How To Clean A Berkey Water Filter System

Berkey is one of the nigh popular h2o filtration manufacturers, favored for the high quality of its countertop water filters – as you lot'll know if y'all own one of these filters yourself.

While for the virtually part, you can go out the Berkey filters to become on with their own thing, it's of import to make clean the filters as recommended by Berkey.

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

Why is Cleaning Berkey Filters Of import?

A set of two Blackness Berkey elements will last much longer than the average water filter – usually for around half-dozen,000 gallons or 3 years. But in this time, you may observe that it starts to take the elements longer and longer to filter your h2o. This is a sign that the filters are becoming too clogged with sediment to work effectively, and yous'd do good from washing away the sediment to improve their efficiency.

If your water is especially high in contaminants, is especially important that you clean your Black Berkey purification elements to go on them working at their best.

How Do I Know When It's Time For a Berkey H2o Filter Cleaning?

The most obvious sign that your Black Berkey filters demand cleaning is that the rate of water filtration between the two 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 gear up of iv Black Berkey filters can filter 2 gallons per hour. If you observe that the filter flow rate isn't what it in one case was, and the filters haven't reached the end of their lifespan yet, the trouble is about probable that turbidity and sediment have clogged the filters' micropores.

You can requite the dye exam a effort 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.

Requite the dye test a go by adding some red food coloring to the peak chamber. If, when used to filter this dye, the unit produces water with a pink or reddish tinge, or information technology's particularly dull to produce results, it could be a sign that your filter elements demand maintenance, or that you need to shop for replacement elements to improve your experience with menstruation rate and filtering effectiveness.

berkey water filter and purification elements

How Oft Should I Clean My Black Berkey Purification Elements?

Berkey recommends that you make clean the filter elements in its systems on "a consistent basis" – preferably every six months. Co-ordinate to Berkey, you lot should clean the Blackness Berkey filters on a regular schedule, at least every 12 months, or in one case a year, from the beginning day they were used.

How to Clean Berkey Filters

At that place are ii piece of cake methods for cleaning the Black Berkey filters: the sink method and the bucket way. I've outlined the instructions to help yous with both below.

Cleaning Berkey Filters at Abode (Sink Method)

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

1. Empty the Berkey water filter

Offset by emptying any leftover water from the lower and upper sleeping accommodation in your Berkey h2o filter.

2. Disassemble the system

To admission the filters, remove the tiptop chamber from your Berkey organization and identify information technology on its side. To prevent contamination, concord your finger over the hole in the stem of the filter elements where clean h2o usually comes from.

3. Remove the filters

Unscrew the wing nut that attaches the filtering elements to the Berkey organization to remove the elements.

four. Make clean the Black Berkey filters in your sink

Hold the elements under cold running water. Do not use soap or detergent on the filter elements! 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 system is a small cleaning pad, similar a Scotch Brite pad. Non-scratch 3M is best. Use the pad to scrub over the surface of the Berkey elements, making sure to make clean every expanse, before thoroughly rinsing.

six. Re-prime the filter elements

Before you can use your clean Berkey filter elements, y'all'll accept to re-prime them. To do this, rinse them under running water. Check out this mail service to acquire all well-nigh how to do that.

7. Launder your hands & reassemble the filters

Put the filters to the side while you wash your hands with soap and warm water, then permit the cleaned elements dry before reversing the disassembly instructions to assemble the parts of the Berkey arrangement. You lot're all done, and the Berkey water filter will at present be ready for firsthand use.

Cleaning Berkey Filters in the Field (Bucket Method)

The following instructions are applicable to cleaning the Berkey water filters exterior using the bucket method:

one. Empty the Berkey water system

First, empty both chambers in your Berkey water filter.

2. Disassemble the system

Accept the top container off the system and place 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

One time the elements are removed, prepare a bucket or container of clean, purified water. It's important that you use purified water to clean the Berkey filter elements to prevent additional contamination, which could enter the core of the elements. To disinfect your water, add together 16 drops of bleach to the saucepan.

4. Carefully scrub the Berkey filter elements

Using a new 3M non-scratch Scotch Brite pad or similar, give the elements a long, proper scrub all over, rinsing every at present and again in the bucket of water. Proceed to clean for several minutes of time, then prepare aside the filters on a make clean surface.

5. Supercede the purified water

Empty the pure water out of the bucket or container and replace it with another batch of clean h2o (remember to add 16 drops of bleach o the bucket if you don't accept purified h2o on manus). Submerge the Berkey water filter elements in this fresh water and exit for several minutes.

six. Re-prime the filter elements

As described in the "sink method", it's a good thought to reprime the filter elements following cleaning by giving them a rinse under bleach-treated h2o before yous attach them back within your Berkey filtered water system.

7. Reassemble the organisation

The final pace is to set the cleaned elements on a clean surface to dry while you lot wash your easily with soap and warm water. Y'all can at present reassemble the parts in your Berkey water filter for immediate utilise.

Ofttimes Asked Questions

How else can I maintain my Berkey water filter?

Aside from cleaning the Berkey carbon filters, you can too take a number of steps to await after your family unit filtration unit – whether you own the classic Big Berkey, the Berkey Lite, the three.25-gallon Imperial Berkey, the Travel Berkey or any other model – that will help extend its lifespan.

One practice is to never allow h2o to stand up in the lesser container for more than than 3 days at a time, so if you're heading off on long a family holiday for more than these three days, empty the chambers in the system you're using beforehand. Along with that, when y'all're calculation new elements to the organisation, make sure to flush and prime these replacement filters on the day of your purchase so that they're ready to be used. This is quick to and tin can help ensure that using the elements is as safe and effective as possible.

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

Do the Berkey fluoride filters require the same cleaning?

The Berkey fluoride filters are additional accessories that tin be purchased alongside the Black Berkey elements. These fluoride accessories last for 1 year or 1,000 gallons of h2o, whichever comes first – and then they don't quite have the impressive lifespan of the Black Berkey elements. They're still a valuable filter for many people, notwithstanding, as almost of united states of america drink fluoridated h2o on a day-to-day footing.

Other than buying replacement filters, you lot have piddling to think about when it comes to cleaning or maintaining these filters. I would just recommend that you make sure to go along bank check of filter replacements, keeping a regular schedule based on your filtration needs. It'south easy to maintain rubber levels of fluoride in your h2o; just follow the manufacturer'south guidance if y'all want to avoid the experience of drinking this contaminant in your household.