Kitchen experiment to see if you can get some new life out of old zero water filters. What exactly is inside zero water filters? Why are they Superior to Brita filters? Can I make my own?
Hello friends, Thank you so much for all the comments. I just posted some new videos of our gold mining adventures. When you get time please check them out and if there is something you would like to know or see or have us try please let us know in the comments and Ill do my best to make it happen.
Hello! I would like to know how long the filter lasted after this method? Also, Do you have a list of products you bought to make your own filters? This would be super helpful if so, Thanks!
Seems like your method works well. You can also "refresh" the ion exchange media with salt water then rinse with fresh water. That's how the water softeners clean the media. From what Ive been reading you can clean the activated carbon by boiling it for a few minutes then rinse it.
Boiling should kill any microbes as well. One could maybe put a couple drops of chlorine bleach in 4 cups of water that your media is in. Probably loads of ways of doing it.
Yes. Elaborate. This sounds very interesting🤔 I, too, bought a pitcher and am running through filters like crazy😬😳😢 We drink a lot of water. I'm even in the process of trying to clean and revitalize the medium by the method in the video. Very tedious😩😔
Buy a $20 faucet filter as a "pre-filter" and extend your Zero filter life dramatically. I use over a gallon per day and my filters last 6 weeks or around 50 gallons!
I went to walmart and paid $20 for a 6 month 300 gallon faucet fillter . They go on roll back or clearance usually right after summer here in Maryland..
We use Brita tap - mounted filter PLUS regular Brita pitcher filter as "a double pre-filter". Then we run filtered water through ZeroWater pitcher filter. We live in Ohio and our municipal water's TDS averages 250, which ( according to ZeroWater chart) gives their filter lifespan of 15-20 gal when used alone. Thanks to our prefiltration we managed to extend longevity of ZeroWater filter over three times ( up to 70 gal). Brita filters are dime per dozen....
Hmmmm, I might give that a whirl. I tried this idea using our Brita filters and noticed Zero change in longevity (pun intended). I hope this will help extend our Zero filter's life. What brand is the pre-filter??? Amazon, walmart? thx
Reloading my comments before this dude's technic works. I tried flushing the contents of the filter and lowered to 003 from 048 with just distilled water. Amazing
What about “rinsing” a used filter with a bottle of No longer used Bush beer to see what the result tastes like then rinse with H2O2, Hydrogen Peroxide, and taste, not swallow, the result?
WOW that's amazing! Thank you! Just be aware: A recent ConsumerLab test showed a 1,200% increase in microplastics from this filter. Zerowater says it's not true, that their filters don't add microplastics. So not sure if it was just one bad filter that caused the test results. (Microplastics are known for causing strokes and other heart and heath issues, but boiling the water for 5 min. removes most of the microplastics) Microplastics and chlorform (a by product of disinfectants) can't be detected in a TDS reading. So @waterfilterguru had lab tests done on several water filters. Zero did well, but chlorform as well as other toxins was found in Zero filtered water. Zero removed flouride 100%. however Thanks to your video, I might get a Zero again, and run it through an Epic filter as the last step, to get ride of any microplastics, choloform, and whatever the Zero misses. Thanks again, amazing hack!
ion exchange resin beads are recharged by soaking in a saturated salt solution, rinse 3-4times with distilled and it's good as new, as for the fishy smell it's the amines getting through charcoal media, regen with boiling water then dry in a low heat oven.
thanks for doing this i just bought mine tonight and was thinking crap this is the best one but those filters are going to kill me financially...so yeah thank you saved everyone a ton of money!
Been working for me fine! I just put some distilled water to clean the filter with, and I'm set now. Just wish I'd looked this up when I had 2 filters to do this with.
I enjoy my zero water. Thank you so much for sharing your experiments with all of us. Nothing like trying stuff out and learning something new. My only input on your test is that the activated carbon layer, which generally sits on top, has now been mixed with the ION exchange resin layer. Unsure if that can impact the water filtration profile. But awesome experiment nonetheless.
