the minerals you would get from the ground sourced water.
@@ForbiddTVNothing seems to beat groundwater, rainwater is full of the crap we put into the air, distilled water is devoid of minerals, thus it'll be looking for them where it first encounters them, i/e/ our bodies, then distilled isn't just distilled, it needs more times to get near the pure state people are apparently looking for, etc etc etc...all in all I've come to the conclusion that this is yet another discussion thoroughly contaminated by the aggressively gullible "crystal people" , that it is hard to find any sensible or scientifically sound videos on the subject in between their wild and shouty claims and that I'll probably be using reverse osmosis as a last resort, in case that no potable water is available, but I need to look more into that. Well, your video was the first approaching sanity on the subject of filtration, so thanks for that, the search continues.
Wow. I was skeptical after watching your video the first time. But it motivated me to do a bit more research on the topic through the CDC and other sources and found out you are completely correct. Had you not brought this to my attention I never would have done that. Thank you.
I just checked the cdc website and they say that a rolling boil for 1 minute is all that's needed. They then list bleach as an alternative, and finally tablets (like iodine) as a 3rd alternative. It seems in an emergency situation, one could use a filter system like this and then boil for 1 minute to have safe water.
We lived for 5 months on home sanitised water. We pumped water from a small pond through a 3 micron filter. Then we boiled the water Then we filtered the water again through a clean unused 3 micron filter. Best water I have ever tasted. We processed enough water for 3 grown men, 11 laying hens, 15 house cats( one mama with 4 siblings 10 kittens) and our big dog. About 30 gallons a day We did this for 5 months every day. From 01/22/2019 through 06/10/2019 By the beginning of June the pond was growing a lot of Algie and the water became unusable. Also because the filter canister was clear plastic, Algie wanted to grow in there also We had to dispose of the filter canister when we moved to a different place to live.
Guys he is telling you the truth. Had a buddy in the early 80's at Philmont Scout Ranch and he didn't wait the 30 minute wait time from the iodine tabs. When we got back he had to go to the hospital. lost over 75 pounds with that amoeba. I remember that creek was crystal clear mountan water. I use to drink out of streams every weekend and fishing all day as a kid. Not now.
ForbiddTV...thank you for this information. I believe that all the arguing back and forth, is because you have done something that the regular US public is unprepared for. You have taken them out of their comfort zone. This is typical anywhere you go, however; it's too prevalent here in the US, where most people have not been exposed to the problems that other nations have with drinking water. Most Americans are too entrenched on how privileged they are in comparison to the rest of the world. In Cuba, where I came from nearly 40 years ago, my family used an archaic ceramic filtration urn filter to remove dirt out of the water. The filter never was cleaned or changed. My mother then would boil the filtered water, and then let it cool, before pouring it on bottles that had been boiled. This was a regular means by which many Cubans cleaned their water. We did not expect better drinking water from the Castro regime. Ceramic filters or for that matter, most will improve the taste of water. But ask people who never had to boil water is something they are not prepared to accept because they have lived much too comfortable lives. Thank you for this information. And thank this nation for enabling us to drink water straight out of the tap without having to boil it in most cases. But the again, we Americans are too ready to still get our water from a bottle sold at a store. We have things much too good in this country, but few understand this, or are willing to err on the side of caution, when told to change their paradigm. So they will fight you for telling them that not all is safe. Again...thank you.
How I agree with you about us Americans. I though want to parse your Cuban experiences. The Cuban system was most fair given the circumstances. It achieved much in literacy,in healthcare and other essentials that Americans take for granted. All cultures do. Most of Cuba's problems had less to do with Castro and Much to do with American sanctions. Cuba could have easily turned into a Haiti. The US government, the Mafia (Is there any diff?) and the oligarchs who were raping the land and peoples of Cuba were /are staged a crippling blockade of goods and services to the nation. For that is most of the Ills of Cuba.
Craig, I have used ceramic filters for 15 years now, and we have no experience with getting a virus (that we know of). I do however see that the ceramic material breaks down and bonds well to high density plastic drinking cup I use, leaves a white chalky deposit (I don't have a lime issue from my water source), as well as this stuff bonding to the clean "stainless" water chamber of the Berkey. It took a stainless steel scouring pad to remove this deposit in the tank! It was a chore, like it was plated and baked into the stainless! I have had this happen on all my replacement filters, using different water sources. I ponder what this is doing to our internals and what the heck is going on.
+PartisanGuerrilla Wow what filters? were they all ceramic? and is your water acidic?I know you said different sources ,but maybe the region has acidic? well i been using berkey black filters for 6 moinths now,so far no deposit noted but what you have noticed is important to consider.Would be great to have very well tested "all things water filters" independently non CDC tested.beyond TSD etc.
betatalk357 The answer is no, I never take my filter system outdoors. This is in both the filter and post filter tanks this occurs. Will be looking closer to what can be done pre-dumping water into the filter.
I have used douton white filters for decades in a Berkey container water from a butt from a plastic roof no problems.Had to clean filters recently due to sand from Sahara strom that blanketed UK!
the various levels of filtration was my drive. I run a 50 micron sediment, to a 10 micron sediment, to a 1 micron spun filter, then feed it into my ceramic for most uses, for drinking or any ingestion, it runs through a RO membrane at .0001 micron. My RO runs off of natural pressure from holding tanks that provide around 40 PSI, so its slow but works.
+ForbiddTV not exactly. I process a lot of water. if the others are removed. all of my systems cause excess load on the RO. and by dispersing filtered matter across filters reduces maintenance cycles.
This is a great video, thank you for sharing, the truth about water filters. It's pretty scary to think some people maybe using them for surface water and think they are getting rid of viruses. If a company makes such a claim, how come the FDA doesn't shut them down?
Joe Anonymous Some do get shut down but if you look at the advertising and literature of many of these products you will see they don't actually make that claim about viruses, but they give the appearance that they will make any water safe to drink.
Kurt Heitman: Any system in which water can be sitting still can breed microbes. So if it’s a travel system, you take it apart and wash everything but the filters, and the ceramic filters you wash with a soft cloth that doesn’t leave lint behind, or the scrubby which takes off more of the surface if you need to. Then you take some reserved filtered water, because you know that will be free of minerals, and put that in a pod with the filter in it, and slowly bring it to a boil. I usually boil my five minutes, because even though I know it doesn’t need that long, that’s where I’m comfortable. Then I just let the thing cool down to room temperature in that same pot water. Hang it in a mesh bag dry; if you’re fortunate enough to live in an area without a lot of pollution, you could hang it up in the sunshine in the mesh bag to dry. For systems with reservoirs were waters left standing in them for long periods of time, I would definitely do the same thing. Many people with reservoirs say that they find that if they sterilize the silver coin and toss into the reservoir, that it eliminates the problem of microbial growth in the water supply. I haven’t tested this myself, so I’ll be clear about that. But silver is well established as an agent that’s non-conducive to bacterial growth, and possibly the same can be said about viruses and protozoa. It’s used in antibacterial appointments and wound dressings, and other preparations. So I think if you have a system for storing or filtering water in which water sits for long periods of time, it would be well worth investigating. It would be very surprising to me if somebody hasn’t already done that, and it would just be a matter of finding it online.
I can attest to the absolute effectiveness of Colloidal and silver media in the ProPur filters do in fact kill bacteria and viruses. I use a Colloidal siler spray for nose, throat, and eyes, to keep viruses away, even the dreaded C one, as I am very, and I do mean very, susceptible to them. I have a Propur Nomad countertop for 8 year and it works great. Now in an emergency situation I would still advise pre-filter and boil and use Iodine or chlorine, and or setting in a glass container I the sun for several hours, to add a measure of safety to your water. Always fall on the side of caution. That being said, I have cut open a ProPur filter and it indeed does have silver and charcoal media inside it. It does filter some what slowly, but I run water through the Propur and have extra glass dispensers as well as water filtering through the system. That way you can filter and store as much water as you have glass containers. You could do empty plastic water jugs, but I would refilter the water before drinking it. Only Propur or I think ProOne now has the silver media that water filters through. One could also pre-filter with a water zero or other pitcher filters and the refilter through a ProPur and do the other things mentioned in an emergency and be well within the safe zone IMHO!
I bought a ProOne 9inch filter (well, bought 2 but one came cracked so got a refund on the crack one). I took out all my berkey filters in my berkey (had my berkey for 11 years) and watched everything up, scrubbed down new filter as directions say. Then I put filtered gallons of bottled water in the top reading 6ppm on my TDS meter, and when the water goes through the ProOne Filter and in the bottom it first read 286ppm. I did this 4 times (waste of water), washed everything up to get all the sediments in, and put through 2 more gallons for the 5th time. Again, the read is 6ppm (wegmans filtered water using) and shockingly after all this time and effort, the water comping out is at 186ppm. Now what the heck is this filter leeching into my water to increase the ppm from 6 to 186? My berkey filters would be 6ppm to 5 or 6ppm after it went through, but.. this filter adds another 180ppm to the water so i am scared to drink it since i think what could be happening is the filter has all types of stuff in it that is disolving and getting into the drinking portion of the water. Is this perhaps why the are not NSF certified for the filter filtering out what the claim it filters out? Instead the only NSF certification is for just the parts and materials, not for how the filter actually works. I emailed the company so waiting for a response and I so hope they don't tell me the Filter adds stuff to the water that is beneficial since what goes into the filter should come out the same or better, NOT worse! I think these filters are all marketing BS and don't actually do what they claim they do, which is why they are NOT certified. The tests only go up to 200 gallons, but yet the 9 inch filter is rated for 1200 gallons (why not test to 1200 gallons?). I am so aggravated after reading all about the berkey short-commings and just seeing other companies appear to be following the same formula and just collecting money. I do have an RKIN over the counter R/O filter, but like the gravity filter for our dogs/coffee/and to drink more spring water versus just the R/O water, but i won't even give this ProOne filtered water to my dogs since who knows what is leeching out that ceramic filter and being injected into the drinking water.
Thank you. I was seriously considering buying a big berky because of its claims of filtering "stagnant pond water". I am hearing of more and more claims of their filters breaking due to cheap glue jobs.
@@christinegrady2260 Do you test your filters every few months using berkeys red dye test? I did, and ive had 3 sets of berkey black filters fail their red dye test after only a few months of filtering only tap water. Unless you do the red dye test every few months , you will not know if they are working correctly.
Gauge for more sales. Filter out and pass all you precious rain water collected, through a dirty scum coated exterior of a filter at extortionate expense to contaminate any water to further seep through it. Health rules must get in place for this.
Seriously all you have to do is bottle up your water into the largest clear containers you have an leave it out in the direct sunlight for at least 6 hrs. Done.
Ok I learned something today. So basically you need a waterproof UVC lamp to fry the water afterwards. I still think these filters are great, but you make a very important point. Im also glad that I have two different UVC lights and a pair of UVC goggles. Thank you mate
Yes, other non-filtration methods are UV light, pasteurization, distillation, colloidal silver, ozone, and reverse osmosis. All of these are generally not very suitable for a survival/prepper type of situations. If you use UV just make sure you have the power source available and follow the instructions carefully. With great care you could even do it with sunlight.
Filter water and potable water are two different things. Filter water is for eliminate particles, but filter water is needed to produce potable water. After you filter the water you use chemical products like chlorine, or phisical procedures like destilation, or radioation with UV to make de water potable. You can use a combination of procedures to ensurem the water is safe to drink.
I stand by what I say Inyalabudbud Punjabbidaliwad. The CDC is very clear about this if you would just bother to look. UV light is not mentioned as a method effective against viruses according to the CDC. All these water purification products are going to get people killed when there really is an emergency and I hope to save some of those lives with the truth.
ForbiddTV In Pharma industry UV light is used to kill bacteria like E-coli, but as you rightly point out not viruses. Eliminating viruses is not easy unless you are using filters with smaller pores like an RO. of course as you said the smaller pores the longer the filter process and thats why RO use high pressure for the water to pass thru. Thanks for the video and keep it up
Mario Mifsud Thanks Mario. The CDC says to follow the manufactures directions of the device regarding UV and viruses, but do not say UV is effective for viruses.
