My Sawyer 2L Gravity Water Filter which served me well for many years was filtering more and more slowly regardless of how many back flushes I performed in the field. I contacted customer service to see about purchasing a replacement cartridge.
They responded with a list of measures I should take (see below.) I tried them all and one, all, or a combination solved the problem and it worked out great during our recent five day trip. Thank you Sawyer/Jeannie.
I thought that I should post this good advice here for whoever has similar problems.
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.
If you would please contact us later in the Spring, we will let you know when we can accept it and give you instructions as well. Filters mailed to us between October and May will be returned unopened for this reason. So sorry for the inconvenience, but we want to make sure that there is no chance your filter will freeze.
Hope that helps!
Jeannie
Sawyer Customer Service
(727) 725-1177
They responded with a list of measures I should take (see below.) I tried them all and one, all, or a combination solved the problem and it worked out great during our recent five day trip. Thank you Sawyer/Jeannie.
I thought that I should post this good advice here for whoever has similar problems.
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.
If you would please contact us later in the Spring, we will let you know when we can accept it and give you instructions as well. Filters mailed to us between October and May will be returned unopened for this reason. So sorry for the inconvenience, but we want to make sure that there is no chance your filter will freeze.
Hope that helps!
Jeannie
Sawyer Customer Service
(727) 725-1177