Thank you for this "hack" i found the following online and they recommend using salt water: What is regeneration, and why is it important? Most water softeners operate on the principle of ion exchange. The water softener contains an ion exchanger (=resin cylinder) filled with resin beads that convert hard water into soft water. How does it work? The resin beads filter out the calcium and magnesium ions from the hard water and exchange them with sodium ions. Over time, all the sodium ions will be exchanged with calcium and magnesium ions. The ion exchanger becomes saturated with calcium and magnesium, making it unable to soften hard water anymore. The solution? Regenerate the water softener. This simply means flushing the ion exchanger by passing saltwater through it. The collected calcium and magnesium ions in the water softener are then exchanged with new sodium ions from the regeneration salt. The saltwater that has now absorbed all the calcium and magnesium is eventually discharged into the sewer system. Source: www.waterontharder-expert.nl/regenereren#:~:text=De%20harskorrels%20filteren%20de%20kalk,water%20niet%20langer%20kan%20ontharden.
Should have seen your video a month ago! Just placed 6 of my used Zero filters in the trash. At 2-3 gallon per day, my tester shows 0006 after 30 t0 35 days and I continue to use it for another ten days to stretch my dollar. Thanks for the information!
Cool! I will make sure I have some good Zerowater filtered water kept aside to do this washing of the filter medium, since I do not have a reverse osmosis system. Good work!
excellent review anyone else wanted that water he dumped out from the first try lol lol throwing out that good water lol but seriously you did a great job thank you.
What zero could do is provide reuse recycle kits, at a much reduced price, with new charcoal filter and other bits that may need replacing. They could become nit only the best filters on the market but the greenest.
I so like this video because I've loved my zero water for about 5 years now. I just watched a video where a guy tested 20 different water filters and the zero water won the competition by far. Thanks for doing this video even if it is 2 years old
Here's a tip for everyone. Make certain the batteries in the TDS device are new. I was getting zero readings from new then decided to pull and replace one month later. TDS numbers registered in the high 100s after a new filter was installed.
If Zerowater hadn't jacked up their prices for 2022, I'd still be using it as my only filter source since it is a very good product. North of the border I payed $68, plus taxes for a 4 pack. My TDS gauge reads 370-380 for tap water so them filters don't last too long. Thanks for the upload. Homemade activated carbon filter here I come !
Use fresh rain water at 003 TDS. My filter just lasted 1.6 years 1200 liters and the bacteria in it is exactly the same as the air around me. So dont wory about that.
Massive thankyou for this. I'm in the north of the uk. Just so you know. My tap water gives a reading of 307, so .... your Californian tap water is quite clean compared to ours. Gonna clean my filter tomorrow ... ha ha ha ... brilliant.
I appreciate you taking the time to figure this out! You are extremely fortunate to have water as clean as you do. Here in the desert are tap water TDS count is well above 500. After rinsing out the filter material, was there any secret to how you poured the contents back into the filter before you started using it again? This is going to save me a lot of money by flushing out the filters and reusing them.
Yea the filter bed material (activated carbon) used in water treatment plants is continually re-washed for decades. Why I was curious if I could do same with my Zero filter. Key is you need to filtered water to wash it though
That's pretty awesome! You should do a tap score test on that water as well just to see what comes back. "I like most I'm sure woule be very interested in those results!"
Thanks for sharing this info. I did as you said and filter seems to work beautifully. My fillter seemed to be stopping up and wanted to try to clean it out for a better flow. I kept stirring the water with filter ingredients in a quart jar using a table knife each of the 10 cleanings. I kept seeing particles come to the top floating in the water, so poured all that out. By the 10th time it seemed clear of debris. Also, when I was separating the parts with utility knife razor it was hard to do first time around, It seemed to have tabs to cut thru, then it was pretty easy using the table knife to separate. I was a little puzzled at first where to cut and cut at the blue o-ring, Wrong. I then realized looking closer at your video, it was between the screw grooves and the inner white part, near the filter head. Thanks again for your figuring this out. I so wanted to be prepared for clean water should we ever have another Lockdown. During our last lockdown Zero filters were not to be found where I live. Grateful and Blessed.....Truth.gha
I'm glad you got some use out of this video I for myself will not be trying to reuse the filters to get more life out of them unless an emergency situation, because after I did this the filter started producing not too good tasting water. So I don't know if this is a good long-term solution. But I did notice that I was quite surprised to see that there is only a small amount of activated charcoal along with the resin you would find in a water softener which the resident makes up most of the filter I imagine that this is where most of the bad taste things in the water gets held in a resin which can all be be purchased on eBay. I don't know how much money you would save by doing it but it could be substantial if the water comes out tasting good so maybe look on eBay and buy in bulk and you can just keep refilling it with new activated charcoal and water softening resin beads maybe you can make a video and let us know how it works
@@SubaruOffRD Thanks. I did check the taste of my redo. It is fine at least a few days after doing this. My thought is replace charcoal. That is what changes taste and does absorb matter. Something interesting, I checked the rating on a new filter I already had and it registered 1... not zero. interesting. Not bad of course, but interesting....
