I just dehydrated mine in a low temp
food dehydrator (I
think I set it to 110 or something). Not sure if higher temps would kill the grains or not. I've had mixed results rehydrating--sometimes they get back to normal production, other times I could never get the right flavor back (i.e. always tasted like slightly spoiled milk). I can't quite remember if I've ever rehydrated water kefir grains.
As to how long the dehydrated ones last, I've seen numbers thrown out like 6 months or 1 year, but I've never tested the limits myself.
As for straining, I just use a fine mesh strainer. I've read that you shouldn't use metal, but I do, and things work fine. When doing milk kefir, I wash my hands, then run them along the bottom of the strainer. That gets all the kefir to strain through and gives me an easy separation of the grains.
When my kefir grains multiply beyond the amount I want, I usually just eat the extras. I kind of like the flavor/texture (especially on the water kefir grains). If you don't, you can throw it into smoothies and you won't even notice it.
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