How to Clean Your Biosands Water Filter

Biosand filters use local sand and gravel to remove contaminates from drinking water, such as dirt, bacteria and parasites. Dirty water is poured into the Biosand filter and the trickles through the sand and gravel below. The sand and gravel remove the harmful particles from the water, leaving behind clean drinking water. Third world countries and developing countries that have little or no access to clean water use these filters. The sand and gravel in the Biosand filter occasionally needs changing to keep filtering the water properly.

Things You'll Need

• Fresh sand and gravel
• Bleach

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Instructions

1. • 1

     Open the top of the Biosand filter and remove the diffuser plate. Pull the pipe out of the Biosand filter and empty the old sand and gravel onto the ground.

   • 2

     Rinse the inside of the Biosand filter's pipe out with clean water. Pour a mixture of 1 part bleach and 1 part water into the pipe to clean it. Rinse the pipe out again with clean water.

   • 3

     Add 1 inch of gravel to the pipe followed by 1 inch of sand. Repeat the process until the pile is filled with sand and gravel about 1 inch from the top of the pile.

   • 4

     Place the pipe back into the Biosand filter and place the diffuser over the top of the pipe.