
CLEANING INSTRUCTIONS SAWYER FILTERS
For best results, clean your filter on a daily basis. Regularly clean the white push-pull cap and your buckets/containers with soap or bleach.
BACKWASHING WITH THE CLEANING PLUNGER
BACKWASHING WITH THE CLEANING COUPLING
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Reserve a quart of clean water.
Find a clean plastic bottle
that will thread onto the
cleaning coupling.
Disconnect the filter
from the hose.
Fill the bottle with
clean, filtered water.
Fill the cleaning plunger
with clean water.
Remove the push pull cap
and screw the coupling onto
the filter threads.
Remove the white push pull cap
and place the cleaning plunger
on the output end of the filter.
Screw the filter with
the attached coupling onto
the plastic bottle.
Forcefully backwash the filter a
couple times with clean water.
Squeeze forcefully and
repeat as necessary until
Fill the cleaning plunger and
push water forwards through the
filter to loosen up any dirt.
Repeat backwashing
(forwards and backwards)
until filter is fully cleaned.
REPEAT
UNTIL
CLEAN
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MORE CLEANING TIPS
SANITATION
Sawyer recommends occasionally sanitizing your filter. To do this, backwash the
filter with a standard bleach solution (fragrance free and no more than one cap of
bleach per quart of water). Let air dry and in a cool dry place before using.
CLOGGED FILTERS
If your filter is still flowing slow after backwashing, soak the filter in hot clean
water (not hotter than you can put your hand into) for about an hour and then back
flush using hot clean water. REMEMBER to backwash FORCEFULLY! When using
the syringe, do not be gentle, it will only form paths of least resistance instead of
blowing out the particulates that may be trapped in your filter.
CALCIUM BUILD UP
If after above steps your filter still seems to be clogged, it could be dried calcium.
Soak the filter in vinegar for 1/2 hour and then flush with hot clean (not hotter
than you can put your hand into) water. Repeat until the flow is restored – it may
take several times.