How do I store Black Berkey® water filters and for how long?
1- If you have already used your filters
The storage method will depend on how long the Black Berkey® water filters will not be used:
- If the amount of time they will not be used is less than 3 days, there is nothing special to do.
- If the filters will not be used for more than 3 days but less than 15 days and you want to avoid the re-booting process, remove them from the system, place them in a sealed plastic bag and then place the filters in the refrigerator, making sure they do not freeze. This will allow the filters to remain saturated with water and prevent re-priming. If you find that the filters are running slower than usual when they are restarted, re-prime them until water drips from the outside of the filter.
- For longer term storage, we recommend drying and sealing the filters. The key is to make sure they are completely dry before storing them, to avoid bacterial growth. One way to dry your filters is to leave them on a windowsill for one to three days and let them dry out completely. We also offer a priming and purging tool. This tool is called the Black Berkey Primer™. The advantage of purging Black Berkey® purification elements is that they dry very quickly. Once the filters are dry, place them in a tightly sealed plastic bag. Black Berkey® filters are extremely powerful and can absorb odors and smoke from the air. When you turn them back on, clean them by scrubbing the outside with a Scotch-Brite® pad or a stiff brush. Then re-boot the filters manually or with Black Berkey Primer™ before putting them back in the system.
* Please note that the above storage methods apply to Black Berkey® purification elements only. See below for PF-2 filters.
2- If you have never used your elements
If the elements are unopened and still in their original packaging, be careful not to store them in an area with strong odors, such as a laundry room or garage. The elements contain activated carbon, among other things, which allows them to absorb odors from the room in which they are stored. For example, avoid storing them near highly scented items such as soap or washing powder.
In theory, the shelf life of Black Berkey® purification elements is unlimited.
When storing the stainless steel chambers of your Berkey® system, it is best to drain them thoroughly, as stagnant water can become loaded with bacteria. We recommend that you wash your Berkey® system with soapy water before letting it dry.
Black Berkey® Elements
FAQs From Same Category
The composition of the purification elements Black Berkey® used in Berkey® systems is an exclusive, patent-protected formulation based on the assembly of six different types of specific media, including very high quality activated carbon. Assembled in a very compact matrix containing millions of microscopic pores, they allow the creation of a "tortuous path" through which the water will pass but not the pollutants. Indeed, these channels are so fine that all undesirable elements are inevitably captured. Through absorption and adsorption, even submicron viruses are blocked, which other water filters cannot achieve without chemicals.
The activated carbon block is impregnated with an ion exchange resin. Activated carbon adsorbs or chemically binds to organic compounds, such as petroleum-based fuels and solvents, many pesticides and pharmaceuticals. Ion exchange resin removes many dissolved metals from water by exchanging toxic heavy metals (such as lead, mercury and cadmium) for lighter, essentially harmless metals (such as sodium, the main component of table salt). All this allows for a complete and extremely efficient filtration.
Furthermore, the manufacturer Berkey® New Millenium Concept Ltd. confirms that no graphene oxide is used in the composition of the elements.
More details can be found on the page dedicated to the operation of Berkey® water filters.
That's right! Silver is used as an anti-microbial so that each Black Berkey® element can self-sterilize. Analysis was performed by an independent laboratory to ensure that the silver used does not dissolve in the purified water and this is exactly the case. The analysis concludes, "All control samples, including stock samples, positive and negative analytical controls, and the negative control collected prior to plating gave appropriate results and were accepted. Results for the leaching control samples (effluent sample spiked with MS2 and R. terrigena and analyzed at two time points) were quite similar, suggesting that no active antimicrobial agents dissolved in the treated water."
You can check the results in this full report.
Yes! BPA is not present in any Berkey® system or any part of it. No BPA in Black Berkey® filters and no BPA in the Berkey Light® or Sport Berkey® Filter Bottle either.
Effectively, water that passes through Black Berkey® filters tends to be more basic than it was before. Its pH goes up. And that's actually a good thing... This is because pathogenic bacteria and viruses tend to thrive in acidic environments and have difficulty surviving in alkaline environments. And the higher the pH, the more alkalinity there is.
Nevertheless, it should be kept in mind that the final pH level of the treated water may depend on other factors, such as the pH level of the water before filtration.