My mom never taught me to clean. She cleaned everything and never felt the need to share the why or how to do it. When I was first married I almost burned the house down because I didn’t know to clean out the lint catcher in the dryer. I also stuffed a bunch of potato peels into the garbage disposal and when I turned it on it shook so bad that it broke the pipes under the kitchen sink. My husband can fix anything and replaced the pipes. Thank God for husbands who have a sense of humor and can fix anything that we manage to destroy. 😂❤

@BetterTogetherLife

2 ай бұрын

Oh my goodness! Yall sound like a good match 🥰

Have you looked into the reverse soak method to clean the filters? You invert the filter , screw them to sit in bottom chamber, put purified water and white vinegar top , let it run through, soak overnight. Next day, rince/clean. Put filters back into top chamber. Run purified water through a couple times ( till you no longer smell/taste vinegar.) If you search, there is a video out there about it.

@BetterTogetherLife

Ай бұрын

We haven’t. We’ve always had good success with this. I think we actually did try vinegar once. And it took a longer time to get the vinegar taste out. Maybe that’s why we never went back. Haha

Long time Berkey user here. A few things that came to mind. 1. I’m surprised for the size of your family you don’t have a larger model. You must be filling several times per day. 2. Have you done the red dye test to confirm the filters are still working? 3. Being on city water you may want to add the white filters as well. 4. If you back flush the black filters, basically re priming after scrubbing, it will push out and debris stuck in the filter from scrubbing. Berkey is actually designed to allow good minerals through so I’m not sure what that gunk is…..but I’m glad you’re not drinking it.

@BetterTogetherLife

Ай бұрын

Great points! We do have a second Berkey the same size and actually got this one when we were just a family of5 😂. Good point on the red dye test. We should do a follow up. I’m actually not sure that the filters can accurately filter “good minerals” so we add back trace minerals to our water. I just expect it to filter out all the things. But a test is a really good idea to be sure the filter is filtering at all!

I love how after all these years you still light up when talking about your move to the country and your shed conversion🥰

@BetterTogetherLife

2 ай бұрын

It’s such a wild turn in our life, I love how it’s unfolded after taking the leap ❤️

The Berkey website and instructions we got with ours years ago says to clean the chamber every 2 months, the spigot monthly, and the filters every 3-6 months. You should be able to print the instructions if you don’t have the ones it came with. We have two of them. Priming it again is also fun! Be blessed ❤️🌿

@BetterTogetherLife

2 ай бұрын

You win the comments! Thank you 😍

@lifewithmikeandjenn5814

2 ай бұрын

@@BetterTogetherLife I had to print them because I put mine in a very “safe” place and essentially hid them from myself… 🤦‍♀️only to find them in our third move… in the RV and the other at my office with the other manuals. Phone reminders help my forgetfulness now. 😂

@omasstories2746

2 ай бұрын

That would be very expensive to replace the filters every 3-6 months. My instructions say the filters can last for years.

@SunnyDay-kw1pd

2 ай бұрын

​@@omasstories2746clean the filters 3-6, not replace

My water is getting slow…so it’s time for a thorough cleaning!! Thanks for the reminder 😊

@BetterTogetherLife

2 ай бұрын

You are so welcome!

❤ I LOVE to hear about your journeys! You put such light to my eyes so I can see a small glimpse through your lens.❤ Y'all hearts are ALL IN and ready for any new or forward steps. Thanks for taking us along.❤

@BetterTogetherLife

Ай бұрын

Karen, you are too cool!!!!! Thank you!!

@karentuthill8308

Ай бұрын

@@BetterTogetherLife ❤️

Haha!! Yes!! The not nice thing becoming nicer….. I have had to deep clean a ton the last month and I have listened to ALL your podcast! This was needed for sure. Now my dishes are cleaned 🎉

I use Doulton ceramic filters....no mess.

