Tip 1 – Follow the instructions on the pouch!

I love my Sawyer Squeeze, it’s a great little water filter but little did I know that if you’re going to store it away for some time, that there is a flushing procedure you need to carry out before doing so.

I’d stored my filter away for around eighteen months, during that time I’d taken it out and flushed it through, in preparation for a couple of bikepacking adventures that, for one reason or another, didn’t materialise. It was six months since I last did this, but an adventure was on the cards so I attempted to give it a flush alas, no water would pass through it, I could squeeze the pouch as hard as I could with two hand, but nothing!

I was a little baffled as to why this was, and in my efforts to get it working, I noticed that on the pouch is a storage procedure!

This storage procedure involves flushing the filter through with a mix of water and bleach. I never buy bleach, so I tried to flush it and soak it with a white vinegar/water mix. After doing this a small amount of water would flow but only under heavy pouch-squeezing pressure. I tried lemon juice too but still, only a small amount of water would flow. So, I borrowed a small amount of bleach from a friend and soaked and flushed it with a bleach/water mix, and hey presto, the water flows at a decent rate again.

After all this messing around, I was worried that I had compromised the Sawyer’s ability to filter properly, so had no option but to buy a new one. Getting ill on a tour really isn’t something I want.

Tip 2 – How to backflush on the trail without using the syringe

The syringe that comes with the Sawyer Squeeze, for back-flushing, only weighs 27 grams, but it’s big so I don’t take it with me when touring, but always feel vulnerable because I don’t have the ability to back-flush, should I need to.

When I bought my new Sawyer Squeeze, it came with 2 pouches, a length of hose, a syringe, a blue threaded adapter and a grey threaded adapter.

You can buy a set of threaded blue and grey adapters separately, costing around $14 Australian dollars, so I purchased a pair. I can’t remember if these adapters came with spare white washers, so you will have to investigate that. I know you can buy the washers separately btw.

I had enough spare washers to fit one into each of the two blue adaptors I now had. I cut a 50mm length off the pipe that came with the kit and joined the two blue adapters onto it, this assembly weighs 14 grams.

Now I can screw one blue adapter to the filter housing, and one blue adaptor to a pouch, enabling me to backflush without a syringe.

Obviously, if you use the blue and grey adapters for connecting to a hydration pack, you can amend the method of joining to suit your situation.

I’m so happy I have this, just knowing I can backflush if I need to makes me feel I am better prepared!

I hope these two tips are useful to you too!

If you purchase a Sawyer Squeeze via the following link, I may receive a small commission. As yet I have no income from my website or affiliate links, but live in hope! It would be great if you helped me out.

To purchase a Sawyer Squeeze follow the relevant link below Sawyer Squeeze Water Filter Kit (you can filter the muckiest of water with this)

Australia - https://amzn.to/3f7jS13

UK - https://amzn.to/3F2S9JC

USA - https://amzn.to/3zH7yyk