Breather / PVC - Can they be reused?

[Salty_Dog]

I have read previous on here, that if you have the later version of Breather (vortex) they can be cleaned and reinstalled.

Is this fact?

I recently had BMW replace mine, and kept the unit that came out.
Its currently filthy, but I will clean it down.





I see the plastic sections have lift away tags for further dismantling and cleaning.

What have others done?
Would save $175 for a new Breather every 3 months (3 months is what dealer recommended)

Thanks all :-)

Note: prior to replacement I had no black smoke under hard acceleration ... once replaced, I had a good dump of black smoke once of twice... but seems ok now?
If there were no smoke, would that mean the breather isn't doing its job?