How to refill a "disposable" Brita brand water pitcher filter with activated carbon.

Step 2 The polyethylene plug

This is something you can find at a hardware store. They come in different colors and styles, so don't let that distract you... color isn't important and type is up to your own judgment. What is important is the size. You want a plug that is slightly over 1/2" at the widest point of the tapered sides. Vernier calipers would be a useful item to take with you to measure this dimension when you go to the store. This should cost less than 25 cents.

Comments

[LizQuincy]

I, too, have had trouble finding the polyethylene plug.  We've already made 2 trips to Home Depot, searching and searching to no avail.  Sigh.

[Agnis]

I used corks. No Home Depot necessary.

[dangerine]

Cork! Great idea...great way to use part of one of the new style plastic corks, too! Cut to fit!

[LizQuincy]

Thanks.  I found them.  Not exactly what was in the picture, but it works. 

Now the issue is with the activated carbon.  We got some from a pet store, but the particles are much too large.  So we tried making them smaller using a coffee grinder, but it didn't make them uniform, so some were the right size, while others were fairly large, and there was a lot of really tiny particles.  So when we soaked the filter, the water kept turning black from all the small particles leaching out of the filter.

I realize I can buy some online that are the exact size I need (which I plan on doing), but I am also wondering if I can still use the carbon I already bought.  I am thinking that if I use it as is (big particles), the filter will just not last as long, and I will have to change it more frequently (because the big particles have less surface area).  Does that sound right?  Or does anyone know of a way to make the particles smaller, but consistent in size?

[greenleaf35]

i got some activated carbon from walmart in the pet area its a small diameter

[hezaharley]

Hi Liz,

Ace Hardware has them.  Had to buy some for a broken drain on a camp cooler.

[kelseymh]

You should find those little red plugs in one of two places at HD -- either in the plumbing components aisle (the sample place you find little elbows, endcaps, and whatnot), or in the nuts-and-bolts aisle (in one of those grey plastic pull-out trays with wacky bits of hardware).

Don't bother asking for help, as I'm sure you've discovered, the staff at HD are lucky if they know how to find their way out of the break room :-(  You might get somewhere by taking a picture of the caps with you to show them.  But no guarantees.

[LizQuincy]

Might they go by any other name?

[crl37]

Does anyone know where in the hardware store to find the polyethylene plugs? I've been to Home Depot and Lowe's and they have no idea what I'm talking about.

[plzspoilme25]

they usually dont best way to find what u need is just spend alot of time looking for it.....my local lowes has them in drawers near the plumbing section....

[ersamia]

I am a college student without a car. The college I attend shuttles you to the local Wal-Mart. They had the activated carbon but not the plugs, as far as I could find. I just put some electrical tape over the hole I made in my Brita filter, and it seems to be working fine.

[un_breton_a_seattle]

It works, but electrical tape is made of plastic that is not food safe. Not to mention the glue... Some plastics, such as PVC, release small organic molecules, (CN for the PVC, that cyanide), which can accumulate into the body and cause long-term damage to cells (read, cancer). I'd stick to the PE plug if I were you :)

[IAMSatisfied]

That sounds like a great alternative!