How Often Do You Clean Your Berkey Container

Berkey is i of the most pop water filtration manufacturers, favored for the loftier quality of its countertop water filters – as you'll know if you own one of these filters yourself.

While for the most office, you can leave the Berkey filters to get on with their own thing, information technology's of import to make clean the filters every bit recommended past Berkey.

In this guide, I'll provide you with the step-by-pace process for cleaning the Black Berkey purification elements at domicile or in the field.

Why is Cleaning Berkey Filters Important?

A set of two Black Berkey elements will last much longer than the boilerplate water filter – ordinarily for around 6,000 gallons or 3 years. Simply in this time, you may notice that it starts to accept the elements longer and longer to filter your water. This is a sign that the filters are becoming likewise clogged with sediment to piece of work finer, and yous'd benefit from washing away the sediment to meliorate their efficiency.

If your water is particularly loftier in contaminants, is especially important that you clean your Black Berkey purification elements to go along them working at their all-time.

How Exercise I Know When Information technology'south Fourth dimension For a Berkey H2o Filter Cleaning?

The most obvious sign that your Black Berkey filters need cleaning is that the rate of water filtration between the 2 chambers has slowed right down.

A set of 2 new Berkey filters should filter water at a rate of 1 gallon per hour, while a set of 4 Black Berkey filters can filter two gallons per hour. If you notice that the filter menstruum charge per unit isn't what it once was, and the filters haven't reached the cease of their lifespan however, the problem is about likely that turbidity and sediment take clogged the filters' micropores.

You tin give the dye test a try if you want to see how well your filter arrangement is working and whether maintenance is necessary. Berkey systems are capable of removing dye entirely from contaminated water.

Give the dye test a become by adding some ruby nutrient coloring to the top chamber. If, when used to filter this dye, the unit of measurement produces water with a pink or reddish tinge, or it's specially slow to produce results, it could exist a sign that your filter elements need maintenance, or that you need to shop for replacement elements to improve your experience with flow rate and filtering effectiveness.

berkey water filter and purification elements

How Often Should I Clean My Black Berkey Purification Elements?

Berkey recommends that you make clean the filter elements in its systems on "a consistent footing" – preferably every six months. According to Berkey, you should make clean the Black Berkey filters on a regular schedule, at least every 12 months, or one time a year, from the first twenty-four hours they were used.

How to Make clean Berkey Filters

There are two piece of cake methods for cleaning the Black Berkey filters: the sink method and the bucket way. I've outlined the instructions to help you with both beneath.

Cleaning Berkey Filters at Home (Sink Method)

To clean your Berkey filters from inside your home, follow these instructions:

1. Empty the Berkey h2o filter

Offset by emptying whatsoever leftover water from the lower and upper chamber in your Berkey h2o filter.

two. Disassemble the arrangement

To admission the filters, remove the height chamber from your Berkey system and place it on its side. To forestall contamination, concur your finger over the hole in the stalk of the filter elements where clean h2o usually comes from.

iii. Remove the filters

Unscrew the fly nut that attaches the filtering elements to the Berkey arrangement to remove the elements.

4. Make clean the Black Berkey filters in your sink

Agree the elements under cold running water. You're costless to utilize mild dishwashing soap, but water will work fine. Make sure the stalk is pointing upward and isn't in contact with the stream of water.

5. Use a Scotch Brite pad to scrub

The recommended cleaning tool for the Berkey arrangement is a small cleaning pad, like a Scotch Brite pad. Non-scratch 3M is all-time. Use the pad to scrub over the surface of the Berkey elements, making sure to clean every area, earlier thoroughly rinsing.

vi. Re-prime the filter elements

Before you can use your clean Berkey filter elements, yous'll have to re-prime number them. To do this, rinse them under running water. Bank check out this postal service to learn all virtually how to do that.

7. Wash your hands & reassemble the filters

Put the filters to the side while you launder your hands with lather and warm water, so let the cleaned elements dry before reversing the disassembly instructions to assemble the parts of the Berkey system. You lot're all done, and the Berkey water filter will now be ready for firsthand use.

Cleaning Berkey Filters in the Field (Saucepan Method)

The following instructions are applicable to cleaning the Berkey h2o filters outside using the bucket method:

1. Empty the Berkey water system

Offset, empty both chambers in your Berkey water filter.

2. Disassemble the organization

Take the peak container off the organisation and identify it on a hard surface on its side, as described in the "sink method". Then unscrew the fly nut to disassemble the Berkey water filter parts from the housing.

3. Fill a bucket with pure water

Once the elements are removed, set up a bucket or container of clean, purified water. It's of import that you lot use purified water to clean the Berkey filter elements to prevent additional contamination, which could enter the cadre of the elements. To disinfect your h2o, add 16 drops of bleach to the bucket.

iv. Carefully scrub the Berkey filter elements

Using a new 3M not-scratch Scotch Brite pad or like, give the elements a long, proper scrub all over, rinsing every now and again in the bucket of water. Go on to make clean for several minutes of time, then fix aside the filters on a clean surface.

v. Replace the purified water

Empty the pure water out of the bucket or container and replace it with another batch of clean water (remember to add 16 drops of bleach o the bucket if yous don't have purified water on hand). Submerge the Berkey water filter elements in this fresh water and leave for several minutes.

6. Re-prime number the filter elements

As described in the "sink method", it's a skillful thought to reprime the filter elements following cleaning by giving them a rinse under bleach-treated water before y'all attach them back inside your Berkey filtered water organization.

vii. Reassemble the system

The final step is to gear up the cleaned elements on a clean surface to dry out while you launder your hands with lather and warm water. You lot tin at present reassemble the parts in your Berkey h2o filter for firsthand use.

Frequently Asked Questions

How else tin can I maintain my Berkey h2o filter?

Bated from cleaning the Berkey carbon filters, yous can also take a number of steps to await afterwards your family unit filtration unit – whether you ain the classic Big Berkey, the Berkey Light, the iii.25-gallon Royal Berkey, the Travel Berkey or any other model – that volition help extend its lifespan.

One do is to never permit water to stand in the bottom container for more than than 3 days at a time, so if you're heading off on long a family unit vacation for more than these 3 days, empty the chambers in the system you're using beforehand. Along with that, when y'all're calculation new elements to the arrangement, make sure to flush and prime these replacement filters on the day of your purchase and so that they're fix to be used. This is quick to and can aid ensure that using the elements is every bit safe and constructive every bit possible.

Finally, while Berkey h2o systems are capable of filtering contaminants from even the dirtiest drinking water source, experts recommend that yous use the cleanest drinking water you can in your household unit to avoid clogging. If you lot're planning to use pond or lake h2o that contains large sediment like sand or rust, yous might want to run it through a textile to remove this sediment and go the filter elements working faster.

Do the Berkey fluoride filters require the same cleaning?

The Berkey fluoride filters are boosted accessories that can be purchased alongside the Black Berkey elements. These fluoride accessories last for 1 year or 1,000 gallons of h2o, whichever comes starting time – so they don't quite accept the impressive lifespan of the Black Berkey elements. They're still a valuable filter for many people, all the same, every bit nearly of the states drink fluoridated water on a day-to-day basis.

Other than buying replacement filters, you accept petty to think about when it comes to cleaning or maintaining these filters. I would simply recommend that you make sure to keep bank check of filter replacements, keeping a regular schedule based on your filtration needs. It's piece of cake to maintain rubber levels of fluoride in your h2o; only follow the manufacturer'south guidance if you want to avert the experience of drinking this contaminant in your household.