Perhaps, but what I experience is different. I filter rainwater off my roof not only where bacteria harbor but that my roof is also coated with the chemicals in the elastomeric roofing paint where from time to time ends up in the rain water. By boiling a sample of the waters sipping a small amount of the rain water before I filter it, at times I experience negative effects which is the arsenics from the roof rather than the bacteria (I know this by the antidote I used to neutralize the effect caused either by the microbe or toxin). Once I filter the fresh (unboiled) rain water through my gravity filters, regardless to the contamination of the rainwater the end result is high quality, soothing, cool, good tasting pure purified drinking water (at a level pH 7.5 or higher. TDS 24 above or under, ORP 300 or lower). All made possible by Alexapure Pro black filters. I also have the black Berkey filters, it does a good job filtering out bacteria and most arsenics but some how it seems some of the chemicals from the roof remains present at times using the Berkey black filters (at least the ones I have). But they are both good micro ionize gravitation filters. So yes, both of brands of gravity filters removes bacteria and arsenics, but the most consistent filters are the Alexapure Pro black filters. Please note I am not paid to say this.
Ted Forbes Thank you for the information I was starting to question The safety of the water I have here in reserve for in case of emergency’s I will probably ask you a couple more questions later on if you don’t mind
@@ForbiddTV Backcountry backpackers have been drinking surface water for decades using filters that don't remove viruses. Water-borne viruses that can infect humans are not just rare, they are nealry non-existent in developed countries. If you are drinking water that might have been exposed to raw human sewage, then yes, by all means worry about viruses. But if I am filtering water from most ponds or creeks here in the US, I have *zero* concerns about viruses. I am more worried about shark attacks.
Very good, then I suppose an animal that just did their business near where you have just drawn your water is of no concern and doesn't constitute raw sewage. Good for you, you have a magic canteen!
@@ForbiddTV No, it doesn't if I'm using a ceramic filter. The things in animal waste that can hurt us are bacteria, protozoa, and cysts. Even given the current situation, animals to human transmission of viruses is extremely rare and not something I would worry about from any surface water. And you wouldn't either if you knew anything about virus transmission.
I made the big mistake of buying a Berkey… I was called a thief a liar a cheat… At first they refused to send my product or give me my money back… After a three day fight and threatening to sue… They broke down and sent my product… Until the day I die I will never have a decent word to say about Berkey!!!
@reg mountain: I almost bought a Berkey until I did my research . They are con artists . The data is filled with misinformation and bad math. People believe the filters can do thousands of gallons for 10 years . The people at Propur are more honest.
@@ForbiddTV I understand that none are very effective at virus removal . However , I believe the Berkey filters are inferior at removing bacteria. Also some viruses attach to larger particles like algae or bacteria . In other words , the 0.3 micron filters might trap at least some viruses , while the Berkey will have a near zero effect.
@@antonionitocosanostravakia2801 Berkey will claim their silver impregnated filters will kill bacteria and viruses. I don't endorse that idea with that flow rate or without evidence.
Probably best to pre-filter your water to remove as much particulates as possible, then "shock" it with chlorine to kill bacteria and viruses before filtering it with any (carbon or ceramic) water filter? Any thoughts on this?
To me, this seems redundant because you are then adding a chemical that the filter is supposedly going to have to filter out. It seems like you would decrease the life of the filter that way more than you would by boiling it first. IDK for sure, but that makes the most sense to me.
If you have prefiltter the quality of the water is pretty much constant no matter from where you dig it. Meaning it's not that hard to calculate how long the filter may last.
Craig, just found your channel. Really like your content, you are very knowledgeable. As for viruses, we were alway told to boil our water, then filter it. I always got a laugh because our instructor told us there was some debate in medical circles as to whether a virus was in fact "alive." Well, says I, if it's not "alive" how does boiling "kill" it? The best answer the military was is it would deactivate it. Who knows. All I know is boiling works.
The correct term is deactivate. Viruses aren’t alive and are more analogous to a seed than a living organism. Once a host is infected the by the parasitic virus, the host’s cells are hijacked and turned into virus factories which often results in illness and spreads trillions of more virus to potentially infect another host.
Virus are faulty RNA codes produced by any DNA-RNA Based life form o.o It is only the overfed delusional West that keeps screamin somethin about FLU, GENDR, CHANGIN WEATHER, WOMEN bring a crisis & tryin to "solve" them.
Great info. Thanks for the video. Are any of the filters interchangeable? IE, Can a Berkey filter be used in the Alexapure, can the Aqua Rain filter be used in the British Berkefeld/Doulton? Do you have any idea why the Berkey need a separate filter for fluoride and the Alexapure does not? Does the Aqua Rain filter filter fluoride?
+ Samanda Interchangeability shouldn't be a concern since none will filter a virus in any event. Some will interchange, but what's the point? The post-fluoride filters are dangerous, use at your own risk. I suspect the others you name will not filter fluoride either, unless they use an alum media like the Berkey. The AquaRain claims to remove 80-85% of the fluoride. If you are so concerned about fluoride you might want to do something entirely different from any of these.
Thanks for the quick response. I asked about interchangeability for a few reasons. Price mainly, getting a gravity unit from a company that may go out of business making their filters unavailable is another, convenience is another. I wasn't asking solely for fluoride, we have well water, but my mom has municipal water, and I want to get her something. You said the post fluoride filters are dangerous, do you mean there is a danger using the fluoride filter (made by Berkey) specifically for the gravity filters or were you referring to something else? I've held off buying any gravity filter simply because I don't really understand all there is to know about what type of filter does what, and exactly what should be filtered, and which filter media is best. The companies that come to the house to 'help' seem to be only interested in sales and commission.
Samanda Steam distillers remove a high percentage of fluoride, and virtually any good reverse osmosis unit will provide fluoride reduction of 95% or better. Activated alumina, called AAL, removes fluoride well, but requires a relatively large bed and very slow flow rates. Activated Alumina is the most commonly used fluoride removal media today. This media is essentially granulated or powdered aluminum (aluminum oxide) that is preconditioned with chemicals. It is generally quite effective at removing fluoride, but is a toxic compound in its own right. In fact, if you are considering any filter system with Activated Alumina, be sure the system has KDF media DOWNSTREAM of the Activated Alumina. This will offer some level of protection when Alumina makes its way into your water, as it will. You can expect a greater than 90% removal of Fluoride with Activated alumina.
ForbiddTV WOW, thanks for the reply! Is it even possible to do steam distilling at home? And in a whole house system? It seems RO is the best way then. So, if a person has whole house RO, is there any added benefit to a gravity filter?
Samanda Home distillers are easily available for under $200. They use a lot of electricity. Reverse osmosis systems use water pressure and waste a lot of water. So neither of them are useful in preparedness situations. There are wood fired distillers and hand pump RO systems as well. Both of these methods remove all the beneficial minerals as well that you might need for long-term health. Your insistence on also filtering water is meaningless since these systems would leave nothing to filter. This video was here primarily to educate dumbasses who think they're going to buy a filter to make surface water safe to drink, It is beyond the scope of this video to recommend the best water purification system for you. Please do your own research; the answers will not come to you through a couple lines in a comment section on UA-cam, especially from sharks on UA-cam who have their channels monetized or sell water filtration products.
Relax most bodies of water within a moderately healthy eco system in N.America do not contain viruses. If the water is stagnant with a dead animal or animals boil it in addition to filtering it. I assume in a survival situation you packed a way to make fire if not your not going to survive anyway but mainly due to low I.Q not bad water.
While you didn't specifically state the black carbon filters, you made a point that a virus can't be filtered out. I've had a Berkey purifier for a few years that I use to improve the taste of my tap water. I've been very satisfied as it removes all the odor from chlorine and any other odors that are periodically present. I've utilized the black carbon filters, hopefully I won't ever be concerned about more than taste and smell. Although my confidence in our infrastructure isn't what it once was...
we get the point, ceramic filters don't work on viruses, and ceramic filter depending on how you clean them ware down and may need replacing sooner than expected. If you want to filter/kill viruses use a different system such as osmoses, UV or other. Good info but really dragged out.
You can not filter out chlorine unless you use a lot of activated carbon. All you need to do is let it sit for a few hours or days, and the chlorine will leave the water. Chlorine is a gas, and it leaves the water just like carbonation in soda. It just takes a little longer.
When it comes to product testing , u cant put a video out unless u tested it urself, all u can say is based on research u found from others, and u cant say with certainty. Thats like me saying that the shark vaccuum has more suction than a dyson, i cant claim that in a video , all i can say is a shark has more suction than a dyson based on "their " research. Untill i do my own teat, i cant claim nothing like u are doing , al, u can do is post others research and leave it at that buddy, untill u do u own research and test ur theroy and then and only then u can make ur claim.
+Daniel Charette I do a lot of research, but I don't have a known virus to test it and I wouldn't be stupid enough to drink water contaminated with viruses since I know they can't be filtered out. Why would I crash test a car for instance that is "proven" to be safe? Proven by who? The manufacturer?
After I made this video I also did a great companion video further proving what I say about ceramic filters, viruses and surface water: ua-cam.com/video/HC-1rlRks64/v-deo.html
+ForbiddTV i am new to this lol so sorry for asking but were i to add one of those UV treatment devices to this type of system would it sufficiently kill off virus's. I do a lot of survivalist camping and canoeing and generally pull water from the rivers i am on I use a pump with the same filter as the straw lol However I am not brave enough to stop there so i always add tablets to it to be sure and then usually i am boiling it for coffee lol lol but not using the pills would increase the taste, thoughts?
+Chris Haines The CDC does not recognize UV light as a safe method of deactivating a virus. They say only to follow the manufacturers instructions carefully.
Thank you so much for the response I watched your alternate video and am glad that i did i have a life straw and other filters i use regularly. However I am in Canada and am very particular when sourcing usually we pump then pill then boil. As I suffer from crohns disease any gut problems can be potentially lethal if left unchecked for me so best to avoid avoid avoid lol thanks again
bo ter berg Carbon based filters can trap chlorine and most of them have a carbon base in them, The problem with this is if you simply add the chlorine to the unfiltered water hopper. You need a certain contact time with the water before it has a chance to "escape" through the filter before inactivated. To be safe follow the product directions in a separate container, then add it to your filter system.
If by the 'straw' you mean the ''lifestraw' brand they dont use a ceramic filter. They use a 2 stage filter consisting of a hollow membrane filtering down to 0.2 microns and a carbon filter. rule of thumb, always boil in a survival situation after filtering.
You Can buy silver impregnated ceramic ones on Amazon . then place an active carbon filter below it to improve taste .. Or distill it if you need it sterile
I could be wrong, but I thought the silver somehow prevented bacteria from reproducing. I have not yet seen silver advertised for viruses, only bacteria.
for this system, qns 1) does it work with mud and drain water? (assuming the water was treated with chloride) 2)does it remove fluoride? 3) I assume it wil remove chloride too. please correct if im wrong. 4)does it remove those lead polluted (i'm refer to those in USA news tap water being polluted for months and years thanks as always! 5) Does it remove pesticides polluted water? (e.g near a farmland) Thanks as always!
+weinfin 1) ceramic filters will plug very quickly with muddy water. By drain water I guess you will mean grey or black water, you would never want to use a ceramic filter for either of those. 2) Fluoride could be reduced, depending on the filter. The post fluoride filters some companies offer can be dangerous. 3)Chloride would be the job of activates carbon media 4)Depends on the filter, but generally effective 5)Depends on the filter
Makes sense. I questioned the umteen ridiculous gallons some filters claim. Fortunately, most are using these filters to filter tap water or well water
The chlorine idea is good. I do Health Board compliance tests for industrial equipment in Canada. The regulations require 100ppm chlorine. I use chlorine test strips. Excellent video and considering getting a unit as you show.
