When you purchase a Berkey water filter, you know you are getting a high-quality system that removes many harmful, fouling-smelling, and awful-tasting chemicals and particles. But did you know they also remove fluoride? Well, some of them do.
If you have questions about how Berkey fluoride filters work and how they work so well, you have come to the right place. You will find out how a Berkey filter can do what it does and all the benefits that come with this reliable water filtration system.
Why Remove Fluoride from Drinking Water in the First Place?
Fluoride is often associated with strong, healthy teeth, applied through certain types of toothpaste or directly added to your mouth by a dentist. However, many people are unaware of the levels of fluoride found in your everyday drinking water.
The government has been adding fluoride to the water system for many years – around 70, to be more precise. They started doing this in the 1950s in hopes of decreasing the rate of tooth decay in the American population.
However, since this action was taken, dental hygiene has become more of a common practice among individuals, with many more tools and professionals to help them out. This assistance reduces the need for fluoride in our water supply and can actually lead to some health issues, such as:
- Dental and skeletal fluorosis (teeth pitting and staining in kids/bone weakness)
- Hypothyroidism
- Cognitive impairment
- Unbalanced enzymes
- Electrolyte disturbance
While the fluoride level in your tap water alone won’t cause significant harm, combining it without fluoride-filled products might.
How Do Berkey Fluoride Filters (PF-2) Work?
A Berkey fluoride water filter utilizes a gravitational filter system, which uses gravity to pull water down through each filter, where the micropores and the product’s unique design hold on to viruses, bacteria, and other hazardous particles, eliminating them from the water you drink.
The science behind Berkey fluoride filters revolves around activated aluminum oxide. Activated aluminum oxide absorbs fluoride at a high capacity, drawing in more particles than other materials.
Fluoride particles are drawn to the wide-surface-area compound. Because it doesn’t dissolve, the particles will always remain in the filter, attached to the aluminum, until there is no space left.
How does this affect tap water? The majority of municipalities add two ppm of fluoride to their water supplies. PF-2 filters sold by Berkey reduce this concentration to around 0.1 ppm, meaning your water will have close to no fluoride at all.
PF-2 filters are also well-known for removing other heavy metals, including arsenic, from your water supply—another bonus to this home water filtration system.
If you use well water, you won’t necessarily need these filters for fluoride removal because there isn’t any added to the supply. However, these are a great option if you are worried about arsenic.
Is Activated Aluminum Safe to Use?
According to the EPA, activated aluminum is one of the best ways to remove many contaminants from drinking water, including fluoride and arsenic. This natural way to absorb these dangerous materials is up to 99% effective.
Activated aluminum is excellent at catching dangerous materials without leaching into the water itself or absorbing the natural minerals inside the water.
Is Activated Aluminum the Same as Aluminum?
While pure aluminum is highly reactive and water-soluble, linking it to many adverse health problems, activated aluminum is not water-soluble and actually very stable, making it a safe medium for filtration.
Water soluble means the aluminum will attach itself to other particles flowing through the filter and end up in your drinking water. That’s why the distinction between pure and activated aluminum is so critical.
Using the PF-2 Filters
While the original system works fantastic and removes tons of elements from drinking water all on its own, they do not remove fluoride. You must purchase the PF-2 filters separately or in a bundle to obtain this benefit.
The only way you can use the PF-2 filters is when you combine them with Black Berkey Purification Elements. The PF-2 filters attach directly to the Black Berkey filters, combining the two and amplifying the benefits.
Depending on the size of your water system, you may need to purchase multiple PF-2 filters for maximum benefits.
Replacing the PF-2 Filters
One of the disadvantages of using a filter system like this is that they only have so much room to store these impurification particles. Once the filter is completely full, it will no longer be effective and must be replaced.
Berkey’s PF-2 filters typically last through over 14,000 liters of water. This means you should replace them around the six-month mark if you use up to 72 liters of water daily.
That is a lot of water, especially if you are only using it for drinking purposes, so you shouldn’t have to replace the filters all that often if you are only filtering your drinking water.
Regular Black Berkey filters will last for up to 85,974 liters of water, so you must keep an eye on both options when changing them out. You’ll need to replace the white PF-2 filters more often than the black canisters.
Are Berkey Water Filters Worth Purchasing?
The Berkey company is well-known for making top-of-the-line, reputable, high-quality water filtration systems. When you factor in an additional water filter that can add another layer of protection to your drinking water, why not take advantage of it?
You will get all the benefits of the original water filtration system and remove added fluoride and arsenic simultaneously.
You can shop for a Berkey system at Conscious Water for the ultimate selection, great prices, and friendly customer service.
