Test Proves Survival Water Filters Useless?

Okay, so the title is a tad like clickbait, I’ll admit, but when I first watched the video I began to wonder just how useful my survival water filters were seeing as though my trusted black Berkey filters, Lifestraw, and Sawyer Mini all performed quite poorly at removing total dissolved solids, red food dye and even iron. But that doesn’t quite tell the whole story (read on after watching the video), and if you watch toward the end, you’ll get a glimpse inside several of the filters since he cuts them open…

Worried yet?

Don’t be. Long story short, your traditional survival filter isn’t meant to do a good job at removing total dissolved solids, food dye, or even iron. That’s not their purpose.

But if you need more assurances, one of the video commenters points out that:

• “TDS should not to be considered a measure to determine filter performance, unless the filter is designed only to do that specifically (as the RO or Zero filter). TDS only states how much ionic compounds are dissolved in water, some of which (e.g. Calcium and Magnesium) are actually desirable for taste.”
• “Life straws (either UF membranes or ceramic NF elements) will not withhold dissolved solids, but will retain bacteria, something the other filters will be hopeless at.” [I assume this is in reference to the filters that generally performed the best, not necessarily the Berkey or Sawyer filters.]
• “Both a Zero filter and an RO should not be used for bacterial removal: use the life straw for that (or just boil it!).”

Unfortunately, the tests performed in the video don’t focus on bacterial or protozoa removal, easily two of the most crucial concerns during a survival situation, fluoride, arsenic, or another other hazardous chemical commonly found in water.

Another video commenter reminds us that, “It’s worth noting that the Sawyer, Survivor and Lifestraw filters have a different function than a lot of the other ones tested: They’re meant to remove harmful microbes and their cysts from water to prevent you from getting sick.”

Remember, too, that filtering out all dissolved solids, including minerals, isn’t always a good thing because it affects taste and, as you well know, minerals are crucial to your health. You may as well drink distilled if you try to remove everything, which I wouldn’t recommend.

My advice: Go purchase yourself some quality survival water filters now before they become too expensive (the Berkey filters went up $25 since I purchased them a month or two ago) or are simply unavailable when SHTF.

The world is going to shit, folks. Inflation is no longer in check and people are beginning to wake up. Get ahead of the curve while you still can.