@BetterTogetherLife

2 ай бұрын

Ooo, I need to check those out!

i wear surgical gloves when cleaning my filters since the toxins are consolidated on the outer surface of the cartridges. I'm on a city fluoridated water supply and thought about how much concentrated toxic "stuff" was coming off the filters when I cleaned them. Anyone else do that?

@BetterTogetherLife

2 ай бұрын

Not a bad idea!

@naomibmarketing

2 ай бұрын

I use gloves too after learning about microorganisms as a prerequisite for the nursing program. It was a huge eye opener.

Thanks for the reminder to clean my berkey 😂. We use white vinegar and a green scrubber. As a Texan, I've been trying to figure out what area y'all were in since you started. Im just north of austin / lake Travis on 1/2 an acre, but we want more land and space, which isn't possible here since pandemic prices. I still have the shed to house dream thou.

@BetterTogetherLife

2 ай бұрын

Hahaha! It’s like a game. We don’t share our county but we are about an hour out of Austin ❤️

@ChickenDaddy_DucksAlot

2 ай бұрын

I’m halfway between Houston and Austin in Washington county. We’re practically neighbors 🤠 Check out Central Texas Freedom Cell if you haven’t already.

I would love to have a Burkey. Where can I buy one???? Thank you. I Appreciate. GOD BLESS YOU

@BetterTogetherLife

Ай бұрын

They are great!

Yukkk! Thanks for sharing...I think. Now I’m accountable and can’t un-see that 😆

@BetterTogetherLife

2 ай бұрын

I regret having to be the one who shares 😂. May the odds be ever in your favor!

Great video!

@BetterTogetherLife

Ай бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it

Happy Father's Day Beau❤🎉. I never knew you could clean the filters. I never bought one because the filters were so expensive. Thanks for the tip! JO JO IN VT 💞

@BetterTogetherLife

2 ай бұрын

I hope it saves you some $!

Yes to the mom's that are 40ish and didn't have the mom's teaching them the things. I just made awful gravy on Father's Day and said it's cuz I wasn't raised knowing how to COOK! I know how to order 😅

@BetterTogetherLife

2 ай бұрын

Deal! We will put on the schedule for one of our next cooking videos to be…. “Sourdough Biscuits and sausage gravy (all from scratch!) Because we actually are going to pick up our pork tomorrow!!! 😁😁😁

Is it an option to have a whole house filter installed? We had to do that with our well water and I feel it helps preserve appliances, plumbing, clothes and overall we feel better about what we are washing ourselves and our things in.

@BetterTogetherLife

2 ай бұрын

It is an option. And we are looking into that for our next build. I agree. Having the filter throughout the house would make so many things convenient.

Hello, friends! We just bought the "new" Berkey filters after using our original ones for 3.5 yrs. They filter a bit faster, and the water tastes fine, but...they aren't the originals. What are you going to do when you need new ones? 🤔 I loved your condensed story as you scrubbed the filters!

@Sunbeachsmile

Ай бұрын

Bougt “new” filters where? I have been searching everywhere!

Have u tried using bicarbonate soda & white vinegar to wash the Berkley ?

CAN U ADD TAP WATER WHEN IT IS DOING A FILTRE IF YOU NEED MORE QUICKLY? OR DO U HAVE TO FILL TO THE TOP AND WAIT FOR UT ALL TO FILTRE BEFORE ADDING MORE WATER?

How often do you clean your Berkey? We normally clean ours every month.

@BetterTogetherLife

2 ай бұрын

Almost never 🫣. But I wash my sheets every week. Life is about balance 😂

@jmill7336

2 ай бұрын

So now you’ve said you clean them almost never and in another defensive comment you said you cleaned them regularly…weird.

I bought 2ea BB-9 Berkey Black filters from a bERKEY dealer on ebay: $166 for the pair. The threads were not properly finished on one of them. In order to get it corrected they demanded another 30$ up front and I had to mail it to them in Texas. That is not what a good company would do. I didnt bite.

