Water Filters

We recommend backwashing your filter when your flow rate begins to diminish, before prolonged storage, and when you are ready to start using your filter again. Backwashing your filter after storage is a great way to re-wet the fibers and restore the flow rate before use.

The frequency of cleaning depends on how dirty the water is. With relatively clear water, backwashing may only be necessary every 1,000 gallons whereas with extremely turbid or muddy water, backwashing may be required every 10 gallons. Nevertheless, backwashing is an extremely simple process and takes only a minute.

The Sawyer filter does remove taste that comes from bacteria, dirt, and green matter. However, the filter does NOT remove iron, sulfur, other chemicals, or simple compounds.

Taste can be masked by using flavor additives like Gatorade or crystal light, but we recommend adding the flavor additives to the water after it has been filtered. Standard Sawyer filters are not made with charcoal. While other portable filters have charcoal, they lack in the amount of media and adequate dwell time. Therefore, they only remove small amounts of heavy metals, pesticides, etc.

No, the filters do not remove metals, chemicals, pesticides, VOCs, hydrocarbons, or salt.

Since there is no definitive way to tell if a filter has been damaged due to freezing after initial wetting, Sawyer recommends replacing your filter if you suspect that it has been frozen.