Hi, I just want to make a filter that gets rid of the lime build up that's happening in my humidifiers. I am allergic to the white dust that comes out. When I use a hot humidifier, I end up with such thick build up that it takes 5 hours with an ice pick to eventually chip it all off (and that's a repeated task I must perform every two weeks or less!). I have tried the industrial strenght vinegar as will as scale removers made for humidifiers to try and remove it, but that doesn't work and it's back to a whole evening with the ice pick. So, I made a homade ceramic filter (knew it wasn't great for drinking, but I wasn't drinking it). However, that did nothing to avert the build up. If you made a video on just how to build a cost efficient, homemade water filter that only removed lime or scale (drinkable not required), I'd be so grateful. (Maybe you have! This is the first video I have seen. If you have, maybe let me know the title. Remember, I'm not looing for drinkable water, just no-lime water). Thanks! Love the Fallout sign in the back, by the way!
You must be in a very dry climate and must be using well water in your humidifier. Distilled water should solve that problem, but I don't know how expensive that would get since I don't know how much water those consume. Or maybe city water from somewhere if you can easily obtain it. I would have thought ceramic filters would remove lime, but would probably foul the filters if it is as bad as you say. A cheap ceramic filter that you could make yourself and just dispose of instead of buying new ones would be a clay flower pots, just plug the bottom hole with rubber or cork stopper. You might find having a bunch of flower pots around with water in them might even humidify the room well enough without the humidifier.
Perhaps you didn't get the main thrust of the video: "Filtration is not effective in removing a virus". That would mean either type. At .9 microns, how could you possibly think a black filter is better? ua-cam.com/video/HC-1rlRks64/v-deo.html
What type of filter would be ideal for making potable water? And is there a filter of any sort that tends to last the longest? With the corona virus spreading what sort of filter could a person make themselves in the event the stores sell out of filters?
ForbiddTV no you misunderstood me... I didn't ask about how to filter out a virus.. I said with corona going around how can I make my own filter... In the event stores are sold out of filters.. Is there a diy filter or instructions how to build ur own water filter to make potable water albeit might contain corona.. what about the other 2 questions?
@@Rizik1986 No filter will make potable water from contaminated water. If that was the case, water treatment plants would just use filters. They obviously don't. Not sure what is so hard to understand about that. That answers every single question regarding filters.
Great informative video. Thank you for sharing. Can you use your knowledge to sue these companies for false and dangerous claims in their advertisements. Not that I promote suing but this is serious.
I have enough lawsuits on my plate thus far. In order to sue, there needs to be an injured party. Someone who got sick using their products would be necessary.
The CDC is still very clear: "Filtration is not effective in removing viruses." The black and ceramic cartridges from Berkey have been out for more than a decade, so no, nothing new there. And since the micron size of the black one is .9 microns (see another video I did) and a virus measures between .005 and .3 microns, tell me again how they can filter out a virus...
Not necessarily. Firstly, the ceramic filter is immaterial for your question since it won't remove the virus if the UV system doesn't kill it. If the UV does effectively disable the virus, then what is the purpose of the ceramic filter? Although UV can kill/disable a virus it is fraught with problems in a survival situation and the CDC does not recognize it probably because implementation due to all the variables: What frequency of light? How many lumens at that frequency? How turbid (cloudy) is the water? What is the effective penetrating depth of the light? How long does it get exposed after all these variables come into play? Of course you also need power to create the UV which might not be available in a SHTF situation.
Perhaps you need to look up the meaning of the word clarification and try again... If you put a lot of solids in it as in surface water we have been talking about, it will plug up very quickly.
Jeremy Lovell The most common way is post-fluoride filters, but BEWARE! It's another lie of the Berkey. Even if it may work for a short period of time it adds ALUMINA to the treated water. Check out this website for more: www.dancingwithwater.com/articles/how-to-remove-fluoride-from-water/
Vartilak Novehestum I don't necessarily recommended any 'system'. The CDC says rolling boil, chlorine, chlorine dioxide, and iodine. At that point you can filter the water with whatever you want if you feel the need to.
Great info Thanks . Is Roof rain water considered surface water? We have seagulls around here and I would be wary of drinking roof water after your explanation
@@ForbiddTV Opposite IMO. UV/RO/Boil should be LAST step in the process, otherwise you bog them up, pending water quality.. UV and Boiling doesn't remove sediment, which can also be harmful. Ceramic does. Use both.
Thanks for the information. Can I use those ceramic filters on shallow well water? Currently I use mine only on irrigation but it's just 20 feet and it has the rotten egg smell and iron/rust.
None. The CDC says; "Filtration is not effective in removing a virus." They say rolling boil, iodine, chlorine and chlorine dioxide. If you had no viruses present, any filter that filters down to .3 microns will suffice. ua-cam.com/video/HC-1rlRks64/v-deo.html
I'm not sure I'm getting this right? You SHOULD use ceramic filters for all your SHTF water needs, just be sure to follow it up with iodine or chlorine or boiling. What am I missing?
If you are using those methods you don't even necessarily need to filter at all. The point is since you can't filter out a virus you can't depend strictly on a filter alone for surface water.
+Todd Burr Pool water is a good source since it is a whole lot of storage and has already been pre-treated to some extent. Look for a filter with carbon for chlorine removal, but in a emergency situation your pool water will soon go bad since you cannot maintain it without power and you will still hae to worry about viruses. Then the same rules apply - boil, iodine, chlorine, distillation or reverse osmosis.
OK, I get this. I'm seeing that for some, they are just considering the "Berkey" for emergency purposes, like if there's some sort of cataclysmic event and there's no running water available. In a case like that, there may be only lakes, streams, rivers, etc. to use for drinking and then they'd pour water from one of those sources into their Berkey. You say it shouldn't be use for surface water but what's your advice if there were a situation where "surface water" was all that was available?
whats the micron rating for alexapure? berkey? and aquarain? And btw do you have an email where one could contact you? Thanks for your channel, very informative.
Those are all gravity fed ceramic filters. None will remove a virus.and I said in the video, Aquarain is .3, Berkey is .9 (although they are good at hiding it) and Alexapure I couldn't find a micron rating. Contact information is in the "about" section of this channel.
ForbiddTV : unfortunately I can’t see the about section from my phone. If you could post the email or simply email me the info, that would be great. My email is uprising144k at gmail. And it’s too bad the alexapure doesn’t provide that info :(. Thanks for the reply 👍
I hope someone will read this question someday.... What about collected rainwater, does that counts as Surface Water? And i own a Katadyn (3x 0,2 micron ceradyn filters) , those filters are silver impregnated, does that make any difference?
@@ForbiddTV for those SHTF situations i thought thats where the filter for. But after watching your video i can asume that those filters do less good work than manufacturers will tell you. But still, i think that drinking filtered rainwater is beter then no water. I have about 100 liter spare tap-water stored with those conservation en cleaning drops (also from Katadyn, can store it for 6 months) but in a bad situation 100 liter is like nothing. Cant fill my entire home with jerrycans tapwater🙄
my issue with manufactured filters for porpos of survival, is they depend on filters that need to be replaced. and I don't think there is a law of science that says a survival situation has to be magically resolved in 3 days. all survival situations have a potential of becoming long term. weather they do or not is dependant on many things, but there is a chance you might need cleen water longer than the filter is able to provide. and none of the companies offer a method to teach or show people how to identify and use filter media in the bush. these ceramic filters are actually very effective. and here is what a lot of folks don't know, very old. it is possibly one of mans first means to filter heavily contaminated water effectively. look into porus clay pots sailers tossed over board and anchored with ropes tied to the deck at night. when pulled in they had clean water in them, not salt water from the ocian. so these guys had a means to make these with what was around them, and with limited tools and tech. similar to what we would have at our disposal in a survival situation. we know Africa is using clay and sawdust fired into a ceramic for this porpous. and have had huge success in providing potable water. I think in combination with a pre filter through charcoal, and boiling after, a means to produce safe to drink water in the most limited situations is possible. the books say we can just use charcoal and boil. but little information is offered past this. we need this information to become common knowlage, and not be so hard to get. maybe with the help of good folks like you, this can be possible
For dealing with viruses, how effective are UV lights? What spectrum? I understand that there are rechargeable battery powered UV lights that can be added to gravity fed systems. Is this a viable solution?
Yes UV light is recognized for disabling viruses. Do some research as far as frequency, lumens, turbidity and exposure time, or follow the manufacturers instructions carefully. For survival purposes they are difficult because of their need for batteries or an electrical outlet.
Great vid I totally agree, ceramic filtration is only PHASE 1 of filtration!! I have not pulled the trigger on a drip filter yet but if I do I am definitely going with Katadyn over Berkey or Propur, etc. I trust their quality more, does anyone have multiple brands who can comment on the comparison? I've read SO MANY dripping complaints with Berkey.
so you are saying here in the U.S. all the rain water and streams and lakes all have virus's in them, the ones I'm taking about the big black berkey aren't even in the same league as those ceramic filters. the berkey filters may take longer then those because it filters more stuff, therefore it is a better filter
You are not going to get anywhere promoting the Berkey on this channel. A Berkey with four "black" filters takes about 20 minutes to filter a gallon, whereas the similar models such as the ProPur, British Berkefeld (that Berkey copied) or AquaRain take about an hour with four filters, so your statement is extremely wrong. And anytime there is an animal doing its business in your water source (or on your roof in the case of rainwater) you have a chance of viruses being present. Sorry if you bought a big black lie; don't doom others to your mistake just to try to save face.
Thanks for this info. Some manufacturers claim 'silver impregnated' on these ceramic filters, and that it is anti bacterial - do think this is legit? (Stefani ceramic with silver - filter)
The problem with this assertion is you need a certain amount of contact time with the water in order to utilize the silver meme. The Berkey for instance which makes such claims filters a gallon of water in just 20 minutes, so the silver contact time is only seconds.
I just purchased the Rain Fresh gravity water system it says it reduction 99.9999% of bacteria,cyst ( cryptosporidium & Giardia) so what do you think about this system I have four filters in it??? Thanks it also claims for camping, prepping emergency, lake water, ponds, rivers, ext. thanks really need your advice 🇨🇦thankyou
I pretty much showed you in the video. It won't filter viruses, but you may not have viruses in your source. To be safe I wouldn't use it for surface water sources without boiling the water.
Thank you for posting this video. I've been searching this very topic and my concern was whether the "claims" made by Berkey, et al, really did "filter out" viruses and pathogens. I recently heard about UVC-254 nanometer lights and was wondering what your take was on their efficacy in removing viruses, etc.???
So what you are saying is if you are getting your water from a stream lake or pond boil it after running it through any gravity fed water filtration system ....
+John Strabismus There doesn't appear to be any reliable documentation on this idea. What concentrations? How long of a contact time? The CDC does not recognize silver in their literature, but there may be some truth to it, we just need proof.
ForbiddTV Well, I'd use one of those filters. and if I was still unsure I'd heat the water to 162F, which is slightly above pasteurization temp. Either that, or I might put the water into a clear container, put the container into strong sunlight for 6 or 8 hours, and use the UV method to kill any remaining pathogens.
John Strabismus You are rolling the dice on all these methods. Research pasteurization. How long at that temp? Does it kill viruses? Clear container? I can get algae and other things to grow in such an environment. UV is also not recognized as effective by the CDC. I gave you four methods that are proven to be at least very effective, and instead you want to argue three others that have not been proven.
I understand the fact that some viruses are too small to filter and that a lot of ground water does not contain viruses. Would be safe to boil the filtered water if it came from a lake or river, but what about rain water? I want to set up a water collection system for my roof. Do you think it would be safe to drink when filtered through a ceramic filter like this?
Robert Ballard No it wouldn't be safe either and has to be treated as surface water as well. How do you intend to keep your collection system sterile? You have no birds, insects, leaves, etc?
Thanks for the reply. I see videos of people living off grid and they are filtering rain water from a collection tank using a ceramic filter and using it for drinking water for years with no problems. I have also seen some videos where they add some chlorine to the storage tank. Are they all adding chlorine and just forgetting to mention it? I would think you would then need a charcoal filter to get rid of the chlorine along with the ceramic filter correct?