@BetterTogetherLife

Ай бұрын

Oh, that’s horrible! Yea that’s why we usually go with Amazon. Returns are always easy.

@billwunder7075

Ай бұрын

@@BetterTogetherLife quick clarification, the authorized dealer had no choice but to refer me to berkey, it was the mfg, Berkey, not the dealer that ran the scam, I have found an alternative that actually has better NSF/ANSI test results. I found it on youtube.

When my daughter she's 41 married wi 2 sons~ we went to local butchers, once she got a smell of raw meat, she ran outside & threw up over forecourt ~ I asked the butcher who's a family friend for a bucket of hot soapy water & a brush. She was so upset & embarrassed, she still can't touch meat. To disect a chicken, she uses 2 forks

The first thing that came to mind when I saw the color on your hands is this: Is there water running through lead pipes by chance? I had a plumber change out a bathtub faucet and it required a new pipe behind the wall. He inadvertently used a pipe that is used for a gas line instead of a water line. Eventually, I had brown water coming into the bathtub. I had to call in a different plumber who found the issue. So, you might want to double check the pipes bringing water into your house.

@BetterTogetherLife

Ай бұрын

Not in our house, no. But I’m not sure what kind of pipes come from the MAIN water supply. But once on our property it is all PEX.

You are drinking that funk unless you clean regularly. Just like coffee makers. These are not healthy unless properly maintained.

@BetterTogetherLife

2 ай бұрын

So how long is “regularly”? We do clean these regularly, but not sure how long in between you are suggesting.

How often do you do a dye test on your Berkey? We are on city water and can barely make it 3 months before our filters start failing. This has been going on for the last 2 years. We keep returning them for replacements but they can’t seem to even make it through 6 months without failing the dye test.

@BetterTogetherLife

Ай бұрын

Hi there! Great question, to be honest we have never done that. But we are excited to try it! 🤣🤣🤣 After making this video we have learned so much from the comments! Haha. We are certainly not Berkey experts even after owner two for the last 10 years.

Meanwhile…..I’m in a bind and need OEM replacement filters but they still are not available with no end in sight when they will be.

@BetterTogetherLife

Ай бұрын

I can’t vouch because we’ve never used them. But I have seen ads for something called Boroux. That might work🤷‍♀️

Goodness, that was gross, but I couldn't look away lol We live next to a tidal river, and on an aquifer, so our water alternate between the two. I have no idea what they put in our water now, but it doesn't taste as good as when I was a child. We even have an inline filter too. I boil any water from the tap I drink, just for taste reasons. I don't have space for a top filter too, but I dread to think what it could out of ours.

@BetterTogetherLife

2 ай бұрын

In this house, we have a separate counter space for the coffee and water bc the kitchen counter is so limited. And to be honest, we do have regular filter water in our freezer. We just out here picking our battles each day!🥰

My Berkey after filtering smells like metal….. 🤔🤨 any ideas?!

I need to know what it smells like though 😂

@BetterTogetherLife

2 ай бұрын

Honestly, not bad. Just soooo icky to touch.

Is your restroom faucet and the kitchen faucet filled with that stuff or does it only accumulate when the filter filters it out of the water cause the faucet your using don’t look grimy ?

@BetterTogetherLife

2 ай бұрын

All of our water is the same line. But we do primarily run this from our kitchen sink. I clean the faucets with distilled vinegar once or twice a year. But those times, they mostly look calcified. I was prepared for the filters to be ick. Just not a fun job.

I am 5 1/2 years from retirement ( HOPEFULLY). I am getting a small 2 1/2 acre place ready in South Arkansas, can't afford to live in Texas in retirement as I will only have a pension and early Social Security. I am truly blessed though. Love the video's

@BetterTogetherLife

2 ай бұрын

What a lovely plan!

Hey i was just wondering if yall ever had your rain water from your tanks tested for microplastics? Jw bc me and my husband are considering those tanks but unsure bc they are made out of plastic.

@BetterTogetherLife

2 ай бұрын

We haven’t. Sorry!