Brilliant experiment, good for you bud. My only gripe would be that the activated carbon filtration can only be cleaned to an extent, eventually it will saturate and the test they supply is only for none organic impurities. Would be interesting to see a test for organic impurities also. Very interesting never the less. Thanx for the vid!
So on that thought I ordered a bunch of activated charcoal and it was supposed to be super high quality. I proceeded to make a filter of pure activated charcoal. I have coarse let the charcoal soak then tried to do some washes but no matter how many times I did the wash it tasted funny and it had a lot of the result of solids in it. I don't know what I did wrong but I really really tried to make that work because I bought two and a half gallon bucket full of activated charcoal LOL I eventually ended up giving up on that experiment. I'm sure the error was mine I saw other people do it and had no problems at all
@@SubaruOffRD Did you get some of that ion exchange resin stuff too? There's also something called KDF they mix with the activated charcoal. I bet that's fairly cheap too, in the long run.
Am I missing something or is he now just going to have to replace the sink reverse osmosis filters more now? Isn't he just replacing the reverse osmosis filter for the zerowater filter? Why use the zerowater pitcher at all when you can just use the sink reverse osmosis filter in a normal pitcher and refrigerate that water? I don't understand!😵💫
@@PeterKnagge Yep, My question too. If you have a Reverse Osmosis filter, you already have water at least as good as a zero water. Plus, having an 88 TDS from the tap probably means your city or private water company is already filtering your water very highly. One reason to filter at all, is that no matter how good the water the city puts out is, it still has to go through all the pipes, and your plumbing, which if older, probably has lead containing solder joints. The cities know this so they usually add several types of mineral that will plate out or cover over the lead, like calcium or silica or phosphate, which usually makes your pH high, as it should be. Most cities do this, and what the stupid water people in Flint Michigan(the state assholes who took over actually) was to change from good quality water from the Detroit Municipal Water system(from the lakes and treated properly) to local river water which is acidic and has some chlorides from road salt and is very good at mobilising lead, hence poisoning peeps and not even telling them. Those criminals should be all in Jail(up the the former governor), but some damn judge just let them all off, or somewhat derailed the prosecution against them.
Ion exchange resin. Buy in bulk for cheap. Add activated charcoal and a tight mesh to filter and keep the two above and you have the same thing for 90% less.
Yup trying to make my own as well. What is the exact product to buy? When I search Ion Exchange Resin nothing comes up to purchase, similar items do "Water Softening Resin" etc. Also is there a specific size/type used by Zero Water?
Google. Once you bring it up, click shopping and it will list where you can buy it. If in USA, Home Depot sells it. Add a little carbon to it also. Get some filter media close to what it in the filter and you are set. If you don't want to deal with all that, Temu now sells them for half the price then the stores. They work as well as the Zero Water filters.@@roquea.deleon6175
Keep your zero water filter jug in the fridge and it will not smell. Try it. Heat makes it smell. So dont store in the direct sun light or heat. Keep in Fridge. Happy Days!!