Robert Ballard Carbon filters should reduce chlorine. In the old days they would just store their water in underground tanks called cisterns and use it without filtration. A virus will not survive very long in the cold environment. Our life expectancy was much lower then too...
filtering and purifying are 2 different terms, Berky and other companies rate some of their filters as water purifying, purifying is cleansing from viruses and bacteria.
Will these ceramic filters (like your Aqua Rain) remove iodine? Could I add iodine to warm water, let it sit, then use the AquaRain to remove the iodine?
Question ...first thank you soooo much I have been going crazy trying to find that answer. Can you tell me will boiling iodine or chlorine take care of toxins or God forbid radiation?
Just found this, thanks for the upload! So, question: I own one of the berkey filter systems. To get around the 'can't remove a virus thing' I could just add the required amount of chlorine and then, after the needed time has elapsed, run it through the berkey to remove all the other stuff, including chlorine? Also, what about the activated charcoal filters? Will they do any better? Thanks!
If you are using chlorine, then that will kill things if used properly, so why the Berkey? If you use a Berkey or any ceramic filter they will plug up very quickly with surface water. Activated charcoal is mainly for chemicals/pesticides. It won't do anything for the bacteria, cryptosporidium, giardia, viruses... I thought I made it clear what the CDC says: "filtration is not effective for removing viruses".
I understand that. BUT.... I also prefer not to drink water (if possible) that tastes like a swimming pool, or what have you. My setup is I store drinking water that has been purified and has stabilized oxygen additive. Outside I have rain barrels for our garden and, if necessary, I can clean that for washing use. My thinking is using simple filter for any other water to get the big stuff out, treat with chlorine, and then filter through a ceramic if needed to get taste out. Does that work? Also, I know bleach is recommended, but what about swimming pool chlorine additive, shock treatments, etc. Do those last as long? Store better?
meunke You keep jumping around. Storing water is extremely problematic, it will contaminate itself since storage methods are not perfectly sterile. Why store any if you already have a swimming pool? That's more than you could store anyway. If you are so afraid of chlorine, then use something else, SUCH AS BOILING!
Uhm.... because I don't have a swimming pool? I just have easy access to HTH. From what I've read, bleach stores for about 6 months before it really starts to degrade, but kept cool and dry, out of the sun and in seal containers, HTH can last for perhaps a couple of years. Not afraid of chlorine, I just don't like the taste. And yeah, if it came down to that or dying, I'd drink the chlorine tasting stuff. BUT, if I have a choice, I'd rather do something about the taste if I could. Further, I've read (still researching) that there are some 'hard shelled' organisms that can survive the bleach treatment, but will be removed by the finer filters, so combining both seems like a good idea if possible. My first plan is to bug in, as it's hard to travel with 4 kids under the age of 8, as that is going to be the best bet on possible disaster in my area. Our city water supply is very reliable, but it's always good to have a backup. And yes, you're right, boiling is the best method. But that also takes a lot of fuel and time. Fuel, depending on the situation, may be a problem. "it will contaminate itself since storage methods are not perfectly sterile." - Eventually, I'm sure it would. Stabilized and cleaned prior to storing in dedicated containers it should last for a while from the EPA and other sources I've read. Several people I know have stored water in barrels inside in this manner and had them tested after three years and they were totally fine. And I can always filter/post treat if I REALLY need to. The issue for me is that there really isn't a way for me to store ALL the water I might need for a longer term situation (more than two weeks). So, I need to have a standby to purify water from other sources (hence rain collection as well as HTH and / or filters.
You are jumping all over the place again. Go with whatever you want since you are wanting to get way too complicated. You will have about 40-50 gallons of safe available to you stored in your water heater and pipes. Rain water is not safe without treating.
Glenn Sosinske The problem with this is long term storage which is what it sounds like your intent is. You would have to make the containers sterile to assure long storage life and keep everything sterile until the containers are sealed. This really can't be done outside of laboratory conditions. However, if your containers are generally clean and sealed well, you will likely be able to get away with storing water for longer periods, but you can't assure safety: www.artofmanliness.com/articles/hydration-for-the-apocalypse-how-to-store-water-for-long-term-emergencies/ Your safe bet would be to boil the water from storage before use. However there is a much simpler way to have quantities of drinkable water on hand for emergencies without doing anything at all: ua-cam.com/video/P-JKHyPg8uo/v-deo.html
The Berkey is too. Dangerous for surface water. Most other brands are not just ceramic filters either, most also have activated carbon/charcoal too. Dangerous for surface water.
Everyone wants me to comment on their particular brand of device. Go back and watch the video! Your device cannot filter out a virus! And when you don't believe that, go online and do some basic research. There are a tremendous amount of lies and misinformation coming from manufacturers of water filter products. I am hoping people learn this before trusting any filter when you actually have to put questionable water through it. I could not live with myself knowing I might be responsible for the death of people who buy products I sell with a lie attached to it.
ForbiddTV If you drink ceramic filtered water from 3rd world countries, you could be taking a terrible risk whether bacteria or virus. Some pocket filters are designed for U. S. only. MSR filter works fine in U. S. as far as bacteria but there is NO filter in existence that can filter viruses. The U. S. is not yet a third world country. It may soon be considering that the authoritarian bureaucracy is now in total control. If you are concerned about viruses, use aqua pure which has a neutralizer and detailed instructions on how to use it. But MSR water filter has a charcoal element that gets rid of any bad taste. Katadyn Swiss made water filter is very difficult to filter in dirty, sandy water without prefiltering but filters out 100% bacteria through tiny pores that enable it to filter out 100% bacteria
Filters don't kill virus that's why you add either bleach chlorine tablets chlorine dioxide purification tablets made by katadyn micropure
So.... How can a mask filter out viruses?
@@Stacy_Smith masks have nothing to do with the virus. Its about social conditioning
Thank you!
everyones complaining about viruses in the water. just boil it people.
I was wondering about a two stage system: Filtrate with a ceramic and then boil it?
@@oldgrumpym37 The filter is immaterial to the virus.
Can you use your sink sprayer to clean it? ....Thats what I did and it came pretty clean?
UV light will kill viruses after a certain amount of time. But boiling water and then cooling it back down takes a long time.
Or do the solar disinfection method. Filter it put it in clear soda bottle for 6 hours and everything in it that can harm you dies. Lol. The end.
This is the difference between filtration and actual purification. Great job sir!
Ceramic filters are small micro-porous elements. They are designed to clog as they remove contaminents from water. This clogging action directs water into a different porous channel for contaminent removal. THAT STOPS CHANNELING WATER. If the pour "DDIAMETER" is 3 micron, or 5 micron, than the water will be clarified to that pores diameter...equalling a 3 or 5 micron filtration.
I suggest prefiltering water via a mesh 10 micron pretreatment filter. My reasoning is a pretreatment rids the water of any heavy debri, prior to final filtration. I suggest simple mesh filters (2-4) mounted in a Bucket. This increases water flow into the the pretreatment tank to be final filtered.
Dependent on where you are this is sufficent in the US & Canada's.....BUT..... for unknown water supplies a final step should be observed. After treatment to conduct one of three measures.... BOIL, CHEMICAL, UV treatment. A UV WAND is the easiest, but it takes batteries and dependent of turbidity and ammount of water being sterilized will take multiple UV Actions to complete the task. Boiling...a HARD BOIL IS REQUIRED...(not little buubles). A 1-3 minute boil dependent of debri is required. Unfortunately this takes time, effort, energy and material.
Lastly is Chemical....A tablet or measurement is used to a given ammount of water. EX: 1Tablet to 1 pint of water. This procedure takes a chemical to react in a certain ammount of Time. Therefore dependent on chemical it could be 30 minutes to 4hrs.
In the backwoods with questionable water.....ceramic filtration and chemical PURIFICATION is simplest and works. Some are better tasting than others, without any after taste at all. Base camps alot of people final clarify water by clear glass jars in DIRECT FULL SUNLIGHT (UV) for hours.
THE CHOICES ARE YOURS...NONE IS PERFECT !! BUT getting beaver fever and shitting and throwing up for 3-5 days you'll figure it out. Be and get educated, It's not that expensive to do.
after filtering the water. Boil the water to steralize the microbes out of the water. you can also boil the ceramic filter every week or so to steralize it.
As a backpacker, it is considered best practice to regard all naturally occurring water sources in North America as contaminated. That said, most backpackers use only mechanical filtering and, when done properly, have good results. Viruses are not a major concern in the wild. In human communities, however, it is a different story. Anywhere where there is the possibility of human feces or urine draining into the water supply, you should be concerned about human borne viruses. In such cases, it is a good idea to use some form of sterilization IN ADDITION to mechanical filtering. This removes particulate matter prior to sterilization and typically makes the sterilization process more effective. Boiling water works well if you have sufficient fuel and time. Chemical sterilization works well, when done correctly, but can leave a bad taste. Sterilization can be accomplished in a couple of additional ways. First, you can use a solar oven to concentrate sunlight. The sunlight creates heat and sterilizes the water. Note: you CAN sterilize water below boiling temperature but it will take substantially longer. Second you can use a Steripen to use UV light to sterilize the water. They are effective against viruses, bacteria, and protozoa. Steripens are available in USB rechargeable models so you could use a solar-usb recharger panel to keep it charged.
Cant you just prefilter the water and then distill it? Wouldnt that take care of viruses bacteria and contaminates? Im looking for the easiest method possible for emergency purposes. I dont have a grand to spend on a system for catching rainnwater and gravity filters. I do know that i can build a gravity fed system myself but as to what filter to trust to buy idk as i cant trust what any manufacturer say. I dont trust the berkey filters. Ans as far as a portable system for campimg and hiking idk which to trust either. I would like a backup for water that covers all basics in case water gets turned off or if it gets so bad in the city we have to leave. My ideas so far are building a system with 3 buckets as a prefilter with charcoal sand and gravel. Then filter it thru either a gravity fed system also homemade with bought filters, or distilling it after prefiltering it in the buckets. Or after prefiltering running the water thru zerofilter graviry pitcher then boiling it. I would still need a solution besides distilling for portable scenario. What system do u reccomend for camping or hiking? And what ceramic filter is trustworthy to at least remove contaminats such as heavy metals chlorine floride and other chemicals etc? Alexapure i was possibly looking at but idk. Thanks for any help u can give. I need ro cover all bases here and want several ways to filter and purify water in any circumstance needed. Sorry about the spelling mistakes im in a rush.
When you said distill the water, everything else is immaterial. But distillation is not filtration.
@@ForbiddTV The thing is, I am forever searching for answers to the questions whether distilled water can be easily enriched with minerals and how and if it's necessary...can the body take prolonged intake of distilled water without adding any minerals?
You also get minerals from your food. Distilled water is safe to drink, but you are right that it doesn't have the minerals you would get from the ground sourced water.
@@ForbiddTVNothing seems to beat groundwater, rainwater is full of the crap we put into the air, distilled water is devoid of minerals, thus it'll be looking for them where it first encounters them, i/e/ our bodies, then distilled isn't just distilled, it needs more times to get near the pure state people are apparently looking for, etc etc etc...all in all I've come to the conclusion that this is yet another discussion thoroughly contaminated by the aggressively gullible "crystal people" , that it is hard to find any sensible or scientifically sound videos on the subject in between their wild and shouty claims and that I'll probably be using reverse osmosis as a last resort, in case that no potable water is available, but I need to look more into that. Well, your video was the first approaching sanity on the subject of filtration, so thanks for that, the search continues.
Wow. I was skeptical after watching your video the first time. But it motivated me to do a bit more research on the topic through the CDC and other sources and found out you are completely correct. Had you not brought this to my attention I never would have done that. Thank you.
@Noble6 So you don't trust the CDC (...reasons..) so look what any worldwide agency says on water safety. Same thing. Duh.
