I love my Platypus Gravity Filter. I might go as far as to say that it is the best leap forward in gear that I've made in the last ten years (I previously used Katadyn Hiker hand pump). Anyways....I always clean my filter by running a teaspoon of bleach in a liter of water through the filter after my trips. But then I always struggled to dry the filter for storage. I always worried that my filter was never dry and that it could potentially grow mold or bacteria in storage. At $50 per filter, it is cost prohibitive to purchase a new filter for each trip. It is now two weeks since my filter has been drying in my house and the filter still drips water. But I think that I finally found a solution. I attached a small fish tank bubbler (Walmart $7) to the Platypus dirty hose which then runs into the filter. The bubbler hose actually fits nicely into the Platypus hose. I removed the clean side Platypus hose and laid the filter in a bowl. The bubbler pressure is so small and the connection between the bubbler hose and the Platypus hose is loose enough that there is zero chance of damaging anything in the filter. Very soon after I connected the bubbler to my filter, there was several teaspoons of water in the bowl. This is after two weeks of drying my filter. I plan to let the bubbler run air through my filter for 2 days and then the filter will assuredly be dry enough to safely pack away without the possibility of harmful growth. I haven't tried it yet, but I am guessing that the bubbler hose could also be put into the Platypus bags to help them dry for storage as well. I attached a photo of my setup. Hopefully someone benefits from my experience.

Nice find!!

I have the same filter. I use the bleach solution like you to sanitize. Have you tried unscrewing the ends during storage? That’s what I do and it dries fairly quickly.

Hey Tarnkt....Do you mean unscrewing the ends to the plastic housing?? I know the foam end protectors detach, but I think the plastic housing on my filter is glued together. I do not believe that there is access to the filter itself. Are you saying that the Platypus Gravity Works Filter housing ends screw off? I just tried and if there are threads then it is dang tight. I don't want to break a $55 filter. I'm gonna feel a bit foolish if the actual filter is accessible for drying and cleaning but nothing indicates that is the case. I know Katadyn filter was more accessible but I believe the Platypus is a permanent housing with no access to the actual filter inside.

Thanks for the information - it sounds like a pretty good solution.

Maybe we have different models after all? Mine has threads and while the filter doesn’t come out you can see it and it isn’t sealed inside allowing for much easier drying.

Hopefully you don’t break your filter because some idiot on the internet gave you a bad idea ; )

I use the aquarium pump for my filters and also use it to dry out water bladders with that have a small opening to them. I just stick a longer piece of tubing down into the bottom of the bladder and that small amount of air movement helps a lot.

Nice idea, probably would work for other filters as well. I have put the bags over a boot dryer.

tarnkt: " "

Wow, mine certainly does not do that. The foam bits come off but otherwise it's a sealed capsule. They must have changed designs at some point. My filter is from 2012.

Maybe I have too much time on my hands but I guess that's better than the alternative.

I wanted to get to the bottom of this and so I just contacted the company that manufactures the Platypus filtration system. Cascade Designs said the newer design of the Platypus Gravity Works Filter does NOT have end caps that thread off like the older model. Although that older design with the threaded end caps is likely still found in retail stores and on Amazon, Cascade has not manufactured that design on their filters in over 4 years. So be careful not to break your filter by trying to remove end caps that are not removable.

The service technician was very knowledgeable. He thought the aquarium pump was a good idea to help drain excess water from the filter before storage, but he cautioned not to dry the filter to "bone dry". The filter is designed to stay slightly moist and bone dry could potentially damage the filter fibers.

After rinsing I usually flick mine towards the sink to get additional moisture out. Once the water splats get smaller it hangs for a few weeks. Occasionally I'll go give it a flick or two while its drying. Once it no longer spits any water out it's dry enough for my satisfaction.

I've got an MSR gravity. When I had much trouble right away they automatically sent me a new filter... A platypus was sent. Meanwhile I picked up a Sawyer which included a backflushing syringe. It works on all those filters. I back flush with the bleach solution, then use it to push air through it. Never thought to try and get it bone dry. So safe there.