I can't believe your at 80 ads out of tap in your area. I am at 250 in my area but the filter gets me to zero its nice to have a good product. Good review and test
WTH!? I agree Zero water filters are the best by far! But they don’t seem to last! I’ve spent hundreds of dollars over a few years! Definitely trying this. Thanks man! Cheers
Norm in a well water softner setup, salt brine is used to recharge the media. I am trying your method, but curious why running water normally thru it for drinking does not achieve same results as your rinsing. The different density of carbon and media would make it very easy to replace carbon
If say at least similar to what the manufacturer says on the package. But hey, I'm about to do this with my filters & I'll get back you you on this... only thing is, as long as my neurotic house mate doesn't fucken spit in it AGAIN... BUT HEY... Get a Zero filter if you don't have one already, it'll say different lengths of time depending on the region you're in, use your water filter & when it's filtering slow test the particulates with the meter that comes with it. If you DO need to degunk the filter, do what he teaches in this video & then you'll know for whatever your region is.
*Yup, EVERYONE needs to keep checking how longer it will last after its cleansed!* *IF it last another 1 to 2 months, THAT 'LL BE AWESOME, IF IT GOES EVEN LONGER, THAT'LL BE SICK-KRAZY-GOOD!!!*
We just let ours dry out. Our tap reads 268 in Southern Indiana. Our filter just needs the dry out the chlorine. No need to remove and wash. We just set them in the sun to dry. We still purchase new filters because it take a bit to dry the chlorine out. So once we have our rotation filled we will be set. The Zero Water company is definitely worth the price.
It would be very useful if you can post a link to a water softener that’s like what they use in the zero water filters. Thank you for posting this very informational video
Great video, I live in Caroline Co Virginia, and our water is Horrible. It's a county run Community well, and the TDS comes in @ 996 ppm. My Zero water filter was done just after two weeks with a reading of 230 ppm. Maybe 10 gallons of filtered water through it. I'm going to be rebuilding my filters...
Dang your drinking getto bath watter and tolit bowl flushings if its reading that bad! 1 glas gets you your daily dose of prescription meds and birth controll pills sheesh
@@SheikhN-bible-syndrome LOL, tell me about it. I only use the water for bathing purposes. Probably end up dirtier than when I started. I buy bottled water now. I have tested it again recently, and the readings are better, but not drinking water. TDS are 476. Water really sucks here
Looks pretty cool, I guess if you do not have reverse osmosed water then you can probably use distilled water which should also read 0.0 ppm. Cheers...
Very nice to know. Know a days it is great to learn new tricks to save lots of money. Plus in a way you are washing and recycling the old Zero Water filter but i don't really know hoe long it would last compared to a new one. TDS gives you that data but what about PH level or Bacteria ?
I currently have a pur but will be purchasing a zero water! I am concerned about them filtering out vitamins and minerals but yeah still purchasing one!
Down in SoCal the “water” coming out of the tap just might be treated sewage, because they love us so much. Mine reads 398 on the particulate meter. It does come out at zero from a ZeroWater filter but not for long. It reads 25 or 30 after 5 or 6 gallons. I thought I would pre-filter with my old ProPur but my tap water gains particulates up to 450 after I run it through ProPur. Maybe my filter is too old. I don’t want to disparage ProPur. But as for ZeroWater, I thought you had to do something fancy with that resin inside ZeroWater filters to clean and restore it, and it looked like equipment and chemicals were necessary, based on my internet searches. I will give your method a try. Thanks for posting.
There's a couple of vids showing using 2 ZeroWater filters, 1 being your "old" filter which will still filter some, then the newer will last longer as it doesn't have to filter as much.
@@RootsOfEden911 Unfortunately it does not last that much longer Im afraid. Use fresh rain water at about 003 TDS. At 003 TDS I would not worry about any nasties in there.
@@RootsOfEden911 You can fit UV lighting to the pitcher after it has filltered to stop bacteria but after rigorous test the filtered water is not showing any bacteria under electron micoscope and when testing the water sample on a petri dish I'm getting the same bacteria results as the air around me. So the filter looks to be removing any bacteria as well. Im using fresh rain water through mine at 003- 009 TDS and its lasted 1.6 years 1200 liters!
Thank you for sharing this. This is pretty awesome if the effects last, how long did the "cleaned" filter last? Was it really back to zero for a long while?
