How do you all clean your Sawyer filters. I seem to have to back flush daily. Do they go bad?

Thank you!

I run a squeeze in a gravity setup on all trips.

After a trip I run some distilled water through it with a touch of bleach.

I backflush with that same mixture.

And then run a little straight distilled through it.

Shake out what water I can and let it dry. Done.

Edit to add: during the trip I backflush as-needed, using the clean bag...

sns: "I run a squeeze in a gravity setup on all trips.


After a trip I run some distilled water through it with a touch of bleach.


I backflush with that same mixture.


And then run a little straight distilled through it.


Shake out what water I can and let it dry. Done.

Edit to add: during the trip I backflush as-needed, using the clean bag..."

What I do. Make sure you only used distilled water to clean it before storage, especially if you have hard tap water. Otherwise minerals will build up and clog the filter. Don't ask me how I know this...

On an extended weekend trip, I never need to back flush as long as the water is reasonably free of solids. I did a 10-day trip in July in the BWCA and back flushed once. If there's an abundance of algae or plankton in the water, I'll pre-filter my smart water bottles using a handkerchief. Like others, I back flush when I get back from every trip, then sanitize with bleach water, and then run straight distilled water. I'll also clean with vinegar if I've been filtering hard water. I usually get about two years or so out of a Sawyer filter, so if my flow is poor and back flushing, or the vinegar treatment isn't helping I buy a new one. I used to backflush with tap water, and I was lucky to get a year out of a filter due to the minerals.

NEIowapaddler : " Make sure you only used distilled water to clean it before storage, especially if you have hard tap water. Otherwise minerals will build up and clog the filter. Don't ask me how I know this..."

Yep same here. $70 mistake with my Platypus. My water isn't even very hard.

Below is a response from Sawyer Customer Service that I found very helpful:

Thanks for reaching out to us. It sounds as though your filter is just blocked, either from particulates or minerals. With proper cleaning and if stored in a cool dry place out of direct UV light, your filter should last a lifetime. Please try the process below and let me know if that fixes it.


A blocked filter can almost always be recovered by soaking the filter in hot water (not to exceed 135 F) for an hour or so, and then backflushing several times with hot water as hard as possible. The trick to a successful backwashing is to be very forceful with the process. Water will always take the path of least resistance, so in order to fully flush out the filter and restore its flow rate, make sure you are exerting as much pressure as you can, especially during the first couple of passes. The pressure of backwashing needs to be greater than the flow of the filtered water in order to dislodge the particulates. In cases where filters are very blocked, we would even recommend going back and forth with the backwashing process in order to "rock" the particulates out.


If that doesn't work and your flow rate is still slow, your water source might be mineral rich, so we would suggest soaking it in plain, white, undiluted vinegar for an hour or more (you can even leave it overnight), and then repeating the process with hot water backflushes. This cleaning process is the key to filter maintenance and may need to be repeated a few times as it is normal for filters to get blocked by particulates and mineral deposits over time. The hot water soak helps to loosen up embedded particulates and the vinegar soak dissolves mineral deposits. We recommend repeating both the water and mineral soak processes when the flow is very slow as the pores are so tiny (0.1 micron is smaller than a human hair) that it may not be possible to reach all the pores the first few times around.


To sanitize the filter, we'd recommend using a weak bleach solution (one capful of bleach per Liter of water). Slosh the weak bleach solution around in your pouch and run it through the filter. After the pouch and filter have been sanitized, let the filter sit upright with sufficient ventilation to dry out before storing the filter in a cool/dry location away from direct sun exposure. Some tips:

Trying to filter water through a blocked filter will always make things worse.
Backflush, backflush, backflush,……
A second or third soak may be necessary. The more you do this, the more recovery you will achieve.


FYI, this system has been discontinued, but we do have filters and parts for replacement/warranty issues, should the need arise.


If after trying this your filter is still blocked, we would be happy to have one of our engineers take a look at your filter. As long as there is no physical damage, your filter will either be restored or replaced. However, due to possible freezing conditions in various parts of the country, we have stopped accepting filters until after Memorial Day. Unfortunately, the hollow fiber filters can be stretched or damaged in transit if exposed to freezing conditions. As filters never fully dry out, they must never be frozen once the filter has been used. In addition, there is no easy way to test if the filter has been damaged. We do freeze damage testing as a part of our ongoing filter longevity tests, but this process costs more than replacing the unit.

A very informative post. As another Sawyer filter user, I am saving this info for future reference. I have been doing a bleach water backflush after each trip, but I had not thought of the vinegar soak. Good stuff.

I used to have significant problems with my filter clogging, particularly when camping in alpine environments due to the high mineral content in the alpine lakes and creeks.

After starting to backflush at least a 250 mL through the filter after each use as opposed to just backflushing when it starts to flow slowly, my filter has worked flawlessly.

I always run dilute bleach through the filter and allow it to dry completely for storage.

May be that I missed this on this thread, but I always soak the filters (2) for 12 or more hours the day before I plan to travel to the BW. I think this helps. The second is a backup should the need arise.

bwcadan: "May be that I missed this on this thread, but I always soak the filters (2) for 12 or more hours the day before I plan to travel to the BW. I think this helps. The second is a backup should the need arise."

I've thought about doing this, but don't like the idea of water leaking out of the filters inside the dry bag where I pack them. Guess I could put them in a Ziploc bag, but I never have.

I’ve noticed that not all filters, including the same one from the same company, are created equal. I’ve had to buy a new filter to replace my one that slowed down, and the new one was slower than the older, used one.

I always backflush before storage at home with RO water. In the wilderness, the frequency is affected by so many things: the number of people sharing the filter, who filled it up (some are as careful about solids), the amount of tannin in the water, etc. But as a practice, I always leave some clean water in the clean bag to backflush it when necessary. Takes 30 seconds at most.

You will need to back flush filters about every 5 gallons on those filters. Up in the BWCA there is lots of nasties that plug filters, red algae, pine pollen, tannins. I flush my filter and get lots of brown junk out the other end. Every time I think I’m glad I didn’t drink that. The filters are good for a 100,000 filtered gallons, so basically forever if you take care of it. Wash and sanitize after each trip, and NEVER let the filter freeze.

To truly back flush the Sawyer filters you really need to use the Sawyer back flushing syringes that are included with the filters, and use some force. Just back flushing with bags works for awhile but is not enough long term.