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A4 checklist with all illustrated steps. Tick the boxes on paper as you go.

FeatherSticks · Water

Water Filter Care: How to Backflush, Clean, Dry and Store Your Filter

Your filter is slow? Do not squeeze harder. Backflush it.

Quick facts

Time
2–5 min backflush, 1 h+ drying
Difficulty
Easy
Best for
Hollow-fibre, ceramic and pump filters
You need
Clean water, syringe or pad, the manual

What you need

  • The filter’s own syringe or cleaning device
  • Scrubbing pad and gauge (ceramic filters)
  • Spare pouch and O-rings
  • Bandana or coffee filters for prefiltering
  • Zip bag for frost protection
  • Chlorine dioxide tablets as backup
  • The manufacturer’s manual

Step by step

  1. Prefilter dirty water

    1 Prefilter dirty water

    Let muddy water settle for 30 minutes or more and pour it through a cloth before filtering. Less silt means a faster, longer-lived filter.

  2. Backflush when flow slows

    2 Backflush when flow slows

    Push clean, treated water backwards through the clean outlet with the supplied syringe, two or three times, until the flow recovers.

  3. Scrub ceramic, replace carbon

    3 Scrub ceramic, replace carbon

    Scrub a ceramic element gently with the supplied pad and check it with the gauge. Carbon stages cannot be cleaned – replace them at their rated life.

  4. Never let it freeze

    4 Never let it freeze

    Near or below 0 °C, carry the filter in a zip bag in an inner pocket and take it into your sleeping bag at night. If it froze wet, do not trust it.

  5. Dry and store after the trip

    5 Dry and store after the trip

    Backflush, disinfect only if the manual says so, dry pouches open and store everything frost-free and crush-proof.

  6. Check it before every trip

    6 Check it before every trip

    Do a test run with tap water, check flow, seals and pouches, and pack a backup treatment method.

Common mistakes

  • Backflushing with raw, untreated water.
  • Squeezing harder instead of backflushing a slow filter.
  • Letting a wet hollow-fibre filter freeze in the pack, tent porch or car.
  • Storing the filter wet and dirty in a stuff sack.
  • Drying or wet-storing against the manufacturer’s instructions.
  • Expecting a clean filter to remove viruses or chemicals.
  • Carrying no backup treatment.