WHERE DOES EVERYONE ORDER THEIR BERKEY FILTERS FROM NOW? Thanks

Squirmish? Squeamish? 🤣

@BetterTogetherLife

2 ай бұрын

Haha, I know right! Not sure which either

Wished I had not watched. I have to drink 8 cups of water daily for my kidneys. The frig has filters, but now I’m wondering. You’ve provided a great service. Hope you two will get your bed back for just you two. Rest/sleep is so important.🎉

@BetterTogetherLife

2 ай бұрын

Rachel your first sentence had us LAUGHING SOOOOOO HARD!!!! “Wished I had not watched”! 🤣🤣🤣 Thank you for not being too grossed out by this. We knew it would be a stretch. Hahaha

❤

I've used Berkey for 10 years. You need to change out your filters more frequently. With that kind of grunge in your water. Get new filters periodically. 2 year old filter? No.

@BetterTogetherLife

2 ай бұрын

Thank you Asher for the great comment. Certainly not going to argue with you as playing it safe is always a good call. Should we have cleaned these earlier? YES! Do we clean them often? Yes! My only addition is that I, Beau, did a decent amount of research in our early Berkey days since we got our first one back in 2016. And what most sites said is getting new filters don’t exactly filter out more contaminants. They just filter faster. So no matter what comes out of the bottom of the Berkey is going to be fantastic. It’s just that replacing the filters allow the clean water to come out faster. BUT, again, perhaps we are totally wrong. Because if you are having to replace these filters every month? Then I’m not really sure what the selling point is for the Berkey vs just a whole house filter or even just a Breta.

@BetterTogetherLife

2 ай бұрын

I just did the math (it’s Kelly). The avg American drinks around 15 gallons of water a month (per Google). We have 7 people in our house. Many of us aren’t drinking that much, but conservatively, that’s just about 1200 gallons per year. . Berkey says to replace the filters every 6k gallons. So actually, you probably want to replace the filter every 3-5years based on how many gallons you filter. . Do what you gotta do to feel good about the filter quality in your home. But a 2 year old filter is still going to have a lotta life left.

@ChickenDaddy_DucksAlot

2 ай бұрын

My current filters are at least 6 years old but I am on a private well and have whole house filtration so the water is pretty clean prior to going into the Berkey. We mainly just use it for our tea and coffee water now. I think a 2yr old filter is absolutely fine. Just back flush and scrub a little more often 😅

@jenniferr2057

2 ай бұрын

​​@@BetterTogetherLifeand take that 6k gallons times the number of filters in the Berkey. Also, I heard that you can put red food coloring in the upper tank and if the water comes out clear the filters are still good.

@BetterTogetherLife

2 ай бұрын

We are DOING THIS Jennifer!!! That sounds SO FUN! 🤣🤣🤣

I don’t think your on the city system your on a rural system.

@BetterTogetherLife

Ай бұрын

Correct, sorry Kelly did say that and it was too complicated to edit around it. Haha. We are on a county coop for our water and electric. Thank you Ernest!

@Ernest-qg3mt

Ай бұрын

Hello No big deal. This is Al Glad to see you all doing well.

@BetterTogetherLife

Ай бұрын

Thank you Al!!!

The "yuck" is all on you. Really dislike it when YTubers blame a product for their LA C K of maintenance or care of a product. I have 'potentially' nasty Water but Never deal with anything bad because I Take Care of Those Expensive Filters.

@BetterTogetherLife

2 ай бұрын

If there was blame on Berkey for the yuck, I can’t find it. . It’s just simply a yucky job. Sometimes people have to do yucky jobs. This is one of them. I’m glad you have your life together 👏 and my hope is that you never have to come across a yucky job.

That's gross? Not after you have worked in the animal care field 🤣

@BetterTogetherLife

2 ай бұрын

Friend, just certainly would not last a minute!

@cat.nova74

2 ай бұрын

@@BetterTogetherLife 😂