Scrubbing Your Black Berkey Elements & Shining Your Stainless Steel Berkey Water System

Our Pro-Care™ Maintenance Kit is designed for use with stainless steel Berkey® Water Systems, such as the Go Berkey Kit, Travel, Big, Royal, Imperial, and Crown Berkey Systems.

In our previous post, we discussed the Flo-Duck™ Anti-Airlock Clip & Lid Holder. In this short article, we’ll discuss using the blue mini-scrub pad to clean your Black Berkey Elements (AKA Black Berkey Filters) and the custom microfiber glove that can be used to wipe fingerprints and water marks off of your stainless steel Berkey and restore its beautiful & attractive shine!

Using the Blue Mini-Scrub Pad to Clean the Black Berkey Elements

The Black Berkey Elements should be regularly maintained through scrubbing, priming, and purging. Because contaminants can become trapped within their compressed coconut carbon wall over time, you’ll want to scrub away the outer-most layer of the carbon and then purge the filters with air and/or clean water. Purging is the forcing of air/water through the black plastic stem into the hollow cavity of the Black Berkey Elements, ultimately pushing out the contaminants trapped in the outer surface of the filters. Purging is performed after scrubbing in order to free the loose carbon fines (carbon particles) caused by scrubbing. For ideal purging we recommend using the Black Berkey Primer to purge with air while running clean water over the carbon body, thus rinsing away the carbon fines while pumping air through the carbon body.

The last step is always to re-prime the filters. The Black Berkey Primer is the only Berkey® accessory which allows you to use both air and clean water to purge and prime the Black Berkey Elements without the need for a faucet or conventional plumbing.

1. With clean hands and in a clean work area, remove the Black Berkey Elements from the top chamber of your Berkey Water System.
2. Place the Black Berkey Elements on a clean surface and secure them in place, ensuring they do not roll around or drop to the ground.
3. Under clean, running water, begin scrubbing the length of the Black Berkey Element, rotating it as your scrub.
4. When cleaned to your satisfaction, generously rinse the carbon body to wash away the carbon fines loosened by your scrubbing.
5. As the final steps, purge and then re-prime the Black Berkey Elements with the Black Berkey Primer.

Using the Gray Microfiber Glove to Restore the Shine to Your Berkey

To restore the beautiful, highly-polished shine of the Berkey Stainless Steel Systems, we recommend using a high-quality terry-cotton dish towel, or a high-quality microfiber fabric, like our Gray Microfiber Glove.

Restoring the shine to your Berkey can be done without the use of harsh or toxic chemicals. We recommend the following:

1. With clean hands and in a clean work area, disassemble your Berkey Water System.
2. With clean water and a mild dish soap, wash and then rinse the stainless steel chambers.
3. After wiping the chambers semi-dry with a dish towel, use the gray microfiber glove to conveniently remove the remaining water droplets while hand-buffing the steel.
4. You can also easily hand-buff the stainless steel by simply sprinkling some clean water droplets onto the body without having to completely hand-wash it.