• Wash lower chamber once per month with soapy dishwater.
• In areas with hard water, calcium scale may build up on spigot and chambers after prolonged use. To remove, soak affected part(s) in vinegar or a 50-50% mix of vinegar and water for about 15 minutes. Wipe away calcium scale with a ScotchBrite pad or soft brush then wash with soapy dishwater and rinse.

No, unlike other filtration elements Black Berkey filter elements are re-cleanable. What typically causes the filters to drip slowly is turbidity and sediment clogging the micro-pores of the purification elements. Simply remove the elements from your system, scrub the exterior of each element with preferably a white ScotchBrite pad or stiff toothbrush. Simply scrub a section of the filter until you see a bit of black on the white pad then move to the next section. It's simple to do and takes less than a minute. Then re-prime each element and reinstall them. Your problem should now be fixed.

Insufficient re-conditioning (priming) may result in an undesirable taste and/or cloudiness in the water. The odd taste is from process dust that may not have been washed free from the elements during the conditioning process. Please remove the PF-2 elements and re-condition them for no less than 60 seconds (longer may be needed) on both ends. This should expel any residual process dust and fix the problem.

Each element has an expected life of 3,000 gallons or 6,000 gallons for a set of two.

The best way to gauge when to replace the filters is to do the following:

• 1. Multiply the number of filters in your system by 3,000 gallons to get Total Gallons For All Filters within the system.
• 2. Next keep a track of how many times you need to refill the upper chamber in one week.
• 3. Then multiply that figure times the capacity in gallons of your particular system (for example the Berkey Lightª system is 2.75 gallons) to determine Total Gallons Used Per Week.
• 4. Finally divide the Total Gallons Used Per Week into the Total Gallons For All Filters and that will tell you how many weeks before the filters should be replaced.
• 5. Next calculate the future date for replacement (52 weeks per year) and write that date on a sticker and attach it to the bottom of your system for future reference.

By the way, if you have been using your system for some time now, you can still use the above formula to determine when to replace the elements. Just count forward from the date you purchased your system.

Replace the elements when the carbon has been exhausted or if there is a significant change in diameter of the ceramic after cleaning. Anytime a crack in the ceramic occurs, the integrity has been lost and the filter must be replaced.