I just checked the cdc website and they say that a rolling boil for 1 minute is all that's needed. They then list bleach as an alternative, and finally tablets (like iodine) as a 3rd alternative. It seems in an emergency situation, one could use a filter system like this and then boil for 1 minute to have safe water.
We lived for 5 months on home sanitised water. We pumped water from a small pond through a 3 micron filter.
Then we boiled the water
Then we filtered the water again through a clean unused 3 micron filter.
Best water I have ever tasted.
We processed enough water for 3 grown men, 11 laying hens, 15 house cats( one mama with 4 siblings 10 kittens)
and our big dog.
About 30 gallons a day
We did this for 5 months every day.
From 01/22/2019 through 06/10/2019
By the beginning of June the pond was growing a lot of Algie and the water became unusable.
Also because the filter canister was clear plastic, Algie wanted to grow in there also
We had to dispose of the filter canister when we moved to a different place to live.
Guys he is telling you the truth. Had a buddy in the early 80's at Philmont Scout Ranch and he didn't wait the 30 minute wait time from the iodine tabs. When we got back he had to go to the hospital. lost over 75 pounds with that amoeba. I remember that creek was crystal clear mountan water. I use to drink out of streams every weekend and fishing all day as a kid. Not now.
Simple + Safest: Heat up the water AFTER filtering!
ForbiddTV...thank you for this information. I believe that all the arguing back and forth, is because you have done something that the regular US public is unprepared for. You have taken them out of their comfort zone. This is typical anywhere you go, however; it's too prevalent here in the US, where most people have not been exposed to the problems that other nations have with drinking water. Most Americans are too entrenched on how privileged they are in comparison to the rest of the world. In Cuba, where I came from nearly 40 years ago, my family used an archaic ceramic filtration urn filter to remove dirt out of the water. The filter never was cleaned or changed. My mother then would boil the filtered water, and then let it cool, before pouring it on bottles that had been boiled. This was a regular means by which many Cubans cleaned their water. We did not expect better drinking water from the Castro regime. Ceramic filters or for that matter, most will improve the taste of water. But ask people who never had to boil water is something they are not prepared to accept because they have lived much too comfortable lives. Thank you for this information. And thank this nation for enabling us to drink water straight out of the tap without having to boil it in most cases. But the again, we Americans are too ready to still get our water from a bottle sold at a store. We have things much too good in this country, but few understand this, or are willing to err on the side of caution, when told to change their paradigm. So they will fight you for telling them that not all is safe. Again...thank you.
Wateringman and thank you for the good Cuban story reality check.
How I agree with you about us Americans. I though want to parse your Cuban experiences. The Cuban system was most fair given the circumstances. It achieved much in literacy,in healthcare and other essentials that Americans take for granted. All cultures do. Most of Cuba's problems had less to do with Castro and Much to do with American sanctions. Cuba could have easily turned into a Haiti. The US government, the Mafia (Is there any diff?) and the oligarchs who were raping the land and peoples of Cuba were /are staged a crippling blockade of goods and services to the nation. For that is most of the Ills of Cuba.
Craig, I have used ceramic filters for 15 years now, and we have no experience with getting a virus (that we know of). I do however see that the ceramic material breaks down and bonds well to high density plastic drinking cup I use, leaves a white
chalky deposit (I don't have a lime issue from my water source), as well as this stuff bonding to the clean "stainless" water chamber of the Berkey. It took a stainless steel scouring pad to remove this deposit in the tank! It was a chore, like it was plated and baked into the stainless! I have had this happen on all my replacement filters, using different water sources. I ponder what this is doing to our internals and what the heck is going on.
+PartisanGuerrilla Wow what filters? were they all ceramic? and is your water acidic?I know you said different sources ,but maybe the region has acidic? well i been using berkey black filters for 6 moinths now,so far no deposit noted but what you have noticed is important to consider.Would be great to have very well tested "all things water filters" independently non CDC tested.beyond TSD etc.
betatalk357
The answer is no, I never take my filter system outdoors. This is in both the filter and post filter tanks this occurs. Will be looking closer to what can be done pre-dumping water into the filter.
try unbleached coffee filters? hmm ya have a TDS m,eter?
I have used douton white filters for decades in a Berkey container water from a butt from a plastic roof no problems.Had to clean filters recently due to sand from Sahara strom that blanketed UK!
the various levels of filtration was my drive. I run a 50 micron sediment, to a 10 micron sediment, to a 1 micron spun filter, then feed it into my ceramic for most uses, for drinking or any ingestion, it runs through a RO membrane at .0001 micron. My RO runs off of natural pressure from holding tanks that provide around 40 PSI, so its slow but works.
The reverse osmosis system you have makes everything else pointless.
+ForbiddTV not exactly. I process a lot of water. if the others are removed. all of my systems cause excess load on the RO. and by dispersing filtered matter across filters reduces maintenance cycles.
If you are only drinking and cooking with the RO water then all those other things are pointless.
+ForbiddTV not true for long term. you feed an RO membrane dirty water it will gunk up fast. feed it clean water and it will run longer.
This is a great video, thank you for sharing, the truth about water filters. It's pretty scary to think some people maybe using them for surface water and think they are getting rid of viruses. If a company makes such a claim, how come the FDA doesn't shut them down?
Joe Anonymous Some do get shut down but if you look at the advertising and literature of many of these products you will see they don't actually make that claim about viruses, but they give the appearance that they will make any water safe to drink.
Hey Craig, I always worry that these room temperature gravity systems are susceptible to getting moldy. Is this an issue?
Kurt Heitman: Any system in which water can be sitting still can breed microbes. So if it’s a travel system, you take it apart and wash everything but the filters, and the ceramic filters you wash with a soft cloth that doesn’t leave lint behind, or the scrubby which takes off more of the surface if you need to. Then you take some reserved filtered water, because you know that will be free of minerals, and put that in a pod with the filter in it, and slowly bring it to a boil. I usually boil my five minutes, because even though I know it doesn’t need that long, that’s where I’m comfortable. Then I just let the thing cool down to room temperature in that same pot water. Hang it in a mesh bag dry; if you’re fortunate enough to live in an area without a lot of pollution, you could hang it up in the sunshine in the mesh bag to dry.
For systems with reservoirs were waters left standing in them for long periods of time, I would definitely do the same thing. Many people with reservoirs say that they find that if they sterilize the silver coin and toss into the reservoir, that it eliminates the problem of microbial growth in the water supply.
I haven’t tested this myself, so I’ll be clear about that. But silver is well established as an agent that’s non-conducive to bacterial growth, and possibly the same can be said about viruses and protozoa. It’s used in antibacterial appointments and wound dressings, and other preparations. So I think if you have a system for storing or filtering water in which water sits for long periods of time, it would be well worth investigating. It would be very surprising to me if somebody hasn’t already done that, and it would just be a matter of finding it online.
I can attest to the absolute effectiveness of Colloidal and silver media in the ProPur filters do in fact kill bacteria and viruses. I use a Colloidal siler spray for nose, throat, and eyes, to keep viruses away, even the dreaded C one, as I am very, and I do mean very, susceptible to them. I have a Propur Nomad countertop for 8 year and it works great. Now in an emergency situation I would still advise pre-filter and boil and use Iodine or chlorine, and or setting in a glass container I the sun for several hours, to add a measure of safety to your water. Always fall on the side of caution.
That being said, I have cut open a ProPur filter and it indeed does have silver and charcoal media inside it. It does filter some what slowly, but I run water through the Propur and have extra glass dispensers as well as water filtering through the system. That way you can filter and store as much water as you have glass containers. You could do empty plastic water jugs, but I would refilter the water before drinking it. Only Propur or I think ProOne now has the silver media that water filters through. One could also pre-filter with a water zero or other pitcher filters and the refilter through a ProPur and do the other things mentioned in an emergency and be well within the safe zone IMHO!
I bought a ProOne 9inch filter (well, bought 2 but one came cracked so got a refund on the crack one). I took out all my berkey filters in my berkey (had my berkey for 11 years) and watched everything up, scrubbed down new filter as directions say. Then I put filtered gallons of bottled water in the top reading 6ppm on my TDS meter, and when the water goes through the ProOne Filter and in the bottom it first read 286ppm. I did this 4 times (waste of water), washed everything up to get all the sediments in, and put through 2 more gallons for the 5th time. Again, the read is 6ppm (wegmans filtered water using) and shockingly after all this time and effort, the water comping out is at 186ppm. Now what the heck is this filter leeching into my water to increase the ppm from 6 to 186? My berkey filters would be 6ppm to 5 or 6ppm after it went through, but.. this filter adds another 180ppm to the water so i am scared to drink it since i think what could be happening is the filter has all types of stuff in it that is disolving and getting into the drinking portion of the water. Is this perhaps why the are not NSF certified for the filter filtering out what the claim it filters out? Instead the only NSF certification is for just the parts and materials, not for how the filter actually works. I emailed the company so waiting for a response and I so hope they don't tell me the Filter adds stuff to the water that is beneficial since what goes into the filter should come out the same or better, NOT worse! I think these filters are all marketing BS and don't actually do what they claim they do, which is why they are NOT certified. The tests only go up to 200 gallons, but yet the 9 inch filter is rated for 1200 gallons (why not test to 1200 gallons?). I am so aggravated after reading all about the berkey short-commings and just seeing other companies appear to be following the same formula and just collecting money. I do have an RKIN over the counter R/O filter, but like the gravity filter for our dogs/coffee/and to drink more spring water versus just the R/O water, but i won't even give this ProOne filtered water to my dogs since who knows what is leeching out that ceramic filter and being injected into the drinking water.
Thank you. I was seriously considering buying a big berky because of its claims of filtering "stagnant pond water". I am hearing of more and more claims of their filters breaking due to cheap glue jobs.
I have 3 units for yrs I never had one break
@@christinegrady2260 Do you test your filters every few months using berkeys red dye test? I did, and ive had 3 sets of berkey black filters fail their red dye test after only a few months of filtering only tap water. Unless you do the red dye test every few months , you will not know if they are working correctly.
Berkey is being sued
Gauge for more sales. Filter out and pass all you precious rain water collected, through a dirty scum coated exterior of a filter at extortionate expense to contaminate any water to further seep through it. Health rules must get in place for this.
Seriously all you have to do is bottle up your water into the largest clear containers you have an leave it out in the direct sunlight for at least 6 hrs. Done.
Ok I learned something today. So basically you need a waterproof UVC lamp to fry the water afterwards.
I still think these filters are great, but you make a very important point. Im also glad that I have two different UVC lights and a pair of UVC goggles. Thank you mate
Yes, other non-filtration methods are UV light, pasteurization, distillation, colloidal silver, ozone, and reverse osmosis. All of these are generally not very suitable for a survival/prepper type of situations. If you use UV just make sure you have the power source available and follow the instructions carefully. With great care you could even do it with sunlight.
Simple + Safest: Heat up the water AFTER filtering!
Filter water and potable water are two different things. Filter water is for eliminate particles, but filter water is needed to produce potable water. After you filter the water you use chemical products like chlorine, or phisical procedures like destilation, or radioation with UV to make de water potable. You can use a combination of procedures to ensurem the water is safe to drink.
If you have to scrub your filter? You are using the wrong product!
I stand by what I say Inyalabudbud Punjabbidaliwad. The CDC is very clear about this if you would just bother to look. UV light is not mentioned as a method effective against viruses according to the CDC. All these water purification products are going to get people killed when there really is an emergency and I hope to save some of those lives with the truth.
ForbiddTV In Pharma industry UV light is used to kill bacteria like E-coli, but as you rightly point out not viruses. Eliminating viruses is not easy unless you are using filters with smaller pores like an RO. of course as you said the smaller pores the longer the filter process and thats why RO use high pressure for the water to pass thru. Thanks for the video and keep it up
Mario Mifsud although to be exact the CDC site says the opposite, that is, UV can kill viruses.
Mario Mifsud Thanks Mario. The CDC says to follow the manufactures directions of the device regarding UV and viruses, but do not say UV is effective for viruses.