When you put the stuff back in the filter, it’ll all be mixed instead of layered like a new one right? Would that be not as good as the original in theory?
We absolutely LOVE our Zero water filters, found them because of a video by Project Farm. Here in So. Cal-SGVWC-our tap water is between 275-300 TDS so the Zero filter lasts almost 3 weeks for us before the water starts tasting and smelling like FISH WATER!!! It's NASTY! It still reads in the mid-70's but tastes like crap. So we go through filters like crazy. The filters state that the life is 15 gallons and that seems about what we're getting. Point being, this gets expensive, but we're addicted to the clean tasting water it produces. Like a 'tard, I saved all our old filters....just in case. Well, now I'm gonna try this little experiment. Maybe we can save some $$$?!?
I have a zero water filter I started using about ,2 years ago and then went to the zero water faucet mount. So my pitcher filter has been in the picture partly used for approximately 2 years. I decided to try it again and to my amazement it's still reading ,003 ppm. after all that time just sitting in the fridge inside th pitcher. The water doesn't taste funky at all
Great video. You're lucky to be having 80+ TDS coming out as default. Mine in 550+ and it KILLS Zerowater filters. So, i bought a countertop Reverse Osmosis system and put the water through that, then into the Zerowater pitcher and into the fridge. Zerowater filter lasts much longer now because the water going in is about 7 TDS. If you figure out a good source for filter parts to actually rebuild the filter for a lot less, please make another video!
@@grinderpumpguy did you end up finding a good source for the resin? That's the one thing that I don't know about/can't find exactly what is used. Kind freaks me out to run my water through some random resin as well without knowing haha.
I just bought one and when mine goes old, I'm gonna try this but I think that if I add a few tablespoons of citric acid, it would help clean off that stuff better.
Your tap water is truly unreal, 88 ppm? Wow, I'd be happy with just that!!! (86-87ppm) Amazing! When my zero filter wears out, my wore-out zero water filter gets really acidic, and my water starts tasting like lemon water... I'll try your trick, thanks!
How much carbon and how much ion exchange resin is in the filter. I would really like to figure out a cost breakdown. You are on the right track with washing the resin but the resin is still holding particles and need to be washed chemically. Anyways. I'm trying to figure out how many filters will a 10lb bag of ion resin make.
Still good to have spares in case you trip and break it, probably keep a stockpile for a possible apocalypse, but as someone broke and a family that doesn't trust tap, this is a godsend.
What I do to keep my Zero water system in functional working order is, every other week I clean the whole system with vinegar, except the filter. But I do wash the outside plastic compartment. I live in the east coast and the water is pretty funky. So I use my Zero water to make my coffee, tea and cooking. When I test my faucet water it reaches a whopping 166 and I do not exaggerate.
I’m doing the same as you and have zero water and a Culligan RO system . Out of my tap is usually between 500-600 tds. Curious why you got zero water when you are getting 0 fron your RO. My RO is currently at 38 tds. So far haven’t been able to get mine back down to zero but will try again on next filter. Interesting video , Thanks
This is a fantastic life hack especially given how expensive these filters are to replace as much as I swear by them and have used them mostly in comparison to others due to their capabilities of removing 99.6% inorganic chemical compounds along with neurotoxins etc! 😂😂🦁🦁
My main objection to ANY water filtration system is the amount of plastic contained in the filters. Ideally we could purchase a reusable plastic housing and freshen it with new filter material, but nobody sells it that way. Maybe you're onto something.
Well I popped the lid off with a Stanley knife and screwdriver. Dumped everything into a bowl and didn't have anyway of cleaning it lol. Mine gets to about 12 days old and reads around 0.04 but I can taste a fruity flavour so need to replace it. Where I live that still cheaper than bottled water.
I have taken it apart and rinsed it about 20 times and it still is not at 0. How many times did you rinse it with the reverse osmosis water? I’m using the water from my zero water pitcher from another filter to get my water to zero.
You know you didn't taste the water after putting it back into the filter... So I'm wondering if it taste the same as a brand new filter because that matters too. I don't have a reverse O machine, but if this works where you get 0 and it taste the same, then I'll probably just get a gallon of distilled water and clean the filter that way.
