Don’t Ditch Your Sawyer Filter Just Yet

I’m a bit lost on the hitting-the-filter part.   You built the stopper and it went on the output side.  I’m first unclear of just why this is needed?  So first you backflushed, forcing water into the outlet, backwards thru the filter.  Then you capped that normal output side and tapped the filter.  What does capping accomplish?  Also, you tap each side of the filter using the black collars?

What you didn’t measure was the effectiveness of the filtration itself.  You may have improved flow with your various treatments, but some of them may also have compromised the filtration.  Without that info, I’m afraid your experience is interesting…but not quite helpful to the rest of us.

I’ve used the squeeze for many years, and have back flushed it many times.  I can tell when it needs back flushing because, as you note, the flow decreases.  While I have no idea how many times I’ve done this, or how many times I’ve filtered water through it, I can say that it has been years of use, with approximately 15-25 days on the trail each year.

But I usually hike in the Sierra Nevada, where water tends to quite clear.  I rarely have to pre-filter, but I have done so on occasion.  It would be helpful to know what kind of water you were filtering.  Did you pre-filter it?  I have seen a larger Sawyer with gravity connections clog up in only one day, and do so to a point where it was beyond saving by flushing.  But that was trying to filter very slow moving water filled with algae.  It clogged the filter after filtering less than ten gallons…and stayed clogged.

This is a bit contradictory with other reports that have found the Mini to plug up worse than the Squeeze, concluding the Mini is almost un-usable.

I’ve used my Squeeze for 9 years without problem.  But I don’t filter “clean” water or water I’m going to boil, so maybe I’ve filtered 200 gallons total.

I question whether pre filtering is important.  If it removes large particles it doesn’t matter that much.  Large particles stuck in the Squeeze are easily back flushed.  It’s the small particles that are close to the pore size.  Or gunk.  Or the minerals in hard water especially if you combine with bleach.

Welp, if anything, there is something to be said for carrying backup water tablets, eh?

I find that both my Sawyer Squeeze and Mini turn into almost no flow at all after a trip if I do not soak them in vinegar. Water in some alpine areas around here can have heavy minerals, which once dry, clog up filters.

I think going to turbulence filters instead of traditional membrane filters might reduce this issue?

Or would it be smarter to carry two mini filters instead of one regular squeeze? Or why doesn’t sawyer make it easier to add pre-filters to them?

I have a Frontier Pro filter, which is turbulence-based and has a heavy-duty cotton felt pre-filter. The pre-filter turns very dark on one side, but not the other, so it is collecting a lot of fine particles. It never clogs up and I don’t even flush it at home, just dry it out.

+1 to carrying backup tablets.

I’ve given up on the Mini (and the Micro for that matter) and returned to the full size Squeeze. The last 2 years I have back-flushed with distilled water as the final cleaning step before drying and storing and so far so good. I would be nervous about the “knock on wood” method compromising the internal seals.

My Squeeze has never clogged in the field.

If you had an adaptor so you can screw the output end to a bottle, then you could use that to backflush.  That might be better than bringing the backflush syringe. When you’re backpacking.

Regarding a backup in case the filter clogs, the risk of disease from drinking water is low.  If just one time you had to drink untreated water you would probably be fine.  If you drink untreated water all the time, you’ll likely eventually get sick.

On the other hand, the tablets weigh so little it would make sense to carry them as a backup.

If you were in a health risking situation from dehydration, don’t worry about treating the water if that isn’t possible.  The health risk from dehydration is way worse than from drinking untreated water

FYI, the flip sports caps on the 1L Smartwater sports bottle can be used to backflush the regular Squeeze (not sure about others). It’s also much better than the syringe method, as you can get more pressure kneeling on a durable Smartwater bottle.

Vinegar is also sold in 30% solution, for cleaning purposes. A small amount could be packed and then diluted on the trail to soak a clogged filter over night. You can carry 6X less vinegar and then dilute a small amount in water. Might even work just propping the filter upright and then letting a small amount gravity soak through. I think I did that with great success a few years ago on a Squeeze filter.