Just because it isn't mentioned by CDC, does not mean it does not.
+Mario Mifsud what I Have 10 years R/O Is Best....... But It CAN NOT remove radioactive isotope trivium
Perhaps, but what I experience is different. I filter rainwater off my roof not only where bacteria harbor but that my roof is also coated with the chemicals in the elastomeric roofing paint where from time to time ends up in the rain water. By boiling a sample of the waters sipping a small amount of the rain water before I filter it, at times I experience negative effects which is the arsenics from the roof rather than the bacteria (I know this by the antidote I used to neutralize the effect caused either by the microbe or toxin). Once I filter the fresh (unboiled) rain water through my gravity filters, regardless to the contamination of the rainwater the end result is high quality, soothing, cool, good tasting pure purified drinking water (at a level pH 7.5 or higher. TDS 24 above or under, ORP 300 or lower). All made possible by Alexapure Pro black filters. I also have the black Berkey filters, it does a good job filtering out bacteria and most arsenics but some how it seems some of the chemicals from the roof remains present at times using the Berkey black filters (at least the ones I have). But they are both good micro ionize gravitation filters. So yes, both of brands of gravity filters removes bacteria and arsenics, but the most consistent filters are the Alexapure Pro black filters. Please note I am not paid to say this.
Ted Forbes Thank you for the information I was starting to question The safety of the water I have here in reserve for in case of emergency’s I will probably ask you a couple more questions later on if you don’t mind
I think id worry about getting a bacterial infection from drinking out of a ditch more so than a virus.
+Gordon Liddy Yes, viruses are more rare in surface water than bacteria in developed countries.
Bacteria are much much larger than viruses. Most filters should not have a problem filtering them out.
@@ForbiddTV Backcountry backpackers have been drinking surface water for decades using filters that don't remove viruses. Water-borne viruses that can infect humans are not just rare, they are nealry non-existent in developed countries. If you are drinking water that might have been exposed to raw human sewage, then yes, by all means worry about viruses. But if I am filtering water from most ponds or creeks here in the US, I have *zero* concerns about viruses. I am more worried about shark attacks.
Very good, then I suppose an animal that just did their business near where you have just drawn your water is of no concern and doesn't constitute raw sewage. Good for you, you have a magic canteen!
@@ForbiddTV No, it doesn't if I'm using a ceramic filter. The things in animal waste that can hurt us are bacteria, protozoa, and cysts. Even given the current situation, animals to human transmission of viruses is extremely rare and not something I would worry about from any surface water. And you wouldn't either if you knew anything about virus transmission.
I made the big mistake of buying a Berkey… I was called a thief a liar a cheat… At first they refused to send my product or give me my money back… After a three day fight and threatening to sue… They broke down and sent my product… Until the day I die I will never have a decent word to say about Berkey!!!
Well, the video is about a different topic, but your posting will stand.
@reg mountain: I almost bought a Berkey until I did my research . They are con artists . The data is filled with misinformation and bad math. People believe the filters can do thousands of gallons for 10 years . The people at Propur are more honest.
@@antonionitocosanostravakia2801 Well Propur and AquaRain also don't filter out a virus.
@@ForbiddTV I understand that none are very effective at virus removal . However , I believe the Berkey filters are inferior at removing bacteria. Also some viruses attach to larger particles like algae or bacteria . In other words , the 0.3 micron filters might trap at least some viruses , while the Berkey will have a near zero effect.
@@antonionitocosanostravakia2801 Berkey will claim their silver impregnated filters will kill bacteria and viruses. I don't endorse that idea with that flow rate or without evidence.
Probably best to pre-filter your water to remove as much particulates as possible, then "shock" it with chlorine to kill bacteria and viruses before filtering it with any (carbon or ceramic) water filter? Any thoughts on this?
To me, this seems redundant because you are then adding a chemical that the filter is supposedly going to have to filter out. It seems like you would decrease the life of the filter that way more than you would by boiling it first. IDK for sure, but that makes the most sense to me.
If you have prefiltter the quality of the water is pretty much constant no matter from where you dig it. Meaning it's not that hard to calculate how long the filter may last.
Craig, just found your channel. Really like your content, you are very knowledgeable. As for viruses, we were alway told to boil our water, then filter it. I always got a laugh because our instructor told us there was some debate in medical circles as to whether a virus was in fact "alive." Well, says I, if it's not "alive" how does boiling "kill" it? The best answer the military was is it would deactivate it. Who knows. All I know is boiling works.
The correct term is deactivate.
Viruses aren’t alive and are more analogous to a seed than a living organism.
Once a host is infected the by the parasitic virus, the host’s cells are hijacked and turned into virus factories which often results in illness and spreads trillions of more virus to potentially infect another host.
Virus are faulty RNA codes produced by any DNA-RNA Based life form
o.o It is only the overfed delusional West that keeps screamin somethin about FLU, GENDR, CHANGIN WEATHER, WOMEN bring a crisis & tryin to "solve" them.
Great info. Thanks for the video. Are any of the filters interchangeable? IE, Can a Berkey filter be used in the Alexapure, can the Aqua Rain filter be used in the British Berkefeld/Doulton? Do you have any idea why the Berkey need a separate filter for fluoride and the Alexapure does not? Does the Aqua Rain filter filter fluoride?
+ Samanda Interchangeability shouldn't be a concern since none will filter a virus in any event. Some will interchange, but what's the point? The post-fluoride filters are dangerous, use at your own risk. I suspect the others you name will not filter fluoride either, unless they use an alum media like the Berkey. The AquaRain claims to remove 80-85% of the fluoride. If you are so concerned about fluoride you might want to do something entirely different from any of these.
Thanks for the quick response. I asked about interchangeability for a few reasons. Price mainly, getting a gravity unit from a company that may go out of business making their filters unavailable is another, convenience is another. I wasn't asking solely for fluoride, we have well water, but my mom has municipal water, and I want to get her something.
You said the post fluoride filters are dangerous, do you mean there is a danger using the fluoride filter (made by Berkey) specifically for the gravity filters or were you referring to something else? I've held off buying any gravity filter simply because I don't really understand all there is to know about what type of filter does what, and exactly what should be filtered, and which filter media is best. The companies that come to the house to 'help' seem to be only interested in sales and commission.
Samanda Steam distillers remove a high percentage of fluoride, and virtually any good reverse osmosis unit will provide fluoride reduction of 95% or better. Activated alumina, called AAL, removes fluoride well, but requires a relatively large bed and very slow flow rates. Activated Alumina is the most commonly used fluoride removal media today. This media is essentially granulated or powdered aluminum (aluminum oxide) that is preconditioned with chemicals. It is generally quite effective at removing fluoride, but is a toxic compound in its own right. In fact, if you are considering any filter system with Activated Alumina, be sure the system has KDF media DOWNSTREAM of the Activated Alumina. This will offer some level of protection when Alumina makes its way into your water, as it will. You can expect a greater than 90% removal of Fluoride with Activated alumina.
ForbiddTV WOW, thanks for the reply! Is it even possible to do steam distilling at home? And in a whole house system? It seems RO is the best way then. So, if a person has whole house RO, is there any added benefit to a gravity filter?
Samanda Home distillers are easily available for under $200. They use a lot of electricity. Reverse osmosis systems use water pressure and waste a lot of water. So neither of them are useful in preparedness situations. There are wood fired distillers and hand pump RO systems as well. Both of these methods remove all the beneficial minerals as well that you might need for long-term health. Your insistence on also filtering water is meaningless since these systems would leave nothing to filter. This video was here primarily to educate dumbasses who think they're going to buy a filter to make surface water safe to drink, It is beyond the scope of this video to recommend the best water purification system for you. Please do your own research; the answers will not come to you through a couple lines in a comment section on UA-cam, especially from sharks on UA-cam who have their channels monetized or sell water filtration products.
Relax most bodies of water within a moderately healthy eco system in N.America do not contain viruses. If the water is stagnant with a dead animal or animals boil it in addition to filtering it. I assume in a survival situation you packed a way to make fire if not your not going to survive anyway but mainly due to low I.Q not bad water.
While you didn't specifically state the black carbon filters, you made a point that a virus can't be filtered out. I've had a Berkey purifier for a few years that I use to improve the taste of my tap water. I've been very satisfied as it removes all the odor from chlorine and any other odors that are periodically present. I've utilized the black carbon filters, hopefully I won't ever be concerned about more than taste and smell. Although my confidence in our infrastructure isn't what it once was...
And there is nothing wrong with that, just don't depend on it if you think you will be able to use it safely for surface water.
we get the point, ceramic filters don't work on viruses, and ceramic filter depending on how you clean them ware down and may need replacing sooner than expected. If you want to filter/kill viruses use a different system such as osmoses, UV or other. Good info but really dragged out.
So what ur telling me is that katadyn pocket 300$ filter is bullsht?
Anonymous Maximus That's what you said. I said, "Filtratuon is not effective in removing a virus" which is what the CDC says.
Katadyn doesnt claim it filters viruses. I a crisis i would prefere msr Guardian and lifestraw mission. Both filter viruses through hollow fibre.
You can treat with chlorine then filter and it takes the chlorine out......If you're worried about viruses.
You can not filter out chlorine unless you use a lot of activated carbon.
All you need to do is let it sit for a few hours or days, and the chlorine will leave the water. Chlorine is a gas, and it leaves the water just like carbonation in soda. It just takes a little longer.
After sitting few hrs or days, do you then filter?
@@RT-yc3tk But at that point the water may have picked up new contaminates if left open...
@@thermophile2106 Chloramine will not evaporate and many muni water systems have long since switched to using it vs regular chlorine.
Would you please share a link to buy supplies for making drinking water safe? Thank you!
When it comes to product testing , u cant put a video out unless u tested it urself, all u can say is based on research u found from others, and u cant say with certainty. Thats like me saying that the shark vaccuum has more suction than a dyson, i cant claim that in a video , all i can say is a shark has more suction than a dyson based on "their " research. Untill i do my own teat, i cant claim nothing like u are doing , al, u can do is post others research and leave it at that buddy, untill u do u own research and test ur theroy and then and only then u can make ur claim.
+Daniel Charette I do a lot of research, but I don't have a known virus to test it and I wouldn't be stupid enough to drink water contaminated with viruses since I know they can't be filtered out. Why would I crash test a car for instance that is "proven" to be safe? Proven by who? The manufacturer?
Daniel Charette obviously he can, because he did.
Daniel Charette wait a minute, didn't he clearly state in his video that these were the CDC's findings?
Freedom of speech
Viruses are destroyed by UV or sunlight. Viruses are the least of my worries. Its the bacteria, parasites and protozoa that concern me
Smart man 💪
you have to boil surface water first. period!!
Before or after filtering, as long as boiling is in there somewhere.
@@ForbiddTV I say before. Why contaminate the vessel?
Thank you for your info! Are these filters effective in removing heavy metals and industrial contaminants?
Jon Ultime Heavy metals is usually pretty easy, chemicals hit and miss. It really depends on the filter.
After I made this video I also did a great companion video further proving what I say about ceramic filters, viruses and surface water: ua-cam.com/video/HC-1rlRks64/v-deo.html
+ForbiddTV i am new to this lol so sorry for asking but were i to add one of those UV treatment devices to this type of system would it sufficiently kill off virus's. I do a lot of survivalist camping and canoeing and generally pull water from the rivers i am on I use a pump with the same filter as the straw lol However I am not brave enough to stop there so i always add tablets to it to be sure and then usually i am boiling it for coffee lol lol but not using the pills would increase the taste, thoughts?
+Chris Haines The CDC does not recognize UV light as a safe method of deactivating a virus. They say only to follow the manufacturers instructions carefully.
Thank you so much for the response I watched your alternate video and am glad that i did i have a life straw and other filters i use regularly. However I am in Canada and am very particular when sourcing usually we pump then pill then boil. As I suffer from crohns disease any gut problems can be potentially lethal if left unchecked for me so best to avoid avoid avoid lol thanks again
bo ter berg
Carbon based filters can trap chlorine and most of them have a carbon base in them, The problem with this is if you simply add the chlorine to the unfiltered water hopper. You need a certain contact time with the water before it has a chance to "escape" through the filter before inactivated. To be safe follow the product directions in a separate container, then add it to your filter system.
