GUIDE
Keep your filter working well and your drinking water safe
WATER SAFETY
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Yes. Water can look clean but still contain harmful bacteria and parasites. Always filter drinking water unless you know it is safe.
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Rainwater may look clean, but it can contain bacteria, parasites, dirt, and other contaminants. We recommend treating or filtering rainwater before drinking it.
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Borehole water is often safer than surface water, but it can still contain bacteria and parasites. We recommend testing, treating, or filtering borehole before drinking it.
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Yes. If you properly use, maintain, and clean your filter system. Contact a community health worker if you think the water may not be safe.
GETTING STARTED
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❶ Add a little soap and a few cups of water to the top bucket.
[IMAGE:https://mightywater.org/s/Safi_SlowPriming.jpg]
❷ Dance to clean
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❸ Let the filter soak up water for 24 hours
❹ Slowly fill the top bucket and let it filter overnight.
❺ Check the flow.
If flow is good, use clean water to rinse soap from both buckets.
If flow is slow, remove water from the top bucket and return to step ❷.
HOW TO USE
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Water poured in at night should be at least half filtered by morning. Consistent use and regular cleaning will keep the filter flowing.
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You can store water as long as needed. Always keep some water in the system so the filter does not dry out.
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Yes, but very dirty water can clog your filter. It is best to prefilter very dirty water.
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Yes. Your filter will flow faster and last longer when it contains less dirt.
These are methods to prefilter water from fastest to slowest:
❶ Pouring water through a clean fine cloth.
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❷ Add a small spoonful of powdered alum and let it settle for a few hours.
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❸ Use a solid alum by stirring it 50 times around and let it settle for a few hours.
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❹ Allow the dirt to settle overnight.
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HOW TO CLEAN
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Dance to clean. Remove the lid from the bucket. Pour out some water, and gently move the bucket in a circular motion. Do not touch or remove the filter.
[IMAGE:https://mightywater.org/s/Safi_DanceToClean.jpg]
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Clean your filter at least once a week using dance to clean, or anytime the filter becomes slow.
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Use a small amount of water from the bottom bucket.
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Yes. A small amount of soap will help clean the filter and improve flow.
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Yes. Chlorine can be added to the top bucket and filtered to disinfect the entire system. We recommend following the World Health Organization guidelines for using chlorine to treat drinking water.
QUICK FIXES
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Fill your filter with water. Check if your filter is floating or normal.
[IMAGE:https://mightywater.org/s/Safi_FloatingOrNormal.jpg]
☒ Floating. Please follow these steps:
❶ Follow instructions in “How do I start my filter?”
☑ Normal. Follow these steps:
❶ Clean your filter using dance to clean.
❷ Fill the top bucket. Keeping the top bucket.
❸ Follow instructions under “My filter is leaking. What should I do?”
❹ Make sure the top bucket lid is loose.
Contact your workshop instructor or local community health worker if it is still slow.
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❶ Check that the O-ring is in place.
Contact your workshop instructor or local community health worker if it is missing.
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❷ Make sure the filter is not too tight and not too loose. If you tighten it too much, you may damage the filter.
Put your hand inside the top bucket and loosen the filter. The leak will get worse. Then slowly tighten the filter until the leak stops.
You may need to loosen and tighten the filter several times before the leak stops completely.
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Contact your workshop instructor or local community health worker.
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