If by the 'straw' you mean the ''lifestraw' brand they dont use a ceramic filter. They use a 2 stage filter consisting of a hollow membrane filtering down to 0.2 microns and a carbon filter. rule of thumb, always boil in a survival situation after filtering.
So in other words a water Distiller is still the best.
Distillation does do most anything, including sea water...
Yes except you need an energy source other than gravity.
Dennis McKeown but no trace minerals left. Just dead steam vapor water
there are disadvantages to distilled water as well
@@dedmotorhed you get trace minerals from food... The trace minerals in water are not bio available anyway.
thanks for the video you are awesome ! are those filters good enough to filter water from a dehumidifier?
Not if there is a virus present.
How about ceramic filters impregnated with colloidal silver? That would work!
Hydrsolized silver would even be better. Has more uses & is shelf stable. Were as colloidal silver has a short shelf life.
You Can buy silver impregnated ceramic ones on Amazon . then place an active carbon filter below it to improve taste .. Or distill it if you need it sterile
I could be wrong, but I thought the silver somehow prevented bacteria from reproducing. I have not yet seen silver advertised for viruses, only bacteria.
Is the charcoal filter safe for surface water? Thanks for the video.
Certainly not. It won't filter out a virus.
@@ForbiddTV Thanks.
filter and boil? can't it 've that simple?
what about boil and filter?
@@LightWaIker Boil in either case. Filtering would be only a choice, not a necessity.
for this system,
qns
1) does it work with mud and drain water? (assuming the water was treated with chloride)
2)does it remove fluoride?
3) I assume it wil remove chloride too. please correct if im wrong.
4)does it remove those lead polluted (i'm refer to those in USA news tap water being polluted for months and years
thanks as always!
5) Does it remove pesticides polluted water? (e.g near a farmland)
Thanks as always!
+weinfin 1) ceramic filters will plug very quickly with muddy water. By drain water I guess you will mean grey or black water, you would never want to use a ceramic filter for either of those.
2) Fluoride could be reduced, depending on the filter. The post fluoride filters some companies offer can be dangerous.
3)Chloride would be the job of activates carbon media
4)Depends on the filter, but generally effective
5)Depends on the filter
best water filter ....stop polluting the water
Way too late for that, the damage is already done.
Makes sense.
I questioned the umteen ridiculous gallons some filters claim.
Fortunately, most are using these filters to filter tap water or well water
The chlorine idea is good. I do Health Board compliance tests for industrial equipment in Canada. The regulations require 100ppm chlorine. I use chlorine test strips. Excellent video and considering getting a unit as you show.
You actually made this content make sense. Great video!!
Hi, I just want to make a filter that gets rid of the lime build up that's happening in my humidifiers. I am allergic to the white dust that comes out. When I use a hot humidifier, I end up with such thick build up that it takes 5 hours with an ice pick to eventually chip it all off (and that's a repeated task I must perform every two weeks or less!).
I have tried the industrial strenght vinegar as will as scale removers made for humidifiers to try and remove it, but that doesn't work and it's back to a whole evening with the ice pick.
So, I made a homade ceramic filter (knew it wasn't great for drinking, but I wasn't drinking it). However, that did nothing to avert the build up.
If you made a video on just how to build a cost efficient, homemade water filter that only removed lime or scale (drinkable not required), I'd be so grateful.
(Maybe you have! This is the first video I have seen. If you have, maybe let me know the title. Remember, I'm not looing for drinkable water, just no-lime water). Thanks!
Love the Fallout sign in the back, by the way!
You must be in a very dry climate and must be using well water in your humidifier. Distilled water should solve that problem, but I don't know how expensive that would get since I don't know how much water those consume. Or maybe city water from somewhere if you can easily obtain it. I would have thought ceramic filters would remove lime, but would probably foul the filters if it is as bad as you say. A cheap ceramic filter that you could make yourself and just dispose of instead of buying new ones would be a clay flower pots, just plug the bottom hole with rubber or cork stopper. You might find having a bunch of flower pots around with water in them might even humidify the room well enough without the humidifier.
Are ypu saying them ceramic filters fter better than the black berkey ones? I thought it was the opposite
Perhaps you didn't get the main thrust of the video:
"Filtration is not effective in removing a virus". That would mean either type. At .9 microns, how could you possibly think a black filter is better? ua-cam.com/video/HC-1rlRks64/v-deo.html
What type of filter would be ideal for making potable water?
And is there a filter of any sort that tends to last the longest?
With the corona virus spreading what sort of filter could a person make themselves in the event the stores sell out of filters?
Maybe you don't understand what was repeated many times in this video:
"Filtration is not effective in removing a virus".
ForbiddTV no you misunderstood me... I didn't ask about how to filter out a virus..
I said with corona going around how can I make my own filter... In the event stores are sold out of filters..
Is there a diy filter or instructions how to build ur own water filter to make potable water albeit might contain corona..
what about the other 2 questions?
@@Rizik1986 No filter will make potable water from contaminated water. If that was the case, water treatment plants would just use filters. They obviously don't. Not sure what is so hard to understand about that. That answers every single question regarding filters.
What micron is needed to filter viruses? This you did not specify.
I did specify this in the video. A virus measures between .005 and .3 microns.
@@ForbiddTV какво ще се случи, ако използваме филтър 0.001nм?
so what are you saying? stay in the city and drink tap water!
I never said that, I clearly said you can't filter out a virus with these ceramic filters.
so basically you have to boil the water for a minute before putting it through the filter, simple enough
What if you boil the water first before you put it in the tank
YES, you can do it :).
Great informative video. Thank you for sharing. Can you use your knowledge to sue these companies for false and dangerous claims in their advertisements. Not that I promote suing but this is serious.
I have enough lawsuits on my plate thus far. In order to sue, there needs to be an injured party. Someone who got sick using their products would be necessary.
@@ForbiddTV thanks for getting back to me.
Called Berkey today (09-27-16) and they insist that theres does in fact filter out viruses. {Perhaps its a newer feature}
The CDC is still very clear: "Filtration is not effective in removing viruses." The black and ceramic cartridges from Berkey have been out for more than a decade, so no, nothing new there. And since the micron size of the black one is .9 microns (see another video I did) and a virus measures between .005 and .3 microns, tell me again how they can filter out a virus...
UV light system following a ceramic filter will be 100% safe, yes?
Not necessarily.
Firstly, the ceramic filter is immaterial for your question since it won't remove the virus if the UV system doesn't kill it. If the UV does effectively disable the virus, then what is the purpose of the ceramic filter?
Although UV can kill/disable a virus it is fraught with problems in a survival situation and the CDC does not recognize it probably because implementation due to all the variables: What frequency of light? How
many lumens at that frequency? How turbid (cloudy) is the water? What
is the effective penetrating depth of the light? How long does it get exposed after all these variables come into play? Of course you also need power to create the UV which might not be available in a SHTF situation.
id have steel mesh and ceramic for clarification purposes and the UV light following it to kill anything that might still be present.
A ceramic filter is one of the worst filters you can pick for "clarification purposes". It will plug up very quickly in an instance like that.
What are you talking about. A filter system with ceramic filters as a component clarifies the water. That is the whole point of a filter...
Perhaps you need to look up the meaning of the word clarification and try again... If you put a lot of solids in it as in surface water we have been talking about, it will plug up very quickly.
I just wanna get rid of the chlorine/fluoride/etc that's coming thru my shower and sink, what's your best recommendation to achieve that?
Jeremy Lovell The most common way is post-fluoride filters, but BEWARE! It's another lie of the Berkey. Even if it may work for a short period of time it adds ALUMINA to the treated water. Check out this website for more: www.dancingwithwater.com/articles/how-to-remove-fluoride-from-water/
What system do you recommend to filter or get rid of viruses in water, especially in river water?
Vartilak Novehestum I don't necessarily recommended any 'system'. The CDC says rolling boil, chlorine, chlorine dioxide, and iodine. At that point you can filter the water with whatever you want if you feel the need to.
Great info Thanks . Is Roof rain water considered surface water? We have seagulls around here and I would be wary of drinking roof water after your explanation
Correct. Unless you had a sterile catchment system, you would need to treat it to be safe.
Ceramic is fine. Just add secondary UV, RO, or boil.
UV, RO or boil is fine, ceramic is secondary.
@@ForbiddTV Opposite IMO. UV/RO/Boil should be LAST step in the process, otherwise you bog them up, pending water quality..
UV and Boiling doesn't remove sediment, which can also be harmful. Ceramic does. Use both.
Might I remind you that without making the water safe from parasites, cysts, bacteria, viruses, protozoa, you have nothing. Filtration is optional.
Thanks for the information. Can I use those ceramic filters on shallow well water? Currently I use mine only on irrigation but it's just 20 feet and it has the rotten egg smell and iron/rust.
Easy Johnny You can use ceramic filters on whatever water you want, but if there are viruses present you are on your own.
Thanks for explaining very well....
What type of water filter do you recommend for a survival situation, and great video
None. The CDC says; "Filtration is not effective in removing a virus." They say rolling boil, iodine, chlorine and chlorine dioxide. If you had no viruses present, any filter that filters down to .3 microns will suffice. ua-cam.com/video/HC-1rlRks64/v-deo.html
ForbiddTV thanks
when I go camping I use ceramic filters with the lake or stream water. I never caught a virus but I will keep this info in mind
I'm not sure I'm getting this right? You SHOULD use ceramic filters for all your SHTF water needs, just be sure to follow it up with iodine or chlorine or boiling.
What am I missing?
If you are using those methods you don't even necessarily need to filter at all. The point is since you can't filter out a virus you can't depend strictly on a filter alone for surface water.
thank you for all your videos...is there any water filtration that can filter pool water?
+Todd Burr Pool water is a good source since it is a whole lot of storage and has already been pre-treated to some extent. Look for a filter with carbon for chlorine removal, but in a emergency situation your pool water will soon go bad since you cannot maintain it without power and you will still hae to worry about viruses. Then the same rules apply - boil, iodine, chlorine, distillation or reverse osmosis.
OK, I get this. I'm seeing that for some, they are just considering the "Berkey" for emergency purposes, like if there's some sort of cataclysmic event and there's no running water available. In a case like that, there may be only lakes, streams, rivers, etc. to use for drinking and then they'd pour water from one of those sources into their Berkey. You say it shouldn't be use for surface water but what's your advice if there were a situation where "surface water" was all that was available?
As I said in the video, to treat surface water; chlorine, chlorine dioxide, iodine or rolling boil for one minute.
Can you use a ceramic filter to filter out the iodine taste of iodine treated water from the river?
whats the micron rating for alexapure? berkey? and aquarain? And btw do you have an email where one could contact you? Thanks for your channel, very informative.
Those are all gravity fed ceramic filters. None will remove a virus.and I said in the video, Aquarain is .3, Berkey is .9 (although they are good at hiding it) and Alexapure I couldn't find a micron rating. Contact information is in the "about" section of this channel.
ForbiddTV : unfortunately I can’t see the about section from my phone. If you could post the email or simply email me the info, that would be great. My email is uprising144k at gmail. And it’s too bad the alexapure doesn’t provide that info :(. Thanks for the reply 👍
@@UPRISING144K Alexapure may publish it somewhere, but it doesn't matter. No mater what it is it will still be grossly insufficient to filter a virus.
ForbiddTV : I found the answer, it’s .2
@@UPRISING144K Since a virus measures between .005 and .3 microns, my previous comment obviously still stands.
I hope someone will read this question someday.... What about collected rainwater, does that counts as Surface Water? And i own a Katadyn (3x 0,2 micron ceradyn filters) , those filters are silver impregnated, does that make any difference?
And how do you propose to collect the rainwater? Can't be from a roof, and your entire collection system must be sterile.
@@ForbiddTV for those SHTF situations i thought thats where the filter for. But after watching your video i can asume that those filters do less good work than manufacturers will tell you. But still, i think that drinking filtered rainwater is beter then no water. I have about 100 liter spare tap-water stored with those conservation en cleaning drops (also from Katadyn, can store it for 6 months) but in a bad situation 100 liter is like nothing. Cant fill my entire home with jerrycans tapwater🙄
Does Berkey even sell the white ceramic filters anymore?
my issue with manufactured filters for porpos of survival, is they depend on filters that need to be replaced. and I don't think there is a law of science that says a survival situation has to be magically resolved in 3 days. all survival situations have a potential of becoming long term. weather they do or not is dependant on many things, but there is a chance you might need cleen water longer than the filter is able to provide. and none of the companies offer a method to teach or show people how to identify and use filter media in the bush. these ceramic filters are actually very effective. and here is what a lot of folks don't know, very old. it is possibly one of mans first means to filter heavily contaminated water effectively. look into porus clay pots sailers tossed over board and anchored with ropes tied to the deck at night. when pulled in they had clean water in them, not salt water from the ocian. so these guys had a means to make these with what was around them, and with limited tools and tech. similar to what we would have at our disposal in a survival situation. we know Africa is using clay and sawdust fired into a ceramic for this porpous. and have had huge success in providing potable water. I think in combination with a pre filter through charcoal, and boiling after, a means to produce safe to drink water in the most limited situations is possible. the books say we can just use charcoal and boil. but little information is offered past this. we need this information to become common knowlage, and not be so hard to get. maybe with the help of good folks like you, this can be possible
For dealing with viruses, how effective are UV lights? What spectrum? I understand that there are rechargeable battery powered UV lights that can be added to gravity fed systems. Is this a viable solution?
Yes UV light is recognized for disabling viruses. Do some research as far as frequency, lumens, turbidity and exposure time, or follow the manufacturers instructions carefully. For survival purposes they are difficult because of their need for batteries or an electrical outlet.
Great vid I totally agree, ceramic filtration is only PHASE 1 of filtration!! I have not pulled the trigger on a drip filter yet but if I do I am definitely going with Katadyn over Berkey or Propur, etc. I trust their quality more, does anyone have multiple brands who can comment on the comparison? I've read SO MANY dripping complaints with Berkey.
so you are saying here in the U.S. all the rain water and streams and lakes all have virus's in them, the ones I'm taking about the big black berkey aren't even in the same league as those ceramic filters. the berkey filters may take longer then those because it filters more stuff, therefore it is a better filter
You are not going to get anywhere promoting the Berkey on this channel. A Berkey with four "black" filters takes about 20 minutes to filter a gallon, whereas the similar models such as the ProPur, British Berkefeld (that Berkey copied) or AquaRain take about an hour with four filters, so your statement is extremely wrong. And anytime there is an animal doing its business in your water source (or on your roof in the case of rainwater) you have a chance of viruses being present. Sorry if you bought a big black lie; don't doom others to your mistake just to try to save face.
So what are the best filters 🤷🏻♀️
Whichever you want, none of them filter viruses, most will filter out bacteria.
Thanks for this info. Some manufacturers claim 'silver impregnated' on these ceramic filters, and that it is anti bacterial - do think this is legit? (Stefani ceramic with silver - filter)
The problem with this assertion is you need a certain amount of contact time with the water in order to utilize the silver meme. The Berkey for instance which makes such claims filters a gallon of water in just 20 minutes, so the silver contact time is only seconds.
@@ForbiddTV thats a good point, thank you for the reply - appreciated.
the black berkey also is carbon ceramic so you could use it for surface water
I guess you. didn't. watch the video. The CDC clearly says "filtration is not effective in removing viruses".
I just purchased the Rain Fresh gravity water system it says it reduction 99.9999% of bacteria,cyst ( cryptosporidium & Giardia) so what do you think about this system I have four filters in it??? Thanks it also claims for camping, prepping emergency, lake water, ponds, rivers, ext. thanks really need your advice 🇨🇦thankyou
I pretty much showed you in the video. It won't filter viruses, but you may not have viruses in your source. To be safe I wouldn't use it for surface water sources without boiling the water.
Thank you for posting this video. I've been searching this very topic and my concern was whether the "claims" made by Berkey, et al, really did "filter out" viruses and pathogens. I recently heard about UVC-254 nanometer lights and was wondering what your take was on their efficacy in removing viruses, etc.???
"Filtration is not effective in removing a virus" - US Center for Disease Control and prevention
So what you are saying is if you are getting your water from a stream lake or pond boil it after running it through any gravity fed water filtration system ....
If there is a virus present, yes.
Aren't a lot of these filters treated with colloidal silver, and won't that decrease pathogens?
+John Strabismus There doesn't appear to be any reliable documentation on this idea. What concentrations? How long of a contact time? The CDC does not recognize silver in their literature, but there may be some truth to it, we just need proof.
ForbiddTV Well, I'd use one of those filters. and if I was still unsure I'd heat the water to 162F, which is slightly above pasteurization temp. Either that, or I might put the water into a clear container, put the container into strong sunlight for 6 or 8 hours, and use the UV method to kill any remaining pathogens.
John Strabismus
You are rolling the dice on all these methods. Research pasteurization. How long at that temp? Does it kill viruses? Clear container? I can get algae and other things to grow in such an environment. UV is also not recognized as effective by the CDC. I gave you four methods that are proven to be at least very effective, and instead you want to argue three others that have not been proven.
ForbiddTV Just delete my comments if it'll make you feel better.
John Strabismus
No need to delete anything, it just appears you are making things harder (and more dangerous) than they need to be.
Great vid! What about a Charcoal filter for surface water?
+William Jones A virus is too small. Charcoal is typically used for chemical reduction.
Well "You can't blame a girl for trying :-) "
Ha! Ha! Ha!
I understand the fact that some viruses are too small to filter and that a lot of ground water does not contain viruses. Would be safe to boil the filtered water if it came from a lake or river, but what about rain water? I want to set up a water collection system for my roof. Do you think it would be safe to drink when filtered through a ceramic filter like this?
Robert Ballard No it wouldn't be safe either and has to be treated as surface water as well. How do you intend to keep your collection system sterile? You have no birds, insects, leaves, etc?
Thanks for the reply. I see videos of people living off grid and they are filtering rain water from a collection tank using a ceramic filter and using it for drinking water for years with no problems. I have also seen some videos where they add some chlorine to the storage tank. Are they all adding chlorine and just forgetting to mention it? I would think you would then need a charcoal filter to get rid of the chlorine along with the ceramic filter correct?
Robert Ballard Carbon filters should reduce chlorine. In the old days they would just store their water in underground tanks called cisterns and use it without filtration. A virus will not survive very long in the cold environment. Our life expectancy was much lower then too...
filtering and purifying are 2 different terms, Berky and other companies rate some of their filters as water purifying, purifying is cleansing from viruses and bacteria.
But the CDC statement is very clear; "filtration is not effective in removing a virus".
What do you think of the Alexapure
Will these ceramic filters (like your Aqua Rain) remove iodine? Could I add iodine to warm water, let it sit, then use the AquaRain to remove the iodine?
kwhatten You would have to check the specifications of your unit to find out.
Question ...first thank you soooo much I have been going crazy trying to find that answer. Can you tell me will boiling iodine or chlorine take care of toxins or God forbid radiation?
Boiling iodine or chlorine isn't even remotely a thing for toxins. Radiation isn't a problem at all, but certainly not with iodine or chlorine.
Just found this, thanks for the upload!
So, question: I own one of the berkey filter systems. To get around the 'can't remove a virus thing' I could just add the required amount of chlorine and then, after the needed time has elapsed, run it through the berkey to remove all the other stuff, including chlorine?
Also, what about the activated charcoal filters? Will they do any better? Thanks!
If you are using chlorine, then that will kill things if used properly, so why the Berkey? If you use a Berkey or any ceramic filter they will plug up very quickly with surface water.
Activated charcoal is mainly for chemicals/pesticides. It won't do anything for the bacteria, cryptosporidium, giardia, viruses... I thought I made it clear what the CDC says: "filtration is not effective for removing viruses".
I understand that. BUT.... I also prefer not to drink water (if possible) that tastes like a swimming pool, or what have you.
My setup is I store drinking water that has been purified and has stabilized oxygen additive. Outside I have rain barrels for our garden and, if necessary, I can clean that for washing use.
My thinking is using simple filter for any other water to get the big stuff out, treat with chlorine, and then filter through a ceramic if needed to get taste out. Does that work?
Also, I know bleach is recommended, but what about swimming pool chlorine additive, shock treatments, etc. Do those last as long? Store better?
meunke
You keep jumping around. Storing water is extremely problematic, it will contaminate itself since storage methods are not perfectly sterile. Why store any if you already have a swimming pool? That's more than you could store anyway. If you are so afraid of chlorine, then use something else, SUCH AS BOILING!
Uhm.... because I don't have a swimming pool? I just have easy access to HTH. From what I've read, bleach stores for about 6 months before it really starts to degrade, but kept cool and dry, out of the sun and in seal containers, HTH can last for perhaps a couple of years.
Not afraid of chlorine, I just don't like the taste. And yeah, if it came down to that or dying, I'd drink the chlorine tasting stuff. BUT, if I have a choice, I'd rather do something about the taste if I could. Further, I've read (still researching) that there are some 'hard shelled' organisms that can survive the bleach treatment, but will be removed by the finer filters, so combining both seems like a good idea if possible.
My first plan is to bug in, as it's hard to travel with 4 kids under the age of 8, as that is going to be the best bet on possible disaster in my area. Our city water supply is very reliable, but it's always good to have a backup.
And yes, you're right, boiling is the best method. But that also takes a lot of fuel and time. Fuel, depending on the situation, may be a problem.
"it will contaminate itself since storage methods are not perfectly sterile."
- Eventually, I'm sure it would. Stabilized and cleaned prior to storing in dedicated containers it should last for a while from the EPA and other sources I've read. Several people I know have stored water in barrels inside in this manner and had them tested after three years and they were totally fine. And I can always filter/post treat if I REALLY need to.
The issue for me is that there really isn't a way for me to store ALL the water I might need for a longer term situation (more than two weeks). So, I need to have a standby to purify water from other sources (hence rain collection as well as HTH and / or filters.
You are jumping all over the place again. Go with whatever you want since you are wanting to get way too complicated. You will have about 40-50 gallons of safe available to you stored in your water heater and pipes. Rain water is not safe without treating.
Can I use ceramic filter for tap water?
Of course, but there won't be anything there to remove.
Ceramic filters don't filter out lead. Only bacteria and protozoa. Does that mean we need to use more than one filtering system?
Ceramic filters most certainly do filter lead. thesafehealthyhome.com/best-lead-removal-water-filters/ They just don't filter out viruses.
Would it be safe if I first use the ceramic filter, then boil, and then storing it in safe containers?
Glenn Sosinske The problem with this is long term storage which is what it sounds like your intent is. You would have to make the containers sterile to assure long storage life and keep everything sterile until the containers are sealed. This really can't be done outside of laboratory conditions.
However, if your containers are generally clean and sealed well, you will likely be able to get away with storing water for longer periods, but you can't assure safety: www.artofmanliness.com/articles/hydration-for-the-apocalypse-how-to-store-water-for-long-term-emergencies/ Your safe bet would be to boil the water from storage before use.
However there is a much simpler way to have quantities of drinkable water on hand for emergencies without doing anything at all: ua-cam.com/video/P-JKHyPg8uo/v-deo.html
ForbiddTV thank you very much for your feedback.
The aqua pro has ceramic with silver and charcoal , it’s not just ceramic filter .
The Berkey is too. Dangerous for surface water. Most other brands are not just ceramic filters either, most also have activated carbon/charcoal too. Dangerous for surface water.
You could put distilled water in the ceramic water filter.
For what reason? Distilled water